This recorded webinar was presented by Author and activist Ashton Applewhite. In this provocative, funny, and deeply informed look at the roots of ageism—in society and in our own age denial—Applewhite explains how it divides and diminishes us. Applewhite sets out the personal and professional consequences (especially for women), shows how ageist myths and stereotypes cripple the way our brains and bodies function, describes what an all-age-friendly world would look like, and concludes with a rousing call to action. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, this talk will cheer you up, shake you by the shoulders, and change the way you see the work you do with older adults.
Fee*: $39.00 for CMCs (with code) | $59.00 for non-CMCs
Goals and Learning Objectives
The goal of this webinar is to educate people about ageism: the forms it takes and damage it does —between our ears and in the culture at large — and how we can work together to dismantle it.
After this presentation, attendees will be able to:
- define ageism and give examples of ageist behaviors and attitudes.
- explain when and how we internalize ageist beliefs and stereotypes.
- give several examples of how to counter ageism in oneself and in the culture at large
About the Presenter
Ashton Applewhite: I didn’t set out to become a writer. I went into publishing because I loved to read and didn’t have any better ideas. I had a weakness for the kind of jokes that make you cringe and guffaw at the same time, my boss kept telling me to write them down, and the collection turned into the best-selling paperback of 1982. I was a clue on “Jeopardy” (“Who is the author of Truly Tasteless Jokes?” Answer: “Blanche Knott.”), and as Blanche made publishing history by occupying four of the fifteen spots on the New York Times bestseller list.
My first serious book, Cutting Loose: Why Women Who End Their Marriages Do So Well, was published by HarperCollins in 1997. Ms. magazine called it “rocket fuel for launching new lives,” and it landed me on Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum enemies list. It also got me invited to join the board of the nascent Council on Contemporary Families, a group of distinguished family scholars. I belonged to the Artist’s Network of Refuse & Resist group that originated the anti-Iraq-invasion slogan and performance pieces titled “Our Grief is Not a Cry for War.” As a contributing editor of IEEE Spectrum magazine, I went to Laos to cover a village getting internet access via a bicycle-powered computer. I was on staff at the American Museum of Natural History for 17 years, where I wrote about everything under the Sun, quitting in 2017 to become a full-time activist.
The catalyst for Cutting Loose was puzzlement: why was our notion of women’s lives after divorce (visualize depressed dame on barstool) so different from the happy and energized reality? A similar question gave rise to This Chair Rocks: why is our view of late life so unrelievedly grim when the lived reality is so different? I began blogging about aging and ageism in 2007 and started speaking on the subject in July, 2012, which is also when I started the Yo, Is This Ageist? blog. During that time I’ve been recognized by the New York Times, National Public Radio, the New Yorker, and the American Society on Aging as an expert on ageism and named as a Fellow by the Knight Foundation, the New York Times, Yale Law School, and the Royal Society for the Arts; I’ve written for Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times, and I speak widely, at venues that have ranged from universities and community centers to the Library of Congress and the United Nations. In 2017 I received a standing ovation for my talk at TED 2017, their mainstage event in Vancouver.
My book, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, was published in March, 2019 by Celadon Books, a new division of Macmillan, Inc.
HONORS & RECOGNITION
- Member of the 2018 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100
- 2018 Game Changer Award, Lifetime Arts
- Fifth Annual Forbes list of Forty Women to Watch over 40 (2017)
- PBS site Next Avenue’s annual list of 50 Influencers in Aging — Influencer of the Year (2016)
- Salt magazine’s list of The World’s 100 Most Inspiring Women (2015)
Buy the Book
- hardcover: Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
- eBook, Kindle, iBooks: iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
- audiobook: Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Continuing Education Information
Upon purchase, staff will send details for obtaining a NACCM CMC CE certificate. This presentation has been approved for 1.5 continuing education contact hours by NACCM. It is the responsibility of the participant to follow the steps to obtain the CEs.
Cancellation Policy
The registration fee for webinars is non-refundable.