Researching Ageism through Discourse

Although ageism is prevalent in many forms, one significant manifestation is in and through common discourse. Discourse is not a neutral entity, but is the social construction of ideas based on culture, values and beliefs which are entrenched in practices such as ordinary narratives. As such, discourse is imbued with attitudes and such attitudes have consequences in terms of how we act in everyday life. This chapter draws on methodologies within discourse analysis to demonstrate how ageism is constructed and reconstructed in everyday conversations. Using two published studies related to older people in Ireland and Israel, this chapter uses selected methodologies within discourse analysis as two lenses into ageist discourses, challenging legitimized and dominant systems of representation of older people. In combining different philosophical approaches within discourse analysis, namely Foucauldian discourse analysis and discursive psychology, this chapter examines the conditions on which ageism is produced, sustained and reproduced within taken for granted ‘truths’ of older people. The chapter articulates how ageist identities are created, thus underpinning their legitimization in society and also how individuals can position and socially construct older people in an ageist frame through narratives.