Quote:
Originally Posted by tomwed
You called us oldsters?
A new guide for journalists warns against using terms which discriminate against people of a certain age.
'Senior', 'fossil' and 'biddy' have been blacklisted by the lexicon of unacceptable phrases, which has been compiled by an international think tank.
Instead, people aged over 50 should be referred to as 'older people' or simply 'man' or 'woman' followed by their age, the guide suggests.
'Old ladies' of both the 'little' and 'sweet' variety are also to be avoided, according to the report.
The guide says it aims to help journalists report stories about "older people" in a "fair contemporary and unbiased" manner.
The authors of the report state that 80 per cent of older Americans have been subjected to ageist stereotypes. "While names and characterizations may vary, the message is the same: older men and women are incompetent and lack sufficiency," the guide states.
Journalists are advised: "If you need to identify individuals over the age of 50, 'older adults' is preferred over 'senior' and 'elderly', which can be discriminatory in nature.
I agree with you. I don't find any of the above words including oldster offensive. Although I'm not quite ready to call myself elderly.
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Reminds me of a friend's husband back home. He was a mechanic at the Cadillac dealership there and was telling us about some "elderly" lady that had come in. I asked him, "Pat, how old would you say she was?" He said, "Oh, about 40, I guess." I was in my mid-40's at the time, so I asked him if "elderly" meant me, too. He grinned and said, "No, I don't think of YOU as elderly." Several years later on a trip back to Amarillo, we ran into them in a restaurant. After our greetings, etc., I promptly asked him, "Pat, how does it feel being an "elderly" (40-something) person?"
