Age

• Childhood- what are the general views?

  • Time of vulnerability, innocence, dependence- this views depending on culture
• Childhood- Postman

  • Argued the 'innocent child' was created after the spread of literacy enabled adults to protect their children from the horrors of adulthood
  • Argues the modern idea of childhood is being eroded because of the spread of media
• Childhood- Punch

  • Highlights that children in Bolivia are expected to work- proves age is a social construct
• Childhood- Aries

  • Experiences a child faces has changed over past 500 years- no longer expected to work, have better education and are more innocent and protected
• Youth- what are the general views?

  • Between 12-25 years old- marks the transition form childhood to adulthood
  • In some cultures, it is marked by a 'rite of passage'
  • In modern society, it is often stigmatized to be a problem time
• Youth- Clarke

  • Agrued youth is based on rebellion and resistance- stereotyped as a time of deviancy (due to low social status)
  • Often associated with popular culture- new fashions
• Youth- Cohen

  • Media exaggerates youth behaviour to make it newsworthy- youths are demonised
  • Portrays youths as social problems as they are labelled as 'folk devils'
• Youth- Willis

  • Argued most youth are 'ordinary' and do not partake in deviancy- it is simply a time of growing up
• Youth- Polemus (Postmodernist)

  • Youth is a time of experimentation- supermarket style of pick and mixing identity
  • Created an 'anything goes' cutlure
• Youth- Abrams

  • All young people are united by the same youth culture- at the same transitional stage of life
• Middle age- Victor

  • Associated with the 40s and 50s- even though there is no legal definition
• Middle age- Bradley

  • States that middle age is a higher status than youth or old age
  • Middle aged people hold the most power- like running the country or controlling the workplace
• Middle age- Becker

  • It is labelled as a negative time because youth is lost and old age is closer- associated with 'mid-life crisis'
• Old age- how is it generally viewed?

  • Differs between cultures- either see the elderly as wise or a burden
  • UK admires youth and finds ageing ugly and undesirable- socialises older people to view themselves in the same way
• Old age- Butler

  • Describes the discrimination against older people because of negative and inaccurate stereotypes
• Old age- Corner

  • Examined the negative language used towards the elderly in the media
  • They were labelled as a burden- the older audience then internalised this (links to Becker)
  • Described as a burden to the NHS and their family- suffer loneliness and ill health
• Old age- Hockey and James

  • Examined the infantilisation of the elderly in retirement homes
  • Found that the carers used the same language that you would use when talking to a child
  • Residents were treated as if they were vulnerable, helpless children- basic things like being bathed was decided for them
  • However, they did find that some residents were mocking their carers with internally childish behaviour (like sticking out their tongue)
• Old age- Clarke and Warren

  • View old age as a time of reflection and hope- positive outlook
  • This is because older people engage in younger activities- active ageing- so feel fitter
• Old age- McKinglsey

  • Argues there is a new category of young elders- because 85+ category is the fastest growing in UK
• Old age- Becker

  • Being labelled as a burden can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy- eventually can become an older individual's master status
• Changing age identities- Featherstone and Hepworth

  • Media images of ageing have been a source of negative stereotypes and identities
  • However, they are optimistic that as the population ages, more positive images may occur
• Changing age identities- Postmodernist view

  • Argue anti-ageing products and procedures have entered youth
  • Argue age is more fluid and less significant
• Changing age identities- trends

  • The popularity of 'retro-fashions' and comeback music tours of bands from the 70s and 80s have blurred the boundaries of ageing
• Middle age- Brannen

  • Youth was a time of informal care responsibilities
  • Middle age- you shoulder caring responsibilities and caring for children as well as elderly parents
• Old age- Parsons

  • Disengagement theory- elderly have less status, lose important role in the family, become isolated from children- this is socially constructed
• Children- Hockey and James

  • Stated children lack 'personhood' and are separated and excluded from the public and adult world
  • Found they are sent to spaces for children- like nursery and school
  • Seen to be the opposite of adults- they are dependent, vulnerable and innocent- need to be cared for
• As a social construct- Vincent

  • Variety of ways of being old- age is not biologically fixed
  • You may be 50 but dress and act younger- perhaps due to cosmetics or exercise which build one's identity