273 Dr. Tracey Gendron: Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Bias and How to End It

Dr. Tracey Gendron is an internationally recognized gerontologist with almost 30 years of experience as a grant-funded researcher. She speaks to audiences globally about the real world impact of age bias. She is determined to change people’s negative views about aging. “Ageism, she says, is complicated - more nuanced than most people think it is. Anytime we discriminate against a person based on age, it is ageism. And, since we are all aging all the time, it can be a younger or older person who is being discriminated against.”

Tracey serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, and as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging.

As a child, her grandparents were an important part of her life and she believes that influenced her decision to enter gerontology. “Aging is beautiful, aging is living”, she says.  We shouldn’t talk about it as older people, aging is what everyone is doing.

External and internal ageism are equally discriminatory.  Internally, if we have dread about getting older, it affects us physically, mentally, and socially. Internalized ageism is a risk factor for suicidal ideation among older people And younger people who have dread of aging, and carry that with them, are more likely to have a cardiovascular event.

Dr. Gendron has a master’s degree in gerontology and psychology and a Ph.D in developmental psychology.

" Aging is Living. Think about how we can continue growing through all stages of our life." - Dr. Tracey Gendron

CONNECT WITH TRACY

Email: tlgendro@vcu.edu

Website: TraceyGendron.com

Book: Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Bias and How to End It

1)- "will most likely have a cardiovascular event" - please change to are more likely to have a cardiovascular event.

2) "there is a higher rate of suicide in older people who fear aging" - please change to "internalized ageism is a risk factor for suicidal ideation among older people"