Let's end ageism
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 | Networked Books, 2016 | Book This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism My book explains where ageism comes from, describes the damage it does, shows what an all-age-friendly world might look like, and concludes with a call to action. You’ll find what one reader dubbed "lightbulb moments" on almost every page, and it’s fun to read. Don’t take my word for it; check out the reviews.



Margaret Morganroth Gullette | University of Chicago Press, 2011 | Book Agewise: Fighting the New Ageism in America Written by the renowned cultural critic who coined the term "age studies," this book that radicalized me by placing ageism in a social and economic context. Two favorite quotes: "Enticements to look younger—like enticements to look whiter or thinner—could finally be rejected as bigotry," and “Cultures truly interested in pleasure don’t romanticize inexperience.”

Margaret Cruikshank | Rowman & Littlefield, 2009 | Book Learning to Be Old: Gender, Culture, and Aging "Aging is a process socially constructed as a problem," writes age scholar Peg Cruikshank, who examines the class bias behind terms like "successful" and "productive" aging, debunks the myth that an aging population threatens the non-old, and critiques the medicalization of old age. We don’t reduce childhood and middle age to physical conditions; why do it later on?



Robert N. Butler | PublicAffairs, 2008 | Book The Longevity Revolution Geriatrician Bob Butler, who coined the term "ageism," won the Pulitzer Prize for his first book, Why Survive: Being Old in America. This book, his last, offers a social and economic blueprint for making the most of the 20th century’s longevity boom.

Generations, the Journal of the American Society on Aging | Fall 2015 | Article "Ageism in America: Reframing the Issues and Impact" Mainstream takes on ageism in the US today, how it affects our well-being and our wallets, and which research and policy agendas would reduce age discrimination.

