An important point is that older people participate actively in learning and remembering. Although perceptual and motor decrements clearly may inhibit the ability of persons to adapt to psychosocial stress, they are not crucial in most situations. Even declines in speed of intellectual, cognitive, and problemsolving as determined largely from laboratory experiments or standardized tests, may not be so critical in adapting to real life situations where quality of response is much more important than speed or quantity.
Due to this stereotype there is often a bias against starting an older worker in a long-term developmental career path or even a short-term training program. Organizational gatekeepers for the amount of time in which the organization can profit from the investment is too short to warrant starting the process Finally, although the media often treat older individuals' sexuality with humor, there are many older people who keep healthy and fit, exercise, engage in sports and have good sexual lives with their partners.
Homophobia is the hatred or fear of homosexuals - that is, lesbians and gay men - which, in its worst form, may sometimes lead to acts of violence and expressions of hostility, but normally results in stereotyping and oppression. Homophobia is not confined to any one segment of society, and can be found in people from all walks of life.
A study by Madon shows how some stereotypes change over time. The study found results consistent with past research on the male stereotype. For example, gay males were perceived as talkative, gentle, fashionable,...
Both the current study and earlier ones found that people judged gay males as sensitive and individualistic. Finally, the current study found that individuals saw gay males as liberal and different.
However, the present research also found that the gay male stereotype included characteristics not previously identified. Many of these were behaviors and physical traits. For example, gay men were seen to engage in anal sex, be open about their feelings, melodramatic, artsy looking, and to wear earrings. Other attributes were counter-stereotypic of gay men, such as they are perceived to not act macho, pick fights, or hunt animals.
References
Bytheway, B., and Johnson, J. On defining ageism. Critical Social Policy, (1993). 29, 27-39.
Butler, R. Ageism: Another form of bigotry. The Gerontologist,(1969) 9, 243-246.
Featherstone, Mike and Wernick, Andrew Wernick Images of Aging: Cultural Representations of Later Life NY:Routledge, 1995
Frye, Marilyn the Politics of Reality Trumansburg, N.Y.,: The Crossing Press, 1983.
Fugate, Lois and Lamdin, Lois Elderlearning: New Frontier in an Aging Society
NY:Oryx Press, 1997
Hummert, Mary Lee, and Nussaum, Jon F. Communication, and Health: Linking Research and Practice for Successful Aging. NY: Erlbaum Associates, 2001
Madon, Stephanie. What Do People Believe about Gay Males? A Study of Stereotype Content and Strength. A Journal of Research (1997), 37.
Mohan, Brij. Eclipse of Freedom: The World of Oppression Praeger Publishers, 1993.
