This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism by Ashton Applewhite is published by Melville House UK for (£12.99). “Youth and age are different. Applewhite exposes the cost of the all-American myth of independence and critiques the portrayal of older people as burdens to society. It's not the passage of time that makes it so hard to get older. Advice and insights on starting a business. It’s a confusing and unnerving time in our world. Cloud (neither is open to the public) that take aim at challenging, identifying and eradicating ageism. “The fear of aging is cultural,” notes Applewhite. The anti-ageism activist wrote the book “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” and is a leading spokesperson in the movement against discrimination on basis of age. Ageism isn’t a problem or disease. She blogs at This Chair Rocks, speaks widely around the world, has written for Harper's and … “As it is now, women ‘compete’ to stay young, but all that does is reinforce ageism and sexism.”. Or as Ashton Applewhite points out, from that place, “the bull looks different.”, Applewhite, Next Avenue’s 2016 Influencer of the Year and the author of a new book, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, uses this analogy to describe a new perspective on aging “once you enter the ring.”. In this inspiring TED talk, author and activist Ashton Applewhite offers compelling evidence that we are likely to be every bit as vital in our old age as our younger selves. “People you’ve known all your life are going to die, and that’s why it’s so important to have younger friends,” she explains. My guest today, Ashton Applewhite, is on a lifelong crusade to combat ageism. "It is a natural, powerful, lifelong process that unites us all.”, Warning Signs to Watch for During a Holiday Visit, Equifax Breach: Protecting Personal Information, De-stress the Holidays for Caregivers and Seniors, Best Ways for Older Adults to Save for the Holidays. Ashton Applewhite is on a mission to dismantle ageism: both the discrimination we face and the kind we inflict on ourselves when we internalize negative myths and stereotypes. Internationally recognised expert and author on ageism Ashton Applewhite and Walkley Award winner Jane Caro today shared their perspectives on how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed ageist attitudes, ageism in employment, and what people can do to tackle this social injustice. Ageism isn’t a problem or disease. Ashton Applewhite. It's ageism, a prejudice that pits us against our future selves -- and each other. This month, Applewhite will be keynote speaker for two conferences in St. Paul and St. It's ageism, a prejudice that pits us against our future selves -- and each other. Ashton Applewhite spoke on ageism at Bioneers 2018, watch her keynote address here. That staying in the dark serves powerful commercial and political interests that don’t serve mine. In an interview with Next Avenue following the presentation, Applewhite went into more detail about discrimination, multi-generational friendships and age equity. ), based out of the University of Toronto and Ryerson University’s National Institute on … The effects add up over time and are further compounded by race and class, which is why the poorest of the poor and sickest of the sick, all around the world, are old women of colour. Reach her by email her at, Meeting the needs and unleashing the potential of older Americans through media, Next Avenue’s 2016 Influencer of the Year. “There are many societies where older members are venerated. Ageism, Applewhite continues, is not embedded in a Darwinian rejection of the less fit, or “because someone looks at older people and says, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to die soon, I can’t be near them.’” It is a societal construct of entrenched discrimination. Ashton Applewhite would like us to think differently about growing older. 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