Combatting Ageism: How Successful is Successful Aging?

• In Event: 349 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables. Table 01. Ageism and Resistance

Abstract

The concept of successful aging, most recently elaborated in the work of Rowe and Kahn (1998), has been highly influential, spawning a wealth of studies, media attention, and public programs geared at paving the way for “individuals to continue to function effectively, both physically and mentally, in old age” (p. xii). Promoting individual choices as lifestyle as the route to successful aging, Rowe and Kahn offer this paradigm as a counter to ageism and the negative discourse of disease and decrement in later life. This study examines the extent to which these goals have been met. Specifically, I use in-depth interviews conducted among 19 men and women to explore the extent to which they are familiar with this newer, more positive discourse of successful aging, whether they felt personal responsibility and ability to achieve this, and the degree to which this paradigm has diminished their fears about aging and ageism. Findings indicate that respondents were familiar with the construct, and that they believed that they could and should control their aging. At the same time, their comments suggest that they have preserved the discourse of decrement and decline, and that ageism has not been challenged but instead heaped upon those not aging successfully. I suggest, in addition, that because of the emphasis on personal responsibility for aging successfully, ageism is both legitimated and intensified as individuals become accountable for their situations.

Author

• Toni Calasanti, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University