Overview
Aging and Ageism are issues that touch on Schlesinger Library’s intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. The term ageism was initially introduced in 1969 by physician, gerontologist, and psychiatrist Robert N. Butler, who served as the first Director of the National Institute of Aging. Although Butler, and many other social scientists, community groups, and individuals have generated greater awareness that a person's talents and abilities should not be restricted by age, long held biases and presumptions continue to shape societal views about aging. Like many libraries libraries and archival repositories, Schlesinger Library contains legacy finding aids and other public facing documents with outdated terminology, including those that describe older adults. Fortunately, as a special collections repository that actively promotes women’s history and activism, our holdings also include the papers of women who sought ways to counteract ageism, which is are well documented in firsthand accounts, personal papers and organizational records that describe efforts to provide material support , and advocacy. 1
Definition and background
Ageism is a catchall term that describes various forms of bias or prejudice faced by older people. According to past and present gerontology studies, prejudice directed toward older adults can be summarized in several ways:
1) Prejudicial attitudes toward older people, the aging process, and their age. It may include attitudes
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perpetuated by older individuals, institutions, and communities;
2) discriminatory practices against
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older adults, particularly in employment,
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social roles
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, and politics; and
3) institutional practices and policies which, often without malice, perpetuate
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stereotypical beliefs about older adults, reduce their opportunities for a satisfactory life, and undermine their personal dignity.2
Current studies by several age-focused organizations, including AARP and the umbrella organization Leaders of Aging Organizations (LAO), conclude that outdated terms such as seniors, the elderly, and the aged, reinforce stereotypical attitudes that equate aging with decline, isolation, depression, illness, and other physical limitations. This in turn perpetuates the view of older adults as “others.”23
In the following examples from our holdings, our methods for remediating outdated terminology found in archival finding aids, photograph captions, and Library of Congress subject headings are described. Exceptions to remediation include titles of organizations, institutions, geographical locations, or descriptions provided by the donor. Alternatives to these exceptions are included under Recommendations
Issues, examples, and recommendations:
Updating finding aids with modern terminology
Many of our legacy finding aids contain outdated language used to describe the aging process. Collections related to institutional care of older adults offer specific examples of how this language has changed over time. Donated in the late 1970s and processed in the early 1980s. These finding aids contain outdated terms such as “Old age,” and “Old Age Homes.” Other issues associated with legacy finding aids involve decisions about how to handle titles, which is discussed below.
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In comparison, Cambridge Home Records, processed in 2004, contains descriptive language and subject headings that reflect a more updated view of institutionalized care for older adults. (See also Controlled Access below).
Comparisons between photo captions, image, and current descriptive language
Many original photograph captions contain outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate language that refers to older adults as old, aged, or elderly.
EXAMPLE 2:
The The original inscription of this photograph reads“Brighton, old woman with cigarette, 1972..Fay, Irene [photographer] 1972.” A more complete, revised description takes into consideration uses human first language by eliminating a description based on age and indicating that her name is unknown: "Unidentified woman on a city street with a bus in the background.” For additional details see: https://images.hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1j77md3/HVD_VIAolvwork446617
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