The third big -ism: On ageism and the meaning of age
In recent years, ageism on the labour market has been debated in Denmark. But the
labour market is only one of the places, where ageism appears. Through ethnographic fieldwork amongst older Danes (N=16), the article explores, how ageism is experienced amongst older Danes. The articles analyses how ageism is internalised and
becomes part of older people’s image of themselves. In many instances, ageism is
experienced as situated, subtle and acceptable, while in other instances, it is experienced as concrete, marginalising and structural. In the latter instances, this is often
on the labour market as well as regarding digitilisation, sexuality and the language
used about older people. The article illustrates the many appearances of ageism and
contributes to the discussion regarding how widespread it is, and what age means for
our ways of interacting.