Gerontophobia

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Look up gerontophobia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Gerontophobia is defined as the fear of growing old or a hatred of old people. The definition is curiously double-edged. It encompasses both the fears and self-doubt of individuals as they age; even more importantly it describes asense of hostility that sometimes appears directed at an older generation, by a new and upcoming order". Current Science: Gerontophobia, Ageing and Retirement-10 November 2004

Ken Dychtwald identifies seven markers that can make up this phobia in chapter two of Age Wave: How the Most Important Trend of Our Time Will Change Your Future:

If young is good, then old is bad
If the young have it all, the old are losing it
If the young are creative, the old are dull
If the young are beautiful then the old are unattractive
If the young are stimulating, then the old are boring
If the young are full of passion, then the old are beyond caring
If the children are tomorrow, the old represent yesterday

Gerontophobia is also a common theme in fairytales in which the baddie was always an old woman, usually a witch, called a hag, e.g. Baba Yaga in Russia. Although, old men are presented as wise wizards, often good, in Russian folklore, there is an evil old one called Koschei the Deathless. The goodies in fairytales were always adolescent girls, who were the innocent defenceless princesses or maidens of great beauty rescued by adolescent boys who were brave, handsome princes, in love with these maidens. Sometimes a young bearded man or even a middle-aged one, longs for one of these maidens, such as in Sadko and in the Snow Maiden suggesting ephebophilia. The maiden rejects them for the adolescent boy, as happens in Rimsky's opera version of the Snow Maiden, thus showing a milder form of gerontophobia on the part of the maiden.

[edit] Gerontophobic Language:

"coffin dodger"
"old bags,"
"old hags,"
"old biddies,"
"old birds,"
"old fogies,"
"old fangled,"
"old farts,"
"old fashioned,"
"old geezers,"
"old and decrepit,"
"old timers,"
"over the hill,"
"blue hairs,"
"golden oldies,"
"vulnerable,"
"frail,"
"declining,"
"dowdy,"
"doddering,"
"fuddy duddies,"
"out of touch,"
"not getting any younger'"
"responsible for a mountain of debt that will become an intolerable burden on society."