What's in a name? Identity. Names, such as our personal name or the name for our demographic identity or economic class help to define who we are within society. They're important, agreed? That's why I'm joining the bandwagon to stomp for thoughtful debate on new terms to describe those of us over 50. You know the names we've used for years; "seniors," "senior citizens" and, as we mature past middle age, "elderly." Do you identify with those terms? I don't. They're inaccurate and subject to stigma. Listen to this pushback on senior stigma from the Zimmers. We need names that reflect the vibrant variety in our g-g-generation not names that cause misunderstanding between generations and promote guitar bashing frustration.
We're a unique and active aging cohort living in a time when language and terms change rapidly. This is the right time to take control of how our lives are described. In these times many of us work well into our 70's or later. AARP realized that. They dropped their narrow organizational name, American Association of Retired People, for the simple acronym used today. This is no longer a world where 50 marks a jumping off point biologically either. New research, for instance, says forty isn't the new thirty---seventy is! Living longer and healthier with expanding human potential is a recent phenomenon that's changing our perception of evolutionary anthropology. In other words getting older isn't what it used to be. We're re-inventing the years past 50 and we need names that characterize this new reality. As Jack Rosenthal wrote in a piece called Wellderly, "language has not yet caught up with life."
Here's my suggestion:
Eliminate the name, "seniors""senior citizens" and "elderly" completely. Continue to refer to us simply as "adults," and use more targeted and less biased terms to specify age such as the "something" index ie- 50 something, 70 something or the + index ie- 50+, 90+ etc. Isn't it just as accurate (and maybe more so) to refer to a "50+ population" as it is to say "senior citizens?" What does the biased and stigmatized term "senior citizen" convey that can't be conveyed by the more objective "50+population"?
If we throw out "senior citizen" and "seniors" you might wonder where that leaves "senior discounts" "senior centers" "senior resources" and so forth? Offers of senior discount could easily be handled with age specific terms like "65+ discounts." In fact getting rid of the blanket terms "senior citizen" or "seniors" gives discounters more ability to target specific age ranges. They could get creative and have a 50% off for 50 somethings campaign for instance. Doesn't that seem less offensive, more flexible and easier to deal with? I'm the first to say I'm over 50 but I'm the last to acknowledge I'm a "senior citizen."
Essential senior resources, could be presented in the context of other age specific resources through something like the "Office of Human Development." We can replace the phrase "senior citizen resources" with "50+ resources" or "resources for age 50 and up." But an important part of this idea is to present 50+ resources alongside of resources for other stages of development. Why not look at age in this more wholistic way? Looking at older age as a progression rather than a condition could bring generations closer and break down the bias against older people.
And why not use the phrase "50 and up" as a catchphrase to identify senior centers and senior services too. I'd be 5 times more likely to walk into a place called "50 and up" as I would a senior center. How about you? Listen, we live in changing times. Businesses and organizations must change or risk becoming obsolete. We need resources and services as we age. To ensure that those resources can attract funders and consumers I think a name change is critical. It could rejuvenate those services and help them survive long into this century.
Please join me in talking to friends and relatives about changing the way we refer to our over 50 population. Use these new terms in your conversations with others. Get rid of the biased language of yesterday!
Update May 20 2013. The Administration on Aging, which oversaw resources for older Americans, appears to have migrated into the Administration for Community Living. I like the name of this agency but unfortunately our resources are now being grouped with those for Disability resources. This is the wrong direction with the right overarching name. Let's remove stigma from both disability and aging groups and start gathering resources for all stages of human development under the same umbrella.
