Ageism
stereotyping, prejudice or/and discrimination based on age
Ageism is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against elderly or younger people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this discrimination, building on the terminology of sexism and racism. Butler defined ageism as a combination of three connected elements: negative attitudes towards old age and the ageing process, discriminatory practices against older people, and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about elderly people.
The term "ageism" is also used to describe the oppression of younger people by older people. An example is a 1976 pamphlet published by Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the UK, at a meeting of the Bracknell Forest Council in June 1983, councillor Richard Thomas pointed out that age discrimination works against younger and older people. This includes the practice of denying younger people certain rights and privileges usually reserved for adults. These include the right to vote, run for political office, refuse medical treatment, and sign contracts. This definition of ageism can also include ignoring the ideas and contributions of adolescents and children because they are considered "too young" or dismissing their behavior as caused by their age. Ageism against the young also includes penalties, burdens, or requirements imposed exclusively (or to a greater degree) on young people than on older people, such as age-based military conscription.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ageism” as stereotyping, prejudice or/and discrimination based on age. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as stereotyping, prejudice or/and discrimination based on age. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q438946. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1976 and 1983.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ageism”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ageism primary sources, Ageism archive and Ageism research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Ageism” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.