Visual Ageism

In terms of diversity, media studies used to focus on the frequency women and ethnic minority groups are characterised and started developing an interest in age and ageism much later approaching ageism as what it is: an "asymmetric power structure based on age, a constructed justification of inequalities between age groups". 

Loos and Ivan (2018) introduced the concept of "visual ageism", the "social practice of visually underrepresenting older people or misrepresenting them in a prejudiced way." It "includes older adults being depicted in peripheral or minor roles without positive attributes; non-realistic, exaggerated, or distorted portraits of older people; and over-homogenized characterizations of older adults." (Loos & Ivan, 2018)

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- Loos, E. & Ivan, L. (2018). Visual Ageism in the Media. Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism, 163-176, link
- photograph by Charles H. Traub via