We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Mehkejše izrazoslovje ali na starosti utemeljena socialna varnost.
- Authors
Gerdina, Otto
- Abstract
Although most of the terms we use to describe old people are appropriate in everyday vocabulary, their commonality can make them ageist. Ageism goes largely unnoticed in our culture, despite its high prevalence, and the unreflective use of language contributes to this. In Slovenia, since 2019, there has been a growing debate on the need for a more thoughtful use of language to describe old age, as evidenced by the increasing number of discussion panels, journalistic articles and institutional responses on the terminology used to address old people. The way we talk about old people affects not only how we see them, but also how they are treated in policies, legislation, what practices are put in place in the provision of formal care and how old people experience the world. The paper places the debate on addressing old people in a socio-political context and challenges the increasingly common claim that the softer label of older people is the only appropriate label to refer to old people. Through the dilemmas related to the very definition of old age and the hierarchical classification of life stages in terms of a work ethic that values human life according to its role in the production process, the paper argues that the term older people is not unproblematic. It rescues the able, active, largely independent and healthy old people from negative age stereotypes, while leaving those who are unable or unwilling to pursue the ideals of efficiency, productivity and independence out of the picture. Moreover, it brings the old people closer to middle age, opening up the potential space for the removal of many existing old-age protections.
- Publication
Kakovostna Starost, 2023, Vol 26, Issue 2, p3
- ISSN
1408-869X
- Publication type
Article