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Old age starts at 59. What?

Judith Ireland

by Judith Ireland

19 Mar 05:50am

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Filed under: Ageing, Health, Men And Women, Society

35 comments

Questions about ageing are usually left to philosophers, surgeons and casting agents.  But this week, the people had their say.

She's old? Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow / AFP

According to research from the esteemed European Social Survey, the average Briton thinks middle age starts at 36 and old age begins at 59. 

It’s a big slap in the face for all those in their 30s and 40s who thought that because they still listened to Triple J, went to tapas bars and had a current gym membership, they still qualified as young. 

It’s also a shock for those in their 50s and 60s who are functioning on all (or mostly all) systems.  With many of them still working, volunteering or happily spending their kids’ inheritance on travel, they don’t have time to be old. 

Having recently completed the Oscar/ex-husband revenge double at 58, director Kathryn Bigelow seems anything but elderly. Gordon Brown is trying to claw back the Prime Ministership at 59 and US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is only just considering his retirement at 89.

None of us really likes to ponder our mortality - particularly in these atheistic times.  But thanks to better lifestyles, healthcare and fashions, ‘young’, or at the very least, ‘not old’, can last a really long time. Just ask a cougar. 

With Australian life expectancy now clocking in at 81.3 years it seems crazy that you would kiss youth goodbye in your mid 30s and welcome old age before you blow the candles out at 60. 

This is particularly strange given the recent news that sex-life expectancy lasts into your 70s.  Point being, 58 year-olds can’t be old, because everyone knows old people don’t have sex. Yuck.

Even from a policy perspective these age cut offs make as much sense as Lady Gaga’s new film clip.  With governments around the world scratching their heads over what to do with The Ageing Population, shouldn’t we be trying to have less old people, not more?   

The study’s researchers argue that defining age is important because ‘age prejudice’ - either being treated as too young or too old - is rife in the community and we should know what age labels mean.

Sixty three per cent of those surveyed said age prejudice was a ‘serious’ or ‘very serious’ issue and a further 28 per cent said they had been treated with prejudice because of their age in the past year (though one wonders what proportion of that 28 per cent were under-aged teens refused entry to pubs).

However, pinning age labels down is a tricky one.  Says Professor Dominic Abrams of Kent University, “what counts as young and old is largely down to the age of the beholder.” 

Those surveyed between 15 and 24 years old thought that youth ends at 28 and old age begins at 54.  At the other extreme, those in their 80s said youth stopped at 42 and old age kicks in at 67 - obviously the young people interviewed had no idea about life and the oldies just picked the last date they could remember.

If anything, what the research shows is that while people have hard and fast definitions about what’s young and old, they are pretty arbitrary, change as we age and are destined to offend people no matter what.

Perhaps that’s why in everyday life there are few official markers of age versus youth.  Beyond legal adulthood at 18, it’s all a bit vague until you get your seniors card at 60 and the government starts trying to cancel your drivers licence at 85.

Statistically, many people have careers, mortgages and kids by their mid 30s.  But these won’t catapult you into the middle ages unless you let them.  The fact that you have responsibilities and no longer attend raves is no excuse for not being young.

As the number of birthdays increase, wrinkles, sagging, mid-life crises, weird hair and retirement crop up along the way.  But while these may make you unhappy, poor and unattractive, none of them make you old per say.

Some of our best-loved clichés profess that age is only a construct, man.  An internet search of “age quotations” will tell you that age is all in your head, actually makes you cooler and shouldn’t matter anyway unless you are an antique, fossil or French cheese.

So while it would be foolish to advocate the wisdom of a cliché over a piece of scholarly research, you only have to look around to see that the party does not end at 36 and the wake countdown most definitely does not start at 59. 

As all good politicians know, sometimes the voice of the people just has to be ignored. 

Most commented

35 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Bec says:

      04:57am | 19/03/10

      Maybe it’s because I had a horrible childhood and teens, but with every passing year in my twenties I love getting older. I think I’ll be having an amazing time, come my eighties.

      Reply

    • Politically incorrect Formersnag. says:

      08:12am | 19/03/10

      I never met a happy fe"man"ist at any age, but bitterness certainly seems to fester as they get older.

      I am also glad that i am not “young & stupid” anymore. I found out years ago that women hate, loath & despise, snags. Now i am more of your caring, understanding, nurturing, type.

    • K25 says:

      08:41am | 19/03/10

      Well weknow your bitterness is certainly ‘festering’ Formersnag….the article was a piece about age, Bec’s comment was about age….yet you still pull out some gender wars vile that anyone not warped will find completely irrelevant to this….Get a grip man!!!

      Agree with Iansand :o)

    • bec says:

      10:07am | 19/03/10

      Dear Formersnag,

      You are hilarious. Never change.

      From,
      Bec

    • Lorraine says:

      04:58pm | 19/03/10

      This article is completely wrong. You know you are old when the check out chicks start to call you darling !

    • Susannah says:

      03:20pm | 26/03/10

      I can totally relate to this. Childhood, teens and most of my 20s were pretty awful. 30s, not bad; 40s, better; early 50s, best yet, with hopefully the best still to come.

    • iansand says:

      08:12am | 19/03/10

      It’s simple.  “Old” is 15 years older than your current age.

      Reply

    • David C says:

      09:40am | 19/03/10

      when I was in 1st year high school the year 12 guys were seriously old

    • AdamC says:

      08:33am | 19/03/10

      Tapas - “young”? Um, no. Tapas is old and getting older (both figuratively and literally).

      And that Kathryn Bigelow looks mighty well-preserved for someone so close to retirement age. I guess it goes to show the myriad benefits of keeping busy, enjoying yourself and pinching your ex-husband’s Oscar glory. (Good on her, too. Avatar as best picture, what a joke!)

      Reply

    • Scoop says:

      08:36am | 19/03/10

      Hey, my dad had me when he was 56. Looking after me kept him going and relevant (mostly) until his late 80s. Mind you, having a wife 17 years his junior probably had something to do with it, as well. As for sex - I am an only child. I think my folks tried it once, but didn’t like it.

      Reply

    • r says:

      02:30pm | 19/03/10

      Sorry scoop you are wrong, they took one look at you & started taking precautions. My parents had a lusty sex life well into their 80s

    • Politically incorrect Formersnag says:

      07:21am | 20/03/10

      @ r, now that is just mean, clever but mean.

      @ Scoop, my parents had the same age difference. my dad was in his mid 40’s when i was born, there were 5 of us & i think he was nearly 60 when my baby sister was born. He worked full time into his 80’s, is 95 now, still with a twinkle in his eye for mum, but whether he is still capable, i have not asked.

    • Eric says:

      09:34am | 19/03/10

      “With Australian life expectancy now clocking in at 81.3 years”

      That’s actually an expectancy of 83.5 years for females, and 78.7 years for males.

      http://www.aihw.gov.au/mortality/life_expectancy/trends.cfm

      Women live five years longer than men. What is being done to address this inequity?

      Reply

    • Susan says:

      10:35am | 19/03/10

      Well, hopefully Eric, you are eating well, getting moderate amounts of exercise and avoiding risky activities.

    • E says:

      10:39am | 19/03/10

      I’ve always understood that the statistical difference in life expectancy is due to the fact that young men die more frequently than young women before the age of 25. The statistics are skewed by this. Once a man gets past the age of 25 he is likely to live just as long as any woman.

      Unfortunately, the reason that more men die before the age of 25 is that they are more likely to be involved in risk taking behaviours like driving too fast, goofing about on cliff edges etc. Not sure what we can do about that. Would you like me to wrap you all in bubble wrap until you’re old enough and sensible enough to look after yourselves?

    • mk says:

      10:53am | 19/03/10

      Dear E,
      Unless you too, are on a bitter & warped tirade against women, don’t waste your time responding to eric. Rational arguments like yours are not something that register with him, just a word of advice from those of us who have tried. smile

    • bec says:

      11:13am | 19/03/10

      Bubble wrap is awesome. Everyone’s quality of life would improve if we all had a sheet of bubble-wrap for stress relief.

    • Eric says:

      11:22am | 19/03/10

      Thanks for your concern, Susan. I’m not particularly keen on getting old myself, but I understand that there are other people who would like the option.

      E, that may well be true to some extent. There are also physiological factors involved. But there doesn’t seem to be as much public attention and research directed toward the causes and cures of men’s shorter lifespan, than toward women’s problems such as breast cancer.

      Female health problems get more support, even though women already live longer.

    • kel says:

      11:39am | 19/03/10

      Eric, it was women (often former sufferers, or decendants of people who died) who got support networks for things like breast cancer up and running. Agree that some wonderful men out there have supported it since, but these groups were started by women. There is absolutely nothing stopping you or any man doing the same for a cancer as prevalent in men…If you devoted as much time to that as to whining about women and resenting them, you may actually do some good in this world.

    • Eric says:

      12:12pm | 19/03/10

      Kel, what I am doing now is exactly what those women did then - raising awareness.

      If you condemn me, you condemn them too.

    • Formersnag the Child Protector. says:

      02:37pm | 19/03/10

      Eric @ 1:12pm, correct, when women do it, for 40years, nonstop, its “legitimate raising of awareness”, never whinging or nagging. if one of us dares to speak out, the sarcasm is, also nonstop.

      Btw, did you know that the gap has narrowed a little over the last 40 years or so, naturally. Especially when the stats are corrected to remove the difference in suicide rates, work accidents, car accidents, between men & women of all ages.

      Diseases that were traditionally thought to be a, “male thing”, have been gradually increasing in women, like “heart attack”, they are work/stress related. So they have increased, with women’s increased participation in the work force.

      Are you familiar with the “men’s health & well being association”? They may have recently changed their name to “men’s health”. They are/were in all states & territories. Have not been to one of their meetings or workshop weekends for ages but they are still around.

      Are you familiar with Dr Warren Farrell, sociologist, or Henry Makow PhD, Historian? Their work makes fascinating reading.

      PS, the money available to medical research in paediatrics & geriatrics, has also, slipped behind the behemoth, that is medical research into “secret women’s business”.

    • Eric says:

      03:32pm | 19/03/10

      Formersnag, I’m familiar with many things.

      Goodonya for raising the flag and fighting the good fight!

    • Ned says:

      10:04am | 19/03/10

      I have always had a simple rule. Anyone older than me is old, anyone younger than me is young. I say this as someone who has just turned 60 (which, of course, is the new 40). And BTW, “old” people DO have sex!

      Reply

    • Bluepoles says:

      10:44am | 19/03/10

      Yeah, I discovered that old people have sex too. Pity is mostly with myself. Some parts of being old(er) are great some parts just plain pathetic. Just like life really but I am not volunteering to give it up at this stage.

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      11:38am | 19/03/10

      You’re only as old as (the women) you feel.

      Reply

    • Lorraine says:

      05:03pm | 19/03/10

      No, Tim, you are old when you trot out old jokes like this one

    • Nellie says:

      11:50am | 19/03/10

      My husband who has just turned 52 was phoned by his older sister of 4 years to tell him he had just gone into middle age!! She did the 30’s is now the new 20” thing. When he got off the phone we both rolled. I asked him “how long do you plan on living if you just hit middle age” Our bodies age at the same rate they did a thousand years ago 50 is still 70 as far as your organs and skin ect are concerned. The only difference is that we live longer. Things change, your not that pretty bright little girl anymore But, gee I don’t have to worry if my shoes match my handbag now , cause hell no-one even looks at you..its great!! Your invisible. Just be happy with who you are, we all get older then we die. That’s life for you. And yes we still have sex, admittedly its not that hot panting hours long gymnastic experience of youth, quite frankly that would probably kill us, its a gentler more loving type of experience.

      Reply

    • Sam Chowder says:

      02:17pm | 19/03/10

      I just want to be the first person to say 50 is the new 10

      Reply

    • jim says:

      11:54pm | 19/03/10

      Getting older is fine (especially for katherine bigelow who just beat her cranky ex husband to an Oscar) just as long as you don’t become closed minded, bad tempered, exclusive, paranoid and forgetful. Try and avoid these states at all costs perhaps by spending lots of time with children and animals, and not drinking spirits every night.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      02:32pm | 20/03/10

      I don’t see that age has much to do with being close minded, bad tempered, exclusive or paranoid.  Most people I know who are any or all of these things were like that when they were 10, and have just become more so as they’ve gotten older.  Just as the sunny, even-tempered ones have become more relaxed and tolerant with their years.  Forgetfulness on the other hand…what was I saying?

    • Sam Chowder says:

      02:58pm | 21/03/10

      Is Kathryn Bigelow Liz Hurleys mum?

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      10:24am | 22/03/10

      Let’s not kid ourselves people, old age starts at 40. As for those running around saying 50 is the new 40 and 40 is the new 30, then maybe they should start acting like it. If 50 is the new 40, then surely 28 is the new 18 and we can increase the age of dependancy to 28 and 50 year olds can start paying for them. Now that 50 is the new 40, the new qualification age for the Dole should be 28 and these new “young” 50 year olds can start paying for them… These kids these days still live at home, and it will save the country a lot of money…

      Reply

    • Jules says:

      11:02am | 23/06/10

      My partner and I started swinging when we were 54 and 56 respectively, so how’s that for ‘mud in the eye’ for the young ‘uns? There was no shortage of swingers and swingees of our age either, come to that.

      We are now 59 and 61, mortgage free and no debt, in good health and only work part time. Beats the crap out of being so called young!

      Twenty we don’t know anything but think we know everything. Thirty we’re dealing with the shock of our stupidity and the realisation of our naivety. Forty it’s all to do with divorce and mid life crisis and loosing your hard won material gains. Fifty is when you begin to know yourself and you realise material things don’t matter and you fall in love for the first time in your life. To cap it off you have wisdom for the very first time. Which is a good thing, could you possibly imagine a wise twenty year old? OMG!, that really is scary.

      I reckon at 59 I’m the most content and happy I have ever been and I wouldn’t be young again for quids, it’s just too combative. The sex is crap too!

      Reply

    • Eye4anEye says:

      02:05pm | 23/06/10

      seems fairly well defined to me - your young for approximatly a 3rd of your life middle for the same and old for the same which seems logical.

      Reply

    • Terry Smith Mrs says:

      01:19pm | 31/01/11

      Im 59 look 40, active as a 30year old, spend money like a 70 year old.
      party like a 90 year old.
      and feel like I’m 30 year old
      GO FIGGER

      Reply
 
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