The Elderly –
• Class, ethnicity and gender as factors affecting the experience and status of childhood, youth and older age
groups.
• Debates about the social position and status of the elderly in different societies.
• ‘The elderly are a unique group within society.’ Explain and assess this view [25 marks]
• ‘The elderly are a disadvantaged group within society.’ Explain and assess this view.
• ‘Elderly people have a low status in the family in all societies’. Explain and assess this view. [25]
1. The Cross-Cultural Perspective!
• Pilcher argues that the social meanings attached to being ‘old’ and the position/ status of the elderly in society varies from one
society to another for a range of reasons including the type of social organization, the value of the skills and knowledge of the
elderly and cultural attitudes towards death and afterlife.
• As for the first point, the elderly may be judged in terms of their contribution to the social organization. For instance, Nomadic
societies do not greatly value the elderly because their fragility makes them a burden when moving from one place to another.
Thus, the elderly may be abandoned or even encouraged to commit suicide for the good of the social group. However, non-
nomadic societies tend to value the elderly since they may be able to make a greater contribution to society.
• The position of the elderly is also affected by how much society values their supposed skills and knowledge. In pre-literate
societies where culture and skills are passed by word of mouth, the old may be valued for their knowledge and wisdom. For
instance, Native American societies such as the Sioux and the Cheyenne tended to value the elderly highly. However, in post-
modern societies the experience of the elderly can be seen as more obsolete. This is because more people are increasingly
literate and knowledge can be passed on through written sources. Thus, the elderly tend to have a lower status.
Functionalist perspective on age: the loss of social roles.
• The Functionalist Parsons noted that the elderly have less status in US society than in most other types of society. Once
children have grown up and men have retired, the elderly lose their most important social roles. In addition, they may be
relatively isolated from their children, who tend to focus more on their marriage partners and their own children than they
do on their parents.
2. Variations within societies:
• The social positon of the elderly in modern societies is not simply a function of age but is complicated by concepts of class,
gender and ethnicity. To be ‘old and wealthy’ represents a different social position than to being ‘old and poor.’ In the same
way, elderly men have greater social status than elderly women.
Conflict theory: age stratification theory:
• Conflict perspectives see age as another aspect of stratification along with social class, ethnicity and gender.
• John A. Vincent argues that age is an important form of stratification in society. The significance of age varies between
societies and over time, and the experiences of ageing depends on social class, gender and ethnicity.
Gender:
• Arber & Ginn note that sexism and ageism can combine to make the experiences of older women very difficult and different
from older men. They found that in Britain older women were more commonly than men characterized as slow, stupid,
unhealthy and dependent.
• John A. Vincent shows how old people, especially working class women, are more likely to be poor than other age groups. The
value of old age pension has declined since 1979, and women who work part-time or in low-paid jobs may have restricted
entitlements to pensions. At the same time women live longer so have more years of dependency upon pensions.
• Similarly, Sara Arber and the feminist Linda R. Gannon both note that women tend to be materially disadvantaged/are more
likely to experience poverty compared to men because they tend to be paid less and have more caring responsibilities which
also means that women are less likely to have built up an entitlement to an adequate occupational pension. Arber notes that
in 2001, 24% of women over 65 who were not married were receiving income support, compared to 15% of men.
• Arber also argues that women live longer than men and their spouse may die before them so they are more likely to have
caring responsibilities but are less likely to have a partner to care for them if they are ill or disabled. Thus, they’re more likely
to live in residential care homes than elderly men.
• Class, ethnicity and gender as factors affecting the experience and status of childhood, youth and older age
groups.
• Debates about the social position and status of the elderly in different societies.
• ‘The elderly are a unique group within society.’ Explain and assess this view [25 marks]
• ‘The elderly are a disadvantaged group within society.’ Explain and assess this view.
• ‘Elderly people have a low status in the family in all societies’. Explain and assess this view. [25]
1. The Cross-Cultural Perspective!
• Pilcher argues that the social meanings attached to being ‘old’ and the position/ status of the elderly in society varies from one
society to another for a range of reasons including the type of social organization, the value of the skills and knowledge of the
elderly and cultural attitudes towards death and afterlife.
• As for the first point, the elderly may be judged in terms of their contribution to the social organization. For instance, Nomadic
societies do not greatly value the elderly because their fragility makes them a burden when moving from one place to another.
Thus, the elderly may be abandoned or even encouraged to commit suicide for the good of the social group. However, non-
nomadic societies tend to value the elderly since they may be able to make a greater contribution to society.
• The position of the elderly is also affected by how much society values their supposed skills and knowledge. In pre-literate
societies where culture and skills are passed by word of mouth, the old may be valued for their knowledge and wisdom. For
instance, Native American societies such as the Sioux and the Cheyenne tended to value the elderly highly. However, in post-
modern societies the experience of the elderly can be seen as more obsolete. This is because more people are increasingly
literate and knowledge can be passed on through written sources. Thus, the elderly tend to have a lower status.
Functionalist perspective on age: the loss of social roles.
• The Functionalist Parsons noted that the elderly have less status in US society than in most other types of society. Once
children have grown up and men have retired, the elderly lose their most important social roles. In addition, they may be
relatively isolated from their children, who tend to focus more on their marriage partners and their own children than they
do on their parents.
2. Variations within societies:
• The social positon of the elderly in modern societies is not simply a function of age but is complicated by concepts of class,
gender and ethnicity. To be ‘old and wealthy’ represents a different social position than to being ‘old and poor.’ In the same
way, elderly men have greater social status than elderly women.
Conflict theory: age stratification theory:
• Conflict perspectives see age as another aspect of stratification along with social class, ethnicity and gender.
• John A. Vincent argues that age is an important form of stratification in society. The significance of age varies between
societies and over time, and the experiences of ageing depends on social class, gender and ethnicity.
Gender:
• Arber & Ginn note that sexism and ageism can combine to make the experiences of older women very difficult and different
from older men. They found that in Britain older women were more commonly than men characterized as slow, stupid,
unhealthy and dependent.
• John A. Vincent shows how old people, especially working class women, are more likely to be poor than other age groups. The
value of old age pension has declined since 1979, and women who work part-time or in low-paid jobs may have restricted
entitlements to pensions. At the same time women live longer so have more years of dependency upon pensions.
• Similarly, Sara Arber and the feminist Linda R. Gannon both note that women tend to be materially disadvantaged/are more
likely to experience poverty compared to men because they tend to be paid less and have more caring responsibilities which
also means that women are less likely to have built up an entitlement to an adequate occupational pension. Arber notes that
in 2001, 24% of women over 65 who were not married were receiving income support, compared to 15% of men.
• Arber also argues that women live longer than men and their spouse may die before them so they are more likely to have
caring responsibilities but are less likely to have a partner to care for them if they are ill or disabled. Thus, they’re more likely
to live in residential care homes than elderly men.
