TED2017
Ashton Applewhite: Let's end ageism
Filmed:
Readability: 4.4
1,528,566 views
It's not the passage of time that makes it so hard to get older. It's ageism, a prejudice that pits us against our future selves -- and each other. Ashton Applewhite urges us to dismantle the dread and mobilize against the last socially acceptable prejudice. "Aging is not a problem to be fixed or a disease to be cured," she says. "It is a natural, powerful, lifelong process that unites us all."
Ashton Applewhite - Author, activist
Ashton Applewhite asks us to look at ageism -- the assumption that older people are alike and that aging impoverishes us. Full bio
Ashton Applewhite asks us to look at ageism -- the assumption that older people are alike and that aging impoverishes us. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
What's one thing that every person
in this room is going to become?
in this room is going to become?
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Older.
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And most of us are scared stiff
at the prospect.
at the prospect.
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How does that word make you feel?
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I used to feel the same way.
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What was I most worried about?
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Ending up drooling
in some grim institutional hallway.
in some grim institutional hallway.
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And then I learned that only
four percent of older Americans
four percent of older Americans
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are living in nursing homes,
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and the percentage is dropping.
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What else was I worried about?
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Dementia.
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Turns out that most of us
can think just fine to the end.
can think just fine to the end.
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Dementia rates are dropping, too.
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The real epidemic is anxiety
over memory loss.
over memory loss.
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(Laughter)
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I also figured that old people
were depressed
were depressed
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because they were old
and they were going to die soon.
and they were going to die soon.
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(Laughter)
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It turns out that the longer people live,
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the less they fear dying,
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and that people are happiest at
the beginnings and the end of their lives.
the beginnings and the end of their lives.
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It's called the U-curve of happiness,
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and it's been borne out
by dozens of studies around the world.
by dozens of studies around the world.
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You don't have to be a Buddhist
or a billionaire.
or a billionaire.
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The curve is a function of the way
aging itself affects the brain.
aging itself affects the brain.
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So I started feeling a lot better
about getting older,
about getting older,
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and I started obsessing about why
so few people know these things.
so few people know these things.
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The reason is ageism:
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discrimination and stereotyping
on the basis of age.
on the basis of age.
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We experience it anytime someone assumes
we're too old for something,
we're too old for something,
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instead of finding out who we are
and what we're capable of,
and what we're capable of,
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or too young.
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Ageism cuts both ways.
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All -isms are socially constructed
ideas -- racism, sexism, homophobia --
ideas -- racism, sexism, homophobia --
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and that means we make them up,
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and they can change over time.
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All these prejudices
pit us against each other
pit us against each other
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to maintain the status quo,
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like auto workers in the US competing
against auto workers in Mexico
against auto workers in Mexico
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instead of organizing for better wages.
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(Applause)
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We know it's not OK to allocate
resources by race or by sex.
resources by race or by sex.
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Why should it be OK to weigh
the needs of the young against the old?
the needs of the young against the old?
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All prejudice relies on "othering" --
seeing a group of people
seeing a group of people
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as other than ourselves:
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other race, other religion,
other nationality.
other nationality.
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The strange thing about ageism:
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that other is us.
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Ageism feeds on denial --
our reluctance to acknowledge
our reluctance to acknowledge
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that we are going to become
that older person.
that older person.
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It's denial when we try
to pass for younger
to pass for younger
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or when we believe in anti-aging products,
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or when we feel like our bodies
are betraying us,
are betraying us,
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simply because they are changing.
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Why on earth do we stop celebrating
the ability to adapt and grow
the ability to adapt and grow
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as we move through life?
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Why should aging well mean
struggling to look and move
struggling to look and move
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like younger versions of ourselves?
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It's embarrassing
to be called out as older
to be called out as older
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until we quit being embarrassed about it,
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and it's not healthy to go through life
dreading our futures.
dreading our futures.
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The sooner we get off
this hamster wheel of age denial,
this hamster wheel of age denial,
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the better off we are.
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Stereotypes are always
a mistake, of course,
a mistake, of course,
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but especially when it comes to age,
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because the longer we live,
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the more different
from one another we become.
from one another we become.
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Right? Think about it.
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And yet, we tend to think of everyone
in a retirement home
in a retirement home
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as the same age: old --
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(Laughter)
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when they can span four decades.
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Can you imagine thinking that way
about a group of people
about a group of people
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between the ages of 20 and 60?
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When you get to a party, do you head
for people your own age?
for people your own age?
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Have you ever grumbled
about entitled millennials?
about entitled millennials?
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Have you ever rejected a haircut
or a relationship or an outing
or a relationship or an outing
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because it's not age-appropriate?
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For adults, there's no such thing.
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All these behaviors are ageist.
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We all do them,
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and we can't challenge bias
unless we're aware of it.
unless we're aware of it.
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Nobody's born ageist,
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but it starts at early childhood,
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around the same time attitudes
towards race and gender start to form,
towards race and gender start to form,
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because negative messages
about late life bombard us
about late life bombard us
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from the media and popular
culture at every turn.
culture at every turn.
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Right? Wrinkles are ugly.
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Old people are pathetic.
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It's sad to be old.
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Look at Hollywood.
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A survey of recent
Best Picture nominations
Best Picture nominations
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found that only 12 percent
of speaking or named characters
of speaking or named characters
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were age 60 and up,
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and many of them
were portrayed as impaired.
were portrayed as impaired.
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Older people can be
the most ageist of all,
the most ageist of all,
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because we've had a lifetime
to internalize these messages
to internalize these messages
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and we've never thought to challenge them.
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I had to acknowledge it
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and stop colluding.
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"Senior moment" quips, for example:
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I stopped making them when it dawned on me
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that when I lost
the car keys in high school,
the car keys in high school,
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I didn't call it a "junior moment."
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(Laughter)
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I stopped blaming
my sore knee on being 64.
my sore knee on being 64.
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My other knee doesn't hurt,
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and it's just as old.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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We are all worried about
some aspect of getting older,
some aspect of getting older,
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whether running out of money,
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getting sick, ending up alone,
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and those fears are legitimate and real.
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But what never dawns on most of us
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is that the experience of reaching old age
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can be better or worse
depending on the culture
depending on the culture
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in which it takes place.
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It is not having a vagina
that makes life harder for women.
that makes life harder for women.
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It's sexism.
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(Applause)
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It's not loving a man that makes
life harder for gay guys.
life harder for gay guys.
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It's homophobia.
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And it is not the passage of time
that makes getting older
that makes getting older
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so much harder than it has to be.
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It is ageism.
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When labels are hard to read
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or there's no handrail
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or we can't open the damn jar,
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we blame ourselves,
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our failure to age successfully,
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instead of the ageism that makes
those natural transitions shameful
those natural transitions shameful
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and the discrimination that makes
those barriers acceptable.
those barriers acceptable.
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You can't make money off satisfaction,
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but shame and fear create markets,
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and capitalism always needs new markets.
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Who says wrinkles are ugly?
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The multi-billion-dollar
skin care industry.
skin care industry.
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Who says perimenopause and low T
and mild cognitive impairment
and mild cognitive impairment
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are medical conditions?
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The trillion-dollar
pharmaceutical industry.
pharmaceutical industry.
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(Cheers)
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The more clearly we see
these forces at work,
these forces at work,
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the easier it is to come up
with alternative, more positive
with alternative, more positive
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and more accurate narratives.
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Aging is not a problem to be fixed
or a disease to be cured.
or a disease to be cured.
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It is a natural, powerful,
lifelong process that unites us all.
lifelong process that unites us all.
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Changing the culture is a tall order,
I know that, but culture is fluid.
I know that, but culture is fluid.
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Look at how much the position
of women has changed in my lifetime
of women has changed in my lifetime
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or the incredible strides
that the gay rights movement
that the gay rights movement
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has made in just a few decades, right?
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(Applause)
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Look at gender.
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We used to think of it
as a binary, male or female,
as a binary, male or female,
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and now we understand it's a spectrum.
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It is high time to ditch
the old-young binary, too.
the old-young binary, too.
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There is no line in the sand
between old and young,
between old and young,
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after which it's all downhill.
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And the longer we wait
to challenge that idea,
to challenge that idea,
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the more damage it does
to ourselves and our place in the world,
to ourselves and our place in the world,
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like in the workforce,
where age discrimination is rampant.
where age discrimination is rampant.
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In Silicon Valley, engineers
are getting Botoxed and hair-plugged
are getting Botoxed and hair-plugged
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before key interviews --
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and these are skilled
white men in their 30s,
white men in their 30s,
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so imagine the effects
further down the food chain.
further down the food chain.
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(Laughter)
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The personal and economic
consequences are devastating.
consequences are devastating.
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Not one stereotype about older workers
holds up under scrutiny.
holds up under scrutiny.
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Companies aren't adaptable and creative
because their employees are young;
because their employees are young;
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they're adaptable and creative despite it.
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Companies --
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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We know that diverse companies
aren't just better places to work;
aren't just better places to work;
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they work better.
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And just like race and sex,
age is a criterion for diversity.
age is a criterion for diversity.
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A growing body of fascinating research
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shows that attitudes towards aging
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affect how our minds and bodies
function at the cellular level.
function at the cellular level.
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When we talk to older people
like this (Speaks more loudly)
like this (Speaks more loudly)
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or call them "sweetie" or "young lady" --
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it's called elderspeak --
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they appear to instantly age,
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walking and talking less competently.
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People with more positive
feelings towards aging
feelings towards aging
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walk faster,
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they do better on memory tests,
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they heal quicker, and they live longer.
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Even with brains
full of plaques and tangles,
full of plaques and tangles,
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some people stayed sharp to the end.
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What did they have in common?
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A sense of purpose.
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And what's the biggest obstacle
to having a sense of purpose in late life?
to having a sense of purpose in late life?
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A culture that tells us that getting older
means shuffling offstage.
means shuffling offstage.
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That's why the World Health
Organization is developing
Organization is developing
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a global anti-ageism initiative
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to extend not just
life span but health span.
life span but health span.
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Women experience the double whammy
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of ageism and sexism,
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so we experience aging differently.
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There's a double standard
at work here -- shocker --
at work here -- shocker --
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(Laughter)
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the notion that aging enhances men
and devalues women.
and devalues women.
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Women reinforce this double standard
when we compete to stay young,
when we compete to stay young,
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another punishing and losing proposition.
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Does any woman in this room really believe
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that she is a lesser version --
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less interesting, less fun in bed,
less valuable --
less valuable --
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than the woman she once was?
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This discrimination affects our health,
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our well-being and our income,
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and the effects add up over time.
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They are further compounded
by race and by class,
by race and by class,
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which is why, everywhere in the world,
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the poorest of the poor
are old women of color.
are old women of color.
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What's the takeaway from that map?
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By 2050, one out of five of us,
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almost two billion people,
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will be age 60 and up.
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Longevity is a fundamental hallmark
of human progress.
of human progress.
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All these older people represent a vast
unprecedented and untapped market.
unprecedented and untapped market.
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And yet, capitalism and urbanization
have propelled age bias
have propelled age bias
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into every corner of the globe,
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from Switzerland,
where elders fare the best,
where elders fare the best,
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to Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom
of the Global AgeWatch Index.
of the Global AgeWatch Index.
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Half of the world's countries
aren't mentioned on that list
aren't mentioned on that list
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because we don't bother to collect data
on millions of people
on millions of people
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because they're no longer young.
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Almost two-thirds of people
over 60 around the world
over 60 around the world
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say they have trouble
accessing healthcare.
accessing healthcare.
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Almost three-quarters say their income
doesn't cover basic services
doesn't cover basic services
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like food, water, electricity,
and decent housing.
and decent housing.
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Is this the world we want our children,
who may well live to be a hundred,
who may well live to be a hundred,
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to inherit?
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Everyone -- all ages,
all genders, all nationalities --
all genders, all nationalities --
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is old or future-old,
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and unless we put an end to it,
ageism will oppress us all.
ageism will oppress us all.
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And that makes it a perfect target
for collective advocacy.
for collective advocacy.
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Why add another -ism to the list
when so many, racism in particular,
when so many, racism in particular,
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call out for action?
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Here's the thing:
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we don't have to choose.
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When we make the world
a better place to grow old in,
a better place to grow old in,
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we make it a better place
in which to be from somewhere else,
in which to be from somewhere else,
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to have a disability,
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to be queer, to be non-rich,
to be non-white.
to be non-white.
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And when we show up at all ages
for whatever cause matters most to us --
for whatever cause matters most to us --
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save the whales, save the democracy --
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we not only make
that effort more effective,
that effort more effective,
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we dismantle ageism in the process.
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Longevity is here to stay.
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A movement to end ageism is underway.
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I'm in it, and I hope you will join me.
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(Applause and cheers)
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Thank you. Let's do it! Let's do it!
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ashton Applewhite - Author, activistAshton Applewhite asks us to look at ageism -- the assumption that older people are alike and that aging impoverishes us.
Why you should listen
Ashton Applewhite would like us to think differently about growing older. As she writes: "Aging is a natural, lifelong, powerful process that unites us all. So how come so many of us unthinkingly assume that depression, diapers, and dementia lie ahead? Because of ageism -- the last socially sanctioned prejudice."
She's the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and is the voice of the Yo, Is This Ageist? blog. She is also the author of Cutting Loose: Why Women Who End Their Marriages Do So Well -- and was a clue on Jeopardy! as the author of the mega bestseller series, Truly Tasteless Jokes. (Who is Blanche Knott?)
Ashton Applewhite | Speaker | TED.com