Is Old Age Natural or is it Socially Constructed - Essay Example

? Is Old Age Natural or is it Socially Constructed? Is Old Age Natural or is it Socially Constructed? Introduction As d by Job (1981: p.13), old age points at people who are sixty five years and over. It is considered the final stage in the life of a person associated with a decrease in both physical and mental features, as well as a decline in the social commitments such participation in sports among others. There are certain physical characteristics, which mark an individual as old e.g. balding, loss of teeth, lameness, gray hair, deafness, and hunched back. There has been a change in how the society thinks about old age, and as several contradictory messages about how age and ageing are viewed in the society. According to Williams (1984: p.111), the determining biological foundation of old age faces a lot of challenges due to lack of a simple relationship between chronological age and physical fitness, as well as the variability with which physical ageing articulates itself. However, according to the structured biological theory, most of the factors people associate with ageing result from social practices rather than physical ageing. Hence, as much as old age can be determined biologically, Hockey and James (2003: p.54) argue that its precise commencement varies historically and culturally; thus, it can be defined as a socially constructed phenomenon, rather than a biological stage. Therefore, this paper will critically analyze old age as social construct. The images of aging are said to exist in two levels; personal or one’s own point of view, and societal, which involves the perception of many people in the society. Job (1981: p.22) argues that for us to understand aging, it is imperious to understand that self-image is influenced by the aging, and the social image. This self-image refers to image of age that includes a person’s chronological age and subjective age. Subjective age refers to how old an individual feels and which age group they feel they belong. Discussion Old age is defined differently in different societies in which several factors are used to define the transition to old age such as retirement, ill health, chronological age, death of spouse, and mental and physical deterioration among others. According to various studies done, changes in physical health and social role such as retirement, grandparenthood and widowhood, lead the definition of old age identity (Victor, 1987: p.90). Moreover, studies have also revealed that some old people separate disability or illness from aging, although they believe that their age deteriorates due to old age, but their personality remains the same. Therefore, self-image remains unchanged while the subjective image of age remains unaltered. According to Victor (1987: p.94), the society may consider old age to be sixty to sixty five, but people of this age may feel they are not as old as others of the same age, which shows the difference between the self-image of the old people and the social image. The aged also view their selves depending on how the society perceives them, called the social image. This perception depends on the attitudes of the society towards the old people that are 4that are highly influenced by stereotypes. These attitudes can be unfavorable or favorable according to the stereotypes of the old people, which are reflected in the way they are treated by the social groups (Vincent, 2003: p.58). Hence, self-image is armored by interaction with other people in the social environment. Sociologists believe that the stages of life are socially constructed for two main reasons. These are how people experience childhood or other stages of life, which depend on several factors such as race, class, gender and ethnicity, and the stages of life that differ among the societies. In addition, Hockey and James (2003: p.61) argue that the personal or second hand view of old age by an individual is highly influenced by gender, family status, class or health. People who share the same cultural and economic tendencies over time go through similar experiences. According to Estes, Biggs and Phillipson (2003: p.120), how long a person lives depends on their social class; for instance, the higher the social class, the longer an individual lives. He argues that people who belong to the high social class have access to better medical care, nutrition, sanitation, and housing; thus, fewer devastating illnesses than individuals who belong to the low social class. In addition, the higher the social class, the higher the number of friends and social contacts; hence, the less likely an individual will describe his/herself as old, and the higher the likelihood of adjusting to retirement than those individuals who belong to the low class. Moreover, Weller and Tattan (2007: p.211) states that people who belong to the high social class experience few residential moves, more time for leisure, more life satisfaction, and more confident self-rated health. Therefore, according to the society, the higher the socio-economic status of a person, the healthier and longer, they are likely to live (Shilling, 2008: p.107). As stated by Pickard (2009: p.65), people construct the social world through getting involved in it, as well as being the other for it. Although otherness is more powerful in the construction of an object of knowledge, it is mainly based on perception. Thus, young people define old age, not through experience, but by their own perceptions i.e., they perceive what other people in the society have produced and then they reproduce it. Moreover, Hockey and James (1993: p.32) claim that socially constructed old age can be divided into two parts: how old age is socially constructed among the old people, and among the non-old people. In most societies where cultures are neither traditional nor modern, but are somewhere in the middle, the status of old people is perceived in many different ways; for instance, in Turkey, old people are highly respected as expected in their traditions, but they are said to be unproductive especially in industries where production prevails. This is because the Turkish society was tremendously agricultural; hence, wisdom and experience that were gained through living for long years were considered precious. However, in the modern society, experience and wisdom are gained through education; thus, the old people no longer have the power regardless of how long they have lived. For this reason, old people despite been respected and cared for they are not recognized as social agents (Gierveld and Dykastra, 2008: p.90). Moreover, in the United States, old age is defined as anybody aged sixty five years and beyond. This is because, in the Social Security Act of 1935, 65 years is stated as the ideal age of retirement. Additionally, the old people were considered to be best socially; hence, they were wise and required a lot of respect. They were also said to have a lot of power since they owned most of the land compared to the young people. Therefore, it is quite clear that the society has adopted a social system, which gives the old people the most wealth, power and prestige. However, the many changes in a culture that are highly associated with industrial societies have forced people to dismiss the skills and knowledge of old people as irrelevant to the lives of the young people (Morall, 2009: p.23). According to Kelly and Field (1996: p.176), social world is a semantic zone that is constructed through language. Therefore, old age literature is highly influential on how old age is constructed. In the early 20th century, several conventional gerontological theories arose such as the functionalist theory, and the disengagement theory among others. The disintegrate theory was first developed by Cumming and Henry in 1961. This theory states that both the aged and the society separate from each other for the happiness of everyone. However, in contrast to this theory, the activity theory states that the active old people likely to satisfy (Kelly and Field (1996: p.189). Age stratification can be defined as the segregation, differences, and inequalities that occur through the course of life. It determines how jobs, education and others opportunities and resources are assigned in the society. For this reason, it limits the opportunities and roles that the old people get. For instance, in America, people assume that, at fourteen years, children should be in school, at thirty, they should be married, and at sixty five, individuals are expected to retire from employment. These perceptions about age create a lot of problems for people in all age groups, in the society, although old people are likely to face a lot of suffering than the young ones. However, the society no-longer considers thirty years as the cut-off point, but forty years for a person to marry and start a family. Nevertheless, with the latest developments in liberal views medical technology, the society may not consider people to be too old to get married and start a family at any age. In addition, according to Pound, Gompertz and Ebrahim (1998: p.160), a person was said to enter old age by the society after they retired from paid employment. However, the high level of unemployment today, as well as early retirement, old age has been broadly defined. Also, these days’ people are living longer and healthier lives; thus, they appear younger than their real age. Old age is clearly revealed as a social construct in the workplace. Workplace discrimination is a common practice especially for people aged forty five years and beyond. In 1997, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was passed in order to protect workers from unequal employment practices in terms of age (Kearl (1976: p.102). However, workers aged forty five years and beyond still experience discrimination of many forms in the workplace. Gierveld and Dykastra (2008: p.90) claim that this is because many employers feel that young workers have the ability and fewer health issues, as well as they are highly motivated compared to old people. Thus, this behavior of the employers has influenced the society into believing that old people are less productive than their younger counterparts. According to Rosenthal, Matthews-Martin and Keefe (2007), the way the society perceives ageing prevents old people from attending age-related functions. For instance, a certain festival, which was held, in London that focused on the exclusion of old people over fifty years from employment and other opportunities, as well as discrimination in the workplace. This festival was both informative and entertaining to everyone including wine-tasting, pre-retirement workshop, among others. However, contrary to the expectation, out of the four thousand people who attended the festival, only twenty five percent were aged 50-60 years old. Thus, Estes, Biggs and Phillipson (2003: p.113) claim that the negative stereotypes of old age affect how the old people relate with others in the society. Additionally, the media also plays a role in stereotyping the old people negatively. For example, a certain magazine that featured Joan Collins; the caption stated that 67 year-old Joan Collins was the world’s most recognized women. The caption also read that Joan Collins was a successful actress, author, entrepreneur, and producer; she was married four times with children and a grandchild. In this case, her age is stated in order to discredit her youthful looks and her ability to be an entrepreneur since this is not many would expect of a person of her age. However, according to Joan, no one can stop her/himself from growing old, but they can prevent getting old, which requires a lot of work (Johnson (2005: p.92). Moreover, getting old is described as an undesirable trait in the society today, and the young people are encouraged to avoid it at all cost. For instance, in the media such as the television, old people are often referred to as wrinkles, senile, grannies and many others. In fact, Hockey and James (1993: p.56) argue that anything old is described as derogatory. The negative images of old people surround us always, which makes it hard for the society to view aging positively. The only problem is that people are aware that ageism exists, but they do not want to challenge it the same way they do with sexism or racism. Many people in the society perceive old age as a stage of life with regards to their experiences and attitudes in life and beliefs while ageing is considered a process. Both the perceptions and experiences of aging are quite significant for the old people, and the middle aged because they relate to their health, behavior, self-identity, and well-being. These perceptions refer to the different ways the old and middle-aged people conceive the ageing process and experience their own evolution to old age. According to Pound, Gompertz and Ebrahim (1998: p.165), how a person develops their own perceptions and experiences of ageing involves a dynamic process that refers to social norms, self and interplay, as well as reflects how they internalize such social norms. According to a number of researchers the stereotypes associated with aging often turn into aging self-stereotypes that influence the conceptions of old people. In most western countries, this is an essential issue due to the prominence of an ageist model, which considers old age as a negative stage that old people must confront every day of their lives (Clark, 2001: p.50). Additionally, desired age and self-perceived age are both measurements of the person’s age identity and perceptions that are said to be socially constructed. The desired age can be defined as an individual’s age preference, which refers to the amount of their acceptance that they are becoming old and their reconciliation to it. The self-perceived age refers to the future expectations and an individual’s own personal ageing model (Fennell, Phillipson and Evers, 1988: p.16). Thus, the perceptions of people about when middle age ends and old age starts define their perceptions about age and their personal definition of old age. These are based on the cultural and individual beliefs and norms and shows people’s personal judgment on the stages of life and its key turning points. Negative stereotypes usually lead to discrimination and prejudice against the old people. According to Johnson (2005: p.100), ageism is defined as a process of organizing stereotyping and discrimination of the old people. However, currently ageism refers to discrimination or prejudice, which favors the old people, as well. The negative image also includes a set of behavioral prescriptions that defines what people do or do not do. The old people are expected to be forgetful, unproductive, asexual and intellectually rigid among others, but they respond to these expectations variedly. Hillier and Barrow (2010: p.78) claim that the aged respond differently to these expectations and prescriptions such as denial, acceptance, reform or avoidance. However, old people who accept the negative image from the society act old and even appear older than others of the same age even if it is conflicting with their personality. Different societies have different opinions on old age. For instance, the pension minister in Britain argues that fifty nine is not old. This because according to a large-scale European research done in Britain, Britons believe that old age begins earlier than in other countries, in Europe. Only the Turks perceive old age as beginning earlier than others (at 55) while the Greeks believe that old age starts at sixty eight (Bourdelais, 1998: p.54). Moreover, the UK News stated that the study of attitudes to age in about twenty eight European countries such as Sweden, France, Holland, Russia, Poland and Norway among others starts from sixty to sixty five (Gierveld and Dykastra, 2008: p.90). In addition, the study showed that, in Britain, people are no longer considered as young at thirty five years while, in Germany and Cypriots, people stop being considered as young at forty three and fifty one respectively (Rosenthal, Matthews-Martin and Keefe, 2007: p.33). Most countries in the west have a retirement age of about sixty five, but they have gradually pushed it upwards. Bury and Gabe (2004: p.123) claim that Germany was the first nation to introduce pensions for the aged people, as well as set retirement age at seventy. However, Bourdelais (1998: p.56) argues that it would be essential to raise the retirement age since people are now living healthier and longer lives than before. He suggest that the best way would be to increase the retirement age to about seventy years, but still be aware that some people between the age of sixty five and seventy should be eligible to receive a sickness benefit. Estes, Biggs and Phillipson (2003: p.127) state that how the society thinks about a person influences how we perceive them, which in turn influences their behavior towards them. In addition, how we behave towards them shapes who they are. This is called the maximum of social psychology, which deals with the social patterns of age segregation in the society (Fennell, Phillipson and Evers, 1988: p.23). The young people rarely interact with the old ones because they are always segregated in schools, youth organizations and many others. For this reason, young people do not have any significant interactions with the old people except in their family; thus, they lack proper knowledge about them, which leads to negative stereotyping of the old people in the society. Moreover, a study conducted by the Center on Aging at the University of Maryland in the mid-1970s revealed that children lacked enough knowledge about old people and had negative attitudes towards them. Out of the 189 children who participated, only 39 were able to mention an old person they knew outside their family (Bury and Gabe, 2004: p.123). For this reason, the study proved that the young people are likely to perceive old people negatively due to lack of interaction with them, which also influences the perception of the rest of society. Conclusion In conclusion, old age can be described as a social construct rather than a natural or biological process because most of the factors that people associate with ageing result from social practices rather than physical ageing. Factors such gender, family status, class and health highly influence the personal or second hand view of old age by an individual. Additionally, people who share the same cultural and economic tendencies over time go through similar experiences. The social class of a person determines how long they live e.g. the higher the social class, the longer an individual lives (Clark, 2001: p.42). This is because people who belong to the high social class have access to better medical care, nutrition, sanitation, and housing; thus, fewer devastating illnesses than individuals who belong to the low social class. 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