The concept of ageism as oppression has become an important point of reference in contemporary gerontology. Apart from its giving substance to the negative experiences impacting on older people, the idea of ageism as oppression is used in many different contexts, with different meanings. In this paper we argue that the positioning of ageism as oppression, rather than constituting a deepening of gerontological focus, seems to serve as a way of connecting those using it with other social movements for whom oppression and its overcoming have been critical to their historical development. In and of itself, we argue, ageism as oppression has little instrumental value in effecting change over and above that associated with the identification of discrimination experienced by older people in various settings. Furthermore, it risks reinforcing a homogenized perspective of later life that masks the complex and contradictory position that later life occupies in most aging societies. • Notes the centrality of the ‘ageism as oppression’ thesis in age studies and social gerontology. • Examines the evolution and application of ‘oppression’ in cultural studies and the social sciences. • Argues that its extension from liberation movements into the area of aging is problematic. • Concludes that the term risks homogenizing the complex social location of later life in today's aging societies.
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