Does the word "elderly" have a negative connotation to you?

M

mjalali

New Member
I know people who very much dislike being called "elderly", and prefer to be called "senior".

What about you?
 

I declare that I am "old". I am not yet ancient.
I am now 76 years old and as such I am neither young nor middle aged.
I am happy to be considered an elder but old woman is fine by me too.
 

I prefer the word Senior to Elderly or the very blunt OAP (Old age pensioner) but wonder, at which age do we accept any title which clearly points out we belong to an older age group

I have a 93 year old friend living in a residential home who refers to her fellow residents as, ‘The old dears’ .....
 
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I like ‘elder’, not ‘elderly’
Sounds like I need help with the door or putting my pants on

‘Senior’ is OK……sunny

'Geriatric'…now there’s one
 
LOL. If I ever get to a point where I take offense at an adjective like "old", "elderly", "senior", "aged", &c. then I'll really know that life has finally passed me by.
:lol1:
 
Being called senior, elderly, old or elder makes no difference to me.

I realize that I'm no longer a spring chicken and there is no doubt in my mind that I'm now just a.....
funny-patches-grumpy-old-fart-patch-p4677-main.jpg
 
treeguy64 said:
As a militant anti-ageist, I use no descriptors for a person of any age, and if someone asks my age, I simply answer, "old enough!"
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Treeguy, don't hit me ok? :rolleyes::love_heart:

I don't think that means what you think it means. If you're an anti-ageist, then you're AGAINST ageism, unless your definition of ageism is different than mine.

Ageism (also spelled "agism") is stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. ... The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. WIKIPEDIA
 
Butterfly said:
"Elderly" does have a negative connotation to me -- so does "senior," which always sounds to me like a cutesy euphemism for "elderly" anyway. Why can't we just be people, without the labels?
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I agree words like geriatric, elderly, senior, should be used to describe groups, services, facilities, etc... and not used to describe individuals.

Just use my name and please when I get older don't talk about me like I'm a dog at the veterinarian's office talk to me like I'm still a human being.
 
I am a senior but don’t think I’m elderly yet and have never really been called either unless it was behind my back, lol.

I have been offered the senior discount recently at Walgreens without being asked if I was a senior but they have all my info so maybe it just pops up for them on their computer.
 
I don't care how people refer to me. I like the discounts I get as a "senior." Other than that, I don't really even think about any such designation.

I care much more about how I feel. Sometimes, honestly, I FEEL elderly, or just plain old, depending on how creaky I am or what my digestion's doing or how tired I get. Those are the times when I feel old no matter how I'm referred to. And when I get to feeling that way, I go dance, or run a zipline or 10, or hike, or roll around on the floor with the grandkids. That I can still easily do all those things makes the feeling of being old or elderly go away, and then I'm fine again!
 
I'm always sort of surprised when reading the newspaper, I see a description of "an elderly person," usually someone who was assaulted or something like that. Then it gives their age, and it's often
younger than I am! Somehow, anyone younger than me can NOT be elderly!
 
I agree with Sunny; it doesn't particularly bother me to be a senior, but when I hear a news report of an "elderly person" being attacked or whatever and then they say they were 60 years old, I'm like "whaaa?" I'm not doddering yet, people!! :D
 
Aunt Bea said:
I agree words like geriatric, elderly, senior, should be used to describe groups, services, facilities, etc... and not used to describe individuals.

Just use my name and please when I get older don't talk about me like I'm a dog at the veterinarian's office talk to me like I'm still a human being.
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Beautifully said Aunt Bea.
 
I'd rather be known as a Senior. The word "elderly" seems like ten plus years older than I am.

As far as "labeling" goes, there are certain times a person would have to reveal their age status, whether it be a "Senior" or "Elderly" type person.

Actually, I've been called far worse than either a Senior or Elderly person. I simply say "yep, that's me.........a sarcastic, sometimes arrogant, humorous Senior".
 
Sunny said:
I'm always sort of surprised when reading the newspaper, I see a description of "an elderly person," usually someone who was assaulted or something like that. Then it gives their age, and it's often
younger than I am! Somehow, anyone younger than me can NOT be elderly!
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LOL..that reminds me of the times I see a report in the media of a 'Grandmother' or Grandfather'' assaulted... and read onto find they're 46 years old....:rolleyes:
 
Ronni said:
Treeguy, don't hit me ok? :rolleyes::love_heart:

I don't think that means what you think it means. If you're an anti-ageist, then you're AGAINST ageism, unless your definition of ageism is different than mine.

Ageism (also spelled "agism") is stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. ... The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. WIKIPEDIA
Click to expand...

Uh, what?! I AM against ageism, therefore I'm an anti-ageist.
 
I'm a tottering,wobbly,absent-minded,loose-bowelled,toothless,grumpy,short-sighted,deaf,forgetful,absent-minded [did I mention that yet?] miserable,lumbago-cursed,arthritic,doddering,slow,annoying,Werthers-sucking,elderly,walking-stick waving,absent-minded,slipper-shuffling,creaking old relic....

....so how come I drive a low-loader of 125 tons,that has a twin-splitter 'crash-box' and an extendable trailer? Oh,Yes-it's because the 'auto-box' Snowflake generation CAN'T!

[ps...I think I just wet myself....again. That's the third time today....#sigh#...]
 

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