(Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists
The increase in ageing populations has spurred predictions on the growth of a politically powerful old-age bloc. While their protest mobilizations have risen to reach youth standards, there is scarce scholarly evidence of the role of multiple identities in older activists’ involvement. We address th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Societies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/2/40 |
| _version_ | 1797434244682743808 |
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| author | Daniel Blanche-T. Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol |
| author_facet | Daniel Blanche-T. Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol |
| author_sort | Daniel Blanche-T. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increase in ageing populations has spurred predictions on the growth of a politically powerful old-age bloc. While their protest mobilizations have risen to reach youth standards, there is scarce scholarly evidence of the role of multiple identities in older activists’ involvement. We address this gap by interviewing activists in Iaioflautas, an older adults’ social movement emerging from the heat of the protest cycles in Spain in 2011. In-depth interviews with 15 members of varying levels of involvement revealed the paramount role of the movement in the identity construction of its participants. Iaioflautas endows a strong sense of collective identity based on intergenerational solidarity and enables to counter the culturally devalued identity of older adults and retirees. Whereas perceptions of widespread ageist stereotypes against older adults abound in this group, they omit to view the movement through an old-age identity politics lens. Furthermore, they reproduce ageist attitudes against age peers refraining from active involvement. This paradox suggests that the non-politicization of ageism restrains the development of a collective identity based on old age. We highlight how an increase in ageing populations might advance this issue in future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:29:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b89109fa24c3445ba8b867dd3b73e94c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:29:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-b89109fa24c3445ba8b867dd3b73e94c2023-12-01T21:24:14ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982022-03-011224010.3390/soc12020040(Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older ActivistsDaniel Blanche-T.0Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol1Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, SpainInternet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, SpainThe increase in ageing populations has spurred predictions on the growth of a politically powerful old-age bloc. While their protest mobilizations have risen to reach youth standards, there is scarce scholarly evidence of the role of multiple identities in older activists’ involvement. We address this gap by interviewing activists in Iaioflautas, an older adults’ social movement emerging from the heat of the protest cycles in Spain in 2011. In-depth interviews with 15 members of varying levels of involvement revealed the paramount role of the movement in the identity construction of its participants. Iaioflautas endows a strong sense of collective identity based on intergenerational solidarity and enables to counter the culturally devalued identity of older adults and retirees. Whereas perceptions of widespread ageist stereotypes against older adults abound in this group, they omit to view the movement through an old-age identity politics lens. Furthermore, they reproduce ageist attitudes against age peers refraining from active involvement. This paradox suggests that the non-politicization of ageism restrains the development of a collective identity based on old age. We highlight how an increase in ageing populations might advance this issue in future research.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/2/40activismageismIaioflautasidentityintergenerational solidaritypoliticization |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Blanche-T. Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists Societies activism ageism Iaioflautas identity intergenerational solidarity politicization |
| title | (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists |
| title_full | (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists |
| title_fullStr | (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists |
| title_full_unstemmed | (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists |
| title_short | (Non-)Politicized Ageism: Exploring the Multiple Identities of Older Activists |
| title_sort | non politicized ageism exploring the multiple identities of older activists |
| topic | activism ageism Iaioflautas identity intergenerational solidarity politicization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/2/40 |
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