ABSTR ACT Elderly people are frequent victims of fundamental human rights violations. Society, which should protect and respect them, creates mechanisms of age discrimination and attitudes of prejudice towards this important and increasingly larger group of people. In today’s society, elderly people are still exposed to various stereotypes and all sorts of derogatory treatments. Prejudiced attitudes towards elderly people can be found in various elements of our collective life, including advertisements, music, children’s stories and jokes, among others. These attitudes are not helpful towards building a better community. On the contrary, they segregate people and reinforce the negative characteristics of aging, pushing people away from social life, and making young people want to live longer while denying the fact that they are growing older. This article aims to discuss the attitudes of perversity and discrimination which are expressed through jokes that demean elderly people. It also discusses the subjective and discriminatory messages that are contained in those jokes as well as in their underlying prejudices. People´s perceptions about old age and aging must be transformed in society. We must reaffirm our commitment to ensure the dignity of the aging process in Brazil, to protect and defend the rights of elderly people, thereby uniting our efforts to eradicate all forms of discrimination and violence
Keywords: violence, self-image; rights and citizenship, social exclusion
A velhinha foi ao médico: – Doutor, eu tenho problema com gases, mas realmente isso não me aborrece muito. Eles nunca cheiram e sempre são silenciosos. – Eu vou lhe dar um exemplo: eu soltei gases 20 vezes, pelo menos, desde que entrei no consultório. Aposto que você não sabia que eu os estava soltando porque eles não cheiram e são silenciosos. O médico apenas diz: – Sei, sei... leve estas pílulas, tome 4 vezes ao dia e volte a semana que vem.
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A terceira idade São Paulo | v. 23 | n 54 | p. 7-18 | jul. 2012