Baby Boomers: Are Stereotyped Attitudes of the Elderly Changing?

	Stereotyping labels groups or individuals by applying similar characteristics to set them apart. Stereotyped attitudes of the elderly define what is supposed to be true about the elderly. “Elderly” is defined by the Encarta Dictionary^1 as past middle age and approaching the later stages of life. When people of different ages are asked to define” elderly,” their response is directly related to the age of the person being asked. The younger a person is the younger the age that they identify as being elderly. Children and teenagers may identify a person as being old at 30, while college students think 50 is old. A Baby Boomer will define elderly as being over 71. The older one gets, the older old becomes. As the Baby Boomer generation approaches old age, stereotypes of the elderly are changing. Some of the stereotypical characteristics attributed to the elderly are: poor memory and recall, grumpy, incompetent, sickly, frail, retired, less productive at work and sedentary. The media, especially television and movies, help to continue these stereotypes. They portray older people as incompetent, impotent and not physically active by advertising emergency assistance devices, wheelchairs, nursing homes and drugs such as Viagra. Already the Baby Boomer generation is more active than people over 60 have ever been. The “Baby Boomer” generation is going to change this. Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. Currently, they make up 26% of the population. By the year 2030, they will still make up 20% of the total population. They are going to be a driving force in the change in stereotypes of the elderly. They continue to work longer and they are healthier than previous generations. During the past summer in Louisville, Kentucky, over 12000 qualified athletes ages 50 and older competed in the 2007 Summer National Senior Games. Eighteen different sports including Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Cycling, Golf, Horseshoes, Race Walk, Racquetball, Road Race, Shuffleboard, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Track and Field, Triathlon, and Volleyball were contested. In order to compete in these games, the 12,000 athletes had to qualify by competing in one of the 350 local and regional games. Over 250,000 active mature adults competed and attempted to qualify. The oldest athletes in the some of the sports were: Triathlon (Women -82, Men- 85), Swimming (Women-95, Men- 95), Track and Field (Women- 96, Men- 96). In Bowling there was a man who was over 100 years old. The age groups with the largest number of athletes were 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69 and 70-74 years old. Many event records were set, some that will stand for years by these athletes. While the examples stated here are outside the age range for Baby Boomers, the ages of these athletes demonstrates where people are heading as they age. The “Elderly” are no longer sitting at home. They are active. The Baby Boomer generation is going to change the stereotype that the older one gets, the less physically active one is. In the late 1960’s, when Baby Boomers were in their late teens and early 20’s, they were the generation who promoted free love, demonstrated against war, burned their bras, and worked hard to make sure that everyone is able to continue to enjoy the freedoms that living in the United States afford us. This is the generation who said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30!” At that age and time, being 30 was old! People over 30 were the people in power making decisions about the lives of people in their teens and early 20’s. Decisions were made about the Military Draft, minimum voting age and minimum drinking age. The people in the Baby Boomer generation made an impact on changing these laws. Now the Baby Boomers are well over 30. The youngest are in their early 40’s. The oldest have just reached the age where they can begin to collect Social Security. The Baby Boomer generation is known for making the decision to be different and to challenge the establishment. As the Baby Boomer generation aged, most have settled down, married and become part of the establishment that they challenged to change by getting jobs, marrying and having children. They even changed the drinking age back to 21 after they enjoyed it when it the age was 18. Their rebellious youth remains with them, and they refuse to grow old gracefully. They do not think of themselves as old. One of the biggest issues the National Senior Games has is its name. By using the word “Senior” in the name, many active older adults refuse to identify with this organization. After all, they do not consider themselves to be seniors. They do not consider themselves to be old and frail, as the word implies. They are active, older adults and they are, once again, changing the perception of what being elderly means. Works Cited A Profile of American Baby Boomers. Westport, CT 06880: MetLife Mature Market Institute, 2006. 30 Sep. 2007 <http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/86451660901172586182V1FBoomerProfile2007.pdf>. Cuddy, Amy J. C., Michael . Norton, and Susan T. Fiske. This Old Stereotype: The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Elderly Stereotype. Princeton, NJ: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Princeton University. 30 Sep. 2007 <http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/cuddy%20norton%20fiske%202005.pdf >. Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition. Microsoft Corporation, 2007. 30 Sep. 2007 <http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861607746/elderly.html?partner=orp>. 2007 National Senior Games Results. Louisville: National Senior Games , 2007. 30 Sep. 2007 <http://www.2007seniorgames.org/page.php?id=36>. Word Count: 904