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  • Beyond ageing stereotypes: Imagery & iconography

Briscoe, Gerard, Gadzheva, Ivelina and Nazerali, Imran, 2022, Conference or Workshop, Beyond ageing stereotypes: Imagery & iconography at 11th Inclusive Design (INCLUDE) Conference, London, UK, 22-23 Sep 2022.

Abstract or Description:

Ageism is a relatively modern construct arising from significant increases in life expectancy. For example, Stone Age representations of older people simply noted differences in hair colour. Frailty stereotypes are unrepresentative, because the majority of older people have diverse functional capacity. Nonetheless, ageism within the media is widespread, with older people, even in contemporary dramas, often limited to stereotypes of snowy-haired invisible grandparents or homeless people. Similarly, prevalent icons of older people often utilise stereotypes of physical frailty. A notable example is the 1981 United Kingdom road sign for slower, frail people crossing the road, which is designed to notify drivers to reduce vehicle speed. It depicts a frailty narrative that has become the archetype for iconography of older people. Such stereotypes lead to the design of digital technologies focusing on healthcare, rather than desires and aspirations. So, we suggest an alternative iconography for older people, moving beyond stereotypical physical frailty, and approaches to addressing ageism stereotypes in wider society through popular media. We conclude by moving beyond ageing stereotypes, counterbalancing the mostly negative ones to affect changes in perceptions of popular culture, which is critical not only for the older people of today, but also our future selves.

Official URL: https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/inclu...
Subjects: Creative Arts and Design > W900 Others in Creative Arts and Design
School or Centre: Research Centres > Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design
Research & Innovation
Uncontrolled Keywords: ageing; stereotypes; icon; media
Date Deposited: 12 Dec 2022 16:31
Last Modified: 12 Dec 2022 16:31
URI: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/5209
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