Ageism refers to "an attitude of discrimination or segregation against older people" according to Le Larousse dictionary. Often described as contempt for age, it breeds negative attitudes toward seniors specifically, though today it applies across all age groups. Like sexism or racism, ageism drives prejudiced behaviors and discriminatory practices.
The term "ageism" was coined in 1969 by Robert Butler, a renowned American gerontologist. Initially, it described discrimination solely against older adults. In 1978, Butler refined it as: "a deep psychosocial disorder characterized by institutionalized prejudices, stereotypes, and the establishment of a distance and/or an avoidance vis-à-vis seniors."
As an expert on aging, Butler aimed to highlight how Western societies prioritize beauty, strength, and performance—qualities that diminish with age—fueling younger generations' fears and discriminatory actions toward seniors.
In France, ageism is now legally recognized as discrimination under the November 2016 law, Article 225-1: "constitutes discrimination any distinction made between natural persons on the basis of their origin, their sex, their family situation, their pregnancy, their physical appearance, the particular vulnerability resulting from their economic situation, apparent or known to its author, their surname, their place of residence, their state of health, their loss of autonomy, their disability, their genetic characteristics, their mores, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their age, their political opinions, their union activities, of their ability to express themselves in a language other than French, of their membership or non-membership, real or supposed, of an ethnic group, a Nation, an alleged race or a determined religion."
The concept has since broadened to include discrimination against younger people due to their age.
Ageism against seniors appears in everyday exclusionary behaviors, age-based prejudices, and institutional stereotypes.
In healthcare, it leads to undertreatment, justified by myths like "health issues are inevitable at that age" or "seniors burden the system." Overloaded emergency services often prioritize others over elderly patients based on such biases.
Media portrayal exacerbates it, rarely showing active seniors beyond nursing home stories tied to dependency or diseases like Alzheimer's, reinforcing harmful stereotypes.
In technology, assumptions that seniors can't grasp computers, tablets, or the internet discourage their inclusion, perpetuating exclusion.
