Public Perceptions of Older People A literature review

this is referred to as the ‘double standard of ageing’ (Sontag 1979). However,
Narayan (2008) asserted that there has been little research that specifically
addresses this issue. Consistent with the ‘double standard of ageing’, sketches
of older women have been found to be much more likely to include wrinkles
than in drawings of older men (Falchikov 1990). However, physical aids were
depicted significantly less frequently in sketches of women than men (Barrett
& Cantwell 2007).
The age at which men and women are considered old may be a factor. For
example, Musaiger and D’Souza (2009) found that men were generally
perceived to reach old age at a later age than women. More specifically,
participants in this study viewed 40-49 years as elderly for women, however
70-79 years was considered elderly for men. Researchers have reported that
older males are perceived more favourably than older females, who tend to be
subjected to more negative biases and prejudices (McConatha et al. 2004;
Tan et al. 2004). This was evident in a study by Middlecamp and Gross (2002)
who observed that children had higher levels of prejudice against older
women than older men.
In contrast, some studies have found the opposite to be true where older
women are rated significantly more positively than older men (Laditka et al.
2004; Narayan 2008). Arnold-Cathalifaud et al. (2008) reported that elderly
men were perceived as increasingly more intolerant, suspicious and conflictive
than elderly women. In addition, in terms of efficiency, 39% of elderly women
were deemed efficient compared to 33% of elderly men. Elderly women were
also more positively perceived as outgoing (62%) than men (44%) (Arnold-
Cathalifaud et al. 2008). Drawings of women by students were found to be
more likely to depict sketches of older women with smiles; depict interaction
with grandchildren; or show engagement in social activities (Lichtenstein et al.
2005; Barrett & Cantwell 2007; Barrett & Pai 2008). In some cases, this has
been attributed to cultural representations and expectations regarding gender,
as well as ageing. Specifically, there is greater tolerance of emotional
expression among women than men, and women of all ages are considered to
be more easy-going, accommodative, kind, and forgiving than men (Barrett &
Pai 2008).
Despite the fact that women tend to live longer than men (Austad 2006), men
have been found to be over-represented in drawings relative to their
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