Ageism Isn’t Funny

Guest Opinion

By Karen Mulvahill | March 25, 2023

While sexist or racist remarks can get one fired these days, why does it still seem okay to make fun of old people? I find this especially strange because this is a demographic that every one of us—if lucky—will eventually occupy. 

It came to my attention when noticing all the age-related jokes about President Biden being made by late-night and other comics. According to Stephen Colbert, “Biden will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Shamble Palooza, sponsored by Velcro shoes.”

Jimmy Kimmel says, “Which is more dangerous, Joe Biden having classified documents in his garage, or Joe Biden having the keys to a Corvette?”

And Kal Penn suggests that Biden approved a recent oil drilling venture because, “when you’re that age, that’s the only kind of drilling you can do.”

So, old people can’t walk, drive, or (crudely) have sex. Here in northern Michigan, one doesn’t have to look far to see vibrant, brilliant, energetic people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Yet the stereotypes persist.

The World Health Organization and the UN cited ageism as one of the four action areas of the Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), “a global collaboration, aligned with the last ten years of the Sustainable Development Goals, to improve the lives of older people, their families, and the communities in which they live.” 

A study published in The Gerontologist, the official journal of the Gerontological Society of America, looked at Facebook groups devoted to older people. What it found was that most of these groups had been created by people in their 20s. “Descriptions of all but one of these groups focused on negative age stereotypes,” a 2014 article found. “Among these Descriptions, 74% excoriated older individuals, 27% infantilized them, and 37% advocated banning them from public activities, such as shopping.”

Ageism is a problem that has serious health repercussions. According to an article published in The Lancet, “Ageism impacts all aspects of older people’s health. For instance, it shortens their lifespan, worsens their physical and mental health, hinders recovery from disability, and accelerates cognitive decline. Ageism also exacerbates social isolation and loneliness and reduces access to employment, education, and health care, all of which impact health.”

This constant parade of negative stereotypes about age is belied by a look at the current crop of politicians elected by our populace. Apparently, as recently as the last election, many voters had no problem electing older politicians. Forty-nine senators are older than 70; sixteen are above 80. Seventy-four of our representatives are over 70; twelve exceed 80. Our Supreme Court justices receive lifetime appointments and, just a few years ago, four of the nine were older than 70.

There are clearly potential benefits that accrue with age, such as experience, knowledge, and wisdom. But just as one should not employ negative stereotypes concerning old people, neither should we assume age automatically confers positive attributes. Not every old person is wise. 

As in any demographic subset, there is great diversity. Still, it would be useful to remember such people as Arthur Rubenstein, who performed one of his greatest concerts at 89. Or John Glenn, who spent 11 days in space at age 77, while a U.S. Senator. How about Harry Bernstein, who was 96 when he published his first novel? Or Grandma Moses, who didn’t even start to paint until she was 75, then kept at it until she died at 101. Minarou Saito sailed solo and around the world at 77. The list goes on…

As far as our politicians are concerned, I believe there are too many in the older demographics, not because I am ageist, but because I believe a diversity of representatives that match the diversity of the people they serve would produce politicians likely to have a better understanding of a broader variety of issues. 

When it comes down to voting for president, I look at values and commitments. Would I rather have an 80-year-old who believes in mitigating climate change or a 50-year-old who favors more coal plants? 

Choose wisely, and not by age.

Karen Mulvahill is a writer living in northern Michigan.