Age (40)

Question 1

Stratification

Answer 1

Stratification describes the way in which different groups of people are placed within society.

Question 2

Ageism

Answer 2

Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age.

Question 3

Three Dimensions of Ageism (Butler)

Answer 3

1. ) Prejudical Attitudes
2. ) Discriminatory Actions
3. ) Institional Ageism

Question 4

The Young

Answer 4

+More choice in what they can do through subject choice
+Less Responsibilities/Disposable income (materialistic)
-Limited Experience means limited work options
-Cheap Secondary Sector positions can lead to exploitation

Question 5

Middle-Aged

Answer 5

+More stable as have both jobs and houses

• Limited part-time work options if they have children as they are given to the young
• Trapped between two dependent generations

Question 6

The Elderly

Answer 6

+More valuable as seen to have more experience

• Limited due to physical health
• Live in poverty due to the pension crisis
• Too old for certain jobs
• Retirement Age is increasing and Job discrimination is increasing as well

Question 7

Ageing Population

Answer 7

• 1/6 of the UK population 65+ and by 2015 it will be 1/4
• An increasing amount of taxpayer money going to elderly services
• 3.2 working people for every pensioner in 2008 but it is expected to fall to 2.8 in 2033

Question 8

Age Discrimination

Answer 8

• While the Equality Act 2010 protects from age discrimination at work or when applying for a job, but an exception in the law which applies to age discrimination only. An employer can make a decision based on someone’s age if they can show that it is objectively justified and proportionate.
• Young People are paid less than the minimum wage. Currently, under-18s are entitled to a minimum wage of £4.35 per hour, compared with £8.21 for over-25s.
• Discrimination occurs at the start and end of life but not the middle

Question 9

Functionalism

Answer 9

• Ageing is the transition from one life to another. Inequality is fair to maintain consensus in society
• Parsons: Institutions in society is to maintain stability. Certain age groups, norms and values that could threaten stability, (rebellious youth/dependent elderly)
• The consensus in society is maintained by the continuous socialisation of norms and values of different generations
• Parsons’ work is often remembered by the analogy of a bridge, youth culture being a bridge from childhood to adulthood.
• Institutions in society such as the formal and informal agents of social control are set up to then deal with these actions, to show young people how to behave and thus grow into functional adults. This stage of life allows for mistakes to be made and lessons to be learnt. For example, a young person will be sanctioned for truanting school; this then allows them to become a member of society who understands the importance of attending work on a daily basis.

Question 10

Functionalism: Eisenstadt

Answer 10

• Differential age groups learn new roles that lead to further cohesion and solidarity in society.
• In her briefing paper Grandparents Providing Child Care, Statham (2011) was commissioned by the Department of Education to look into this role that so many do take up.
• Stated children have less status than adults and that they should be socialised into there adult roles over time to maintain harmony

Question 11

Functionalism: Cummings and Henrey

Answer 11

• Looking specifically at the elderly
• The disengagement theory: Age inequality starts with the idea that all people will die. People’s abilities deteriorate. As this process happens, there is a need (individual and society) for the individual to be relieved of their responsibilities and roles.
• A functionalist would recognise that people leaving their role in society causes a gap that must be filled for social stability to be maintained. A process of disengagement helps to manage that possible social instability.
• Retirement age allows a managed disengagement, allowing others to take on the roles off the elderly

Question 12

Functionalism: Evidence that YA have lower status

Answer 12

18 to 21-year-olds earn an average of £1,300 per month compared to £2,500 for 40-49-year-olds (Instant Offices 2016)

Question 13

Criticisms of Functionalism

Answer 13

• Vincent argues young applicants are passed off for older candidates/’Resevrse Discrimination’/Young people are more ambitious
• Critique is their assumption of homogeneity when looking at society and inequality. Not all elderly people deteriorate at the same age, or at all.
• Ignoring the negative experience of ageing; not all elderly people are able to take on a new role and stay happy and fulfilled, and not all youth will be successfully guided by the agents of socialisation and may not leave deviant behaviour behind.

Question 14

The New Right

Answer 14

• Saunders states society is meritocratic. It is unequal but fair
• Any inequality is due to a lack of hard work/Thier fault for not saving for there future
• Lack of homes due to elderly staying in there 4 bedroom houses when their children move out
• Critical about dependency on the state for pensions and social care
• The disparity is justified. As they are less skilled so are paid less. Claim the existence of the Welfare State means them is no incentive to work or work harder to obtain higher financial rewards. Needs are met by the state. Parental support. Murray argued excessive government intervention to try and alleviate poverty by providing benefits has led to a dependency culture whereby groups such as the unemployed and lone parents were rewarded for irresponsible behaviour. (Not looking for work or kids outside of marriage)

Question 15

TNR: Supporting Stats

Answer 15

• In 2016 2/5 of the NHS budget was spent on the over 65s
• Research conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies. Found the Average pay had fallen over the last decade but most sharply for YA at 22%

Question 16

TNR Criticisms

Answer 16

• Victim Blaming/Some need assistance/TNR use political power to push through the Bedroom Tax (Reduction in housing benefit to those with a spare room) to get people to downsize. In 2016, it was announced that the penalty would be extended to old people despite the government promising to protect the elderly from benefit cuts.
• Age UK said: “Imposing the cap on older tenants will not only cause them anxiety and distress, but it is also pointless given the lack of affordable housing options available to them”.
• Inequality is not a good thing and by cutting pensions it would increase it. The implying system would prevent costs as lack of food and heat contribute to high illness rates. 16% are already in poverty.

Question 17

Marxism

Answer 17

• Age is a social construction created by the captalist to justify exploitation
• Youth is both an asset due to the energy and new skills that they can provide, such as technological skills. They lack skills and experience, they can also be a cheap source of labour due to lower minimum wages.
• The elderly providing free childcare is good for capitalism as it means that the young and able will be able to work.
• The basis of the idea is that some members of society are a secondary source of labour. Marx stated that this was either unemployed or the under-employed: the young and the elderly.
• Used at boom times as temporary or flexible labour. -‘zero-hours contracts’, no pensions and sick pay. Reserve for work are more likely to take up these contracts

Question 18

Marxism: Philipson

Answer 18

• Elderly is a burden. Capitalism needs to renew the workforce to ensure profits by using younger workers who can be socialised into being submissive
• Elderly experience inequality as is often neglected because they are a burden due to the cost of ageing being a drain on resources
• Problem group as they no longer serve capitalism

Question 19

Marxism Evidence

Answer 19

• ESLA (2014) found that 37% experience work discrimination/25% more experience due to being employed by retirement
• The Office for National Statistics found there were a total of 1.56 million retired people under 65 in 2011
• Older people are “first in line” when companies made redundancies during the econ downturn as they are often on higher salaries than younger employees.
• Blamed it on age discrimination and warned Britain risked facing a “lost generation” of older workers.

Question 20

Marxism Criticisms

Answer 20

• There are jobs that people work in old age (Judges and Politicians) Average age of a judge in the HoL is 66, with 10 being over the state pension age.
• Retirement Age is increasing so they can build a sufficient pension so are an economic asset
• growth of the ‘grey pound’. With the elderly as consumers, they can become an asset to the bourgeoisie and the economy.

Question 21

Feminism

Answer 21

• Relationship between age and gender and inequality
• Arber and Ginn: Age will affect their power and status. Older women face inequalities that older men do not.
• Majority of people eligible for occupational pensions are female due to being more likely to have jobs interrupted by maternity leave
• Oppenheim and Harker: 73% of males employees receive company pensions compared to 68% of females
• Mordaunt: Twice as many elderly women relying on state benefits with 1/4 living in poverty. No company P
• The decrease in physical attractiveness is viewed as negative in the media which reduces there status

Question 22

Feminism Criticisms

Answer 22

• Ethnicity and Class also determine whether they are benefits or not. Ignores that fact that females, whether old or young, are not a homogeneous group and factors such as wealth and social class greatly fragment females’ life chances. There are examples of both young and older females that show that not all face discrimination
• Using cosmetics is not mandatory. Choose to take part in willingly, control the ageing process for their own reasons, not due to the stigma
• Patriarchy is the cause of inequality focus. This may lead to feminist explanations missing the true cause of the inequality, e.g. poverty

Question 23

Postmodernism

Answer 23

-No inequality, emphasis on choice reduces discrimination
-Older people don’t become invisible and marginalised,
=Consumer culture. Advertising acronyms such as SKIER (spending the kids’ inheritance) and GRUMPY (grown-up urban professionals) show that stereotypes may be changing. The ‘grey pound’ is strong and thus advertisers are focusing on getting that money.
-Kidd: Fragmented society. Some elderly enjoy retirement while others face poverty and poor health

Question 24

Postmodernism Criticisms

Answer 24

• Overemphasis on choice/Limited by money

- Different institutions interact with age differently due to not having a unified structure

Question 25

Interactionist: Labelling Theory

Answer 25

• Negative labelling and stigmatisation of both the elderly and the young by the media and other agents of social control and socialisation create an SFP.
• If the elderly are labelled as ‘useless, lonely, dependent and unable to learn’, then perhaps those stereotypes become reality.
• Cases of supposed age discrimination in the media, think that the elderly are ‘useless, lonely, dependent and unable to learn’ and thus replace them with younger people, which of course, in turn, causes the elderly to become ‘useless, lonely, dependent and unable to learn’.
• Cohen: work on moral panics would be a relevant explanation for the inequality that young people face in the media

Question 26

Interactionist: Labelling Theory Evidence

Answer 26

-Old Age Faculty of Royal College of Psychiatrists (2016)
22% of men and 28% of women aged 65+ developed depression and 88% did not seek help for it.
-Media portrayal of ageing is to blame for worsening the Mental Health.
-Portrays them as ill, unproductive and that life is a downward spiral.
-Anxiety and Depression over the ageing process
-The Mental Health Foundation: older people believe improving the image of the ageing process would improve mental health rates.

Question 27

Conclusion: Intersecontionality

Answer 27

• Other factors affect inequality/ relationship is more complex
• Age UK: For some Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, cultural factors play a role in their loneliness. BAME communities have large family networks but experience loneliness due to having less involvement with peers, or activities.
• Identified link between loneliness and high levels of poverty experienced by BAME groups.