USP participates in a campaign that seeks to combat ageism and rescue the value of age and experience

If time has never been worth so much, imagine how much someone who has lived a long time is worth? The phrase is a reflection that the movement “Sou Mais Sessenta” brings in a campaign to rescue the value of age and, at the same time, to combat ageism. Prejudice for age is when we create stereotypes, usually negative, or discriminate against a person or group of people by their age or the fact that they appear to be old.

Many of these preconceived ideas may be unconscious, but they are present when we imagine that growing old means being bad, or we associate it with an unproductive and dependent person, or who will always develop dementia. Consider that every elderly person is equal or infantilize him because he considers him fragile and weak. The realization of these stereotypes comes with prejudice when excluding candidates for job vacancies because of age, for example.

“We need to deconstruct these myths and educate them about the aging process. We cannot restrict a person because of a biological characteristic and a number. When these negative stereotypes are carried within, there is a stigmatization of a group and this is reflected in the fact that many people do not want to grow old ”, says doctor Egídio Dórea, coordinator of the USP 60+ program.