Opinion/Editorial: Agism or Shallowness?

Written October, 2002.

            Throughout history, humankind has tried to defy nature or tailor it to our own liking.  We see this in our use of medicine to fight disease.  We see this in our use of heaters and air-conditioners to adjust temperature to our comfort. We see this in our creation of houses and buildings that can resist the elements of nature.  We have even managed to prolong the average human life span. Despite these accomplishments however, we have not been able to stop ourselves from growing old.  The best we’ve been able to do is to try to stop ourselves from looking old.  With creams, exercise and operations, people have been trying to get themselves to look younger.  These procedures cannot stop the inevitable however.  Appearing younger does not make one become younger.  As a result, the problem of aging always hangs over our heads.

               Ageism is defined by the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary as “prejudice or discrimination against a particular age group and especially the elderly.”  This is most apparent when examining movies and television and magazines.  It is in these mediums that we are constantly bombarded by young, good-looking people. Now, none of these claims are new or original.  However, are they still relevant?  Is ageism still a problem in the media, or has it slowly become ok to grow old?

            According to a study done by Washington College, ageism is still a large problem in North America, especially for women.  It says, “Only the very best looking older actresses with the best bodies are cast in television and film. Typically, “short”, “chubby”, and/or grey-haired women are only cast to play the comedic role. Older female news anchors are often fired or reassigned to lesser positions once they get “too old”. Ninety-seven percent of TV anchors over forty are male.”

            In contrast, according to John Lang of the of the Cincinnati Post, “Hollywood does seem to be at last reawakening to the charms of autumnal beauty, with so many women past 40 maintaining their appeal in the public mind.”  Lang lists actresses such as Rene Russo, Angela Basset, Patti LuPone and Annette Bening, all of whom are over 40 and still considered very attractive.

            So, is ageism on the rise, or on the decline?  I think when we get down to it, ageism isn’t the issue people are really complaining about.  Are there less older women in the media because they are old, or because they aren’t as physically attractive? There is a distinct difference here.  There are those who feel that older people deserve more prominent roles in television, but are there people feel that ugly people should have more prominent roles in television?  Have we seen campaigns for the integration of physically unattractive people into new movies or TV shows?  Not so much.

            The fact is older people are less physically attractive than younger people. It’s also true that older men are considered more attractive than older women. According to comedian and political commentator Bill Mahr, “Older men are, for some reason, still more attractive than older women.  And it wouldn’t be that way if you still didn’t want to fucking Sean Connery, so shut up.”  Mahr is correct.  This is not an issue of age; it’s an issue of physical beauty. It’s the belief that older people should still be considered sexy and attractive, even if we don’t think they are.

            Does the fact that shallowness prevails in our society excuse the ageism that is going on in the media?  No, of course not.  However, we need to realize that the problem here lies with obsession of physical beauty and not simply with age. We cannot address ageism without addressing the notions of physical beauty and attraction.  Mahr said it best when he said, “It's shallow to think you should be sexy forever... to want to be sexy forever.”

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