Look, it's such fun that there aren't any fucked elders here! They are such a nuisance . . . And, in general, . . . the older people are also filthier. They have no awareness of hygiene; after working out, they leave the machine full of distasteful sweat, without cleaning anything; and there are a lot of them who don't even use deodorant.
—Erella, a 45-year-old woman, an exerciser in a gym in Tel Aviv
The analysis presented in this article continues approaches that challenge the concept of ‘old age’ as essentially objective. It endeavours to examine questions regarding this concept as a distinct category and to indicate the centrality of social construction and of the sociocultural context in age-related behaviour and in the emergence of ageism. Ageism associates age with the destruction of the body (biological death) as an absolute fact. Therefore, the framework of gyms provides an opportunity to examine attitudes relating to the distance from death, due to the perceived association between the physical-physiological dimensions of physical activity and the end of physical existence.
Physical activity at the gym, like other sports activities, meets the different needs of those working out. This article addresses the need to cope with the fear of physical deterioration leading to death. In this respect, the gym embodies the ‘hall of illusions’ with regard to the efforts to distance the threat of death and its early manifestations. The current ethnographic analysis reveals hidden aspects of remoteness and distancing, some of which are embedded in the place and its contents and some of which are rooted in individuals. The article also touches on the role of researchers in generating dichotomous age perceptions, mainly by introducing distinct age categories into old age-related research.
The research was conducted in two different social-geographic locations: in Tel Aviv and in a suburban locale. It clarified that location, the dimension of time (the hours of activity), the age of those working out, the age of the trainers, as well as the characteristics of the owners and management have implications for and connection to the expressions of ageism. Moreover, the fact that the study was carried out by two researchers of significantly different ages (and different genders) contributed to highlighting further the effect of age on people's behaviour.
Concepts and Approaches regarding Age and Ageism
Research on the subject of ageism began as early as the 1960s and is constantly expanding. It has been studied from perspectives such as physiological, psychological, legal, sociological, anthropological, historical, and more (for a discussion of the different approaches to ‘ageism’, see, for example, Macnicol 2005). The definitions of ageism contain terms like ‘stereotypes’, ‘prejudices’, ‘stigma’, ‘racism’, and ‘discrimination’ in relating to ‘old age’ and ‘the elderly’. Most studies follow Robert Butler's (1969) definition of ageism as a process of stereotyping and systematic discrimination against people because they are old. In a more up-to-date definition, ageism is described as ‘indistinctive mixture of several aspects: sociological diagnosis of unequal stratified allocation of resources and the access to them; psychological sensitivity to the emotional implications of this exclusion; social criticism on prejudices and patterns of discrimination; and the inferior legal status of old people’ (Hazan 2013: 52). In discussions relating to the definition of ageism, it is associated with other prominent ‘isms’, especially ‘sexism’ and ‘racism’ (Butler 1975; Palmore 1990). While the biological source, it is claimed, is common to all of them, in ageism there is no dichotomy (as in ‘sex’1 and ‘race’), rather, there is continuity and a dimension of relativity.
Ageism, Jocelyn Agnus and Patricia Reeve argue, is ‘a prejudice or discrimination against or in favor of any age group’ (2006: 139). The discourse regarding physical decline has an effect on the control of older individuals and on their opportunities for agency, according to Emmanuelle Tulle (2008: 4). The social construction and the division of power that underlies age-based categorisation and ageism directed at older people and age in particular, are raised in the analysis presented by Butler. He stated that ‘middle-aged people are also those who have the power to determine policies and to stigmatize other age groups, especially children and the elderly’ (in Koren 2013: 33). Haim Hazan explains that ageism is an instrument for social supervision; a social sanction imposed on those who undermine the social order—a means to ‘maintain the social norm that the elderly must make room for the young, in the workplace and in positions of social influence’ (in Koren 2013: 45).
Butler argues that ageism of the young and middle-aged against the elderly often serves the former, who are being preferred in the distribution of social resources. Ageism, Butler contends, offers sanctuary to the young (who are usually middle-aged), by allowing them to avoid ‘thinking about things they are afraid of (aging, illness, and death)’ (1995: 35). Todd Nelson (2005) also points to the link between prejudice and fear of the future and views the efforts to prolong youth as resistance to ageing (a prelude to death). If so, then ageism is significantly associated with social construction, which serves the ‘young’ and especially the ‘middle-aged’, and is also associated with the fear of death and the fear that it is impending.
Studies focusing on institutions for the ‘elderly’ reinforce, indirectly, the concepts of differentiation and essential otherness, in part because of their identification with the reality of ‘the culture of death’ (Hazan in Gamliel 2005: 9); and consequently, reinforce the stereotypes associated with ‘old age’ and ‘the elderly’. Thus, for example, Tova Gamliel interprets the reservations expressed by residents of ‘assisted living facilities’ regarding their being associated with old age as an effort to ‘formulate a non-elderly identity’ (2000: 151) and ‘cling to the illusion of “non-elderliness”’ (2000: 16).
However, we argue that the case is actually that of resistance on the part of the group's members, to whom the stigmatisation is applied, to the imposition of an ‘old age’ identity on them—rather than delusion or denial. Moreover, understanding the ‘elderly's’ behaviour as denying their ‘old age’ actually reinforces the stereotypical and dichotomous nature of the concept of ‘old age’, as denial is compatible with self-evident assumptions. We also argue that the focus put on age, by scholars, in the context of institutions establishes the generalising discussion on age as associated with death. This focus generalises the inmates in institutions, perceived as socially isolated in space and time and as belonging to an ‘old people's framework’, which ‘does not belong to society and is completely separated’ (Hazan 1984: 21). This perception of ‘old age otherness’ (Hazan in Gamliel 2005: 8), which is ‘irreversible’ (2005: 9) is applied to all ‘old people’, including the vast majority that continue to live in their homes, leading routine lives.2
The issue of age and ageism at gyms has been given sparse attention in studies to date. A partial explanation for this is suggested by Hazan, who claims that ‘age is a muted subject in the academic discourse and a hidden subject in the social discourse generally’ (2006a: 82). Hazan argues further that the paucity of reference to old age stems from ‘denial’ related to ‘a cultural structure that sanctifies progress and development and denounces regression and decay; and its consequences are the removal of the figure of the elderly individual from public discourse and its transformation into a ghost, hovering between life and its negative’ (in Gamliel 2005: 8). Gavriela Spector-Marzel argues that the marks of ageism, associating old age with social problems and pity, are found ‘even in the academia. Theories on old age, studies on old people and the interpretation of their findings expose now and again popular stereotypes of old age’ (2008: 12). However, the past decade has witnessed the development of research focusing on the relationship between identities, such as gender, militarism, and homosexuality, and gyms (Brown and Graham 2008; Kama and Atar 2015). The researchers point out the manner in which identities, which operate in the wider society, are reproduced and strengthened within the framework of gyms. The stated goal of gyms is to improve the physical fitness of the exercisers, both male and female, of all ages. Indeed, the increasing number of studies in sports science focusing on physical activity at older ages indicate its contribution to the health and well-being of adults (Goggin and Morrow 2001; Lübcke et al. 2012), regardless of their state of health; the reduction or prevention of the deterioration in functioning; the prevention of the weakening of the body and to improved health (Tulle 2008: 14). Emmanuelle Tulle and Nika Dorrer found that there is a gap between the perceptions, expressed by older exercisers and young trainers, with regard to the significance of age and physical exertion in the aerobics classes at the gym. While the older population perceives the physical effort as an activity with real potential for the prevention of premature death and physical disabilities, young trainers regard physical activity as a practice that can increase their competitive ability and physical fitness. The researchers pointed out that both groups perceive age as a biological-deterministic process of physical deterioration, which leads to losing social capital (2012: 21).
The article seeks to contribute to the limited existing knowledge about age and ageism in the context of gyms. It offers an examination of the role of ageism in social interactions in gyms. It appears that gyms encourage the latent and overt perception of ‘youth’ and ‘old age’, as essentially different and opposite categories. Nevertheless, it seems that images and behaviour, relating to age and reflecting ageism, are influenced by various factors, among which are the gym's location and the population that uses its services. Also, the social relations in the gyms are influenced by the power relations and the age stratification in the wider society.
The analysis explores various aspects that construct a perception of distance that assumedly or in effect protects exercisers from the emotional threat of ‘getting old’ and of the ‘approaching end/dying’. Whereas thinking about people in terms of age stratification, serves the illusion of ‘youngness’ and the distance from the ‘carriers’ of death for ‘younger’ people, it imposes stigmatisation and exclusion of those who are identified as belonging to ‘older’ groups. Hence, various studies contend that ageism stigmatises the ‘elderly’ and has a negative impact on their well-being (for example, Cumming and Henry 1961; Hazan 2013). The article also suggests that social integration that enables people from different age groups to exercise together dismantles, at least to some extent, the categorising perception of people as belonging to a defined age group and as ‘others’. This understanding stems especially from the findings relating to the gym in the suburb, whereas age separation was observed as more rigidly preserved at the gyms in Tel Aviv.
The study revealed reservations, aloofness and even contempt in relating to older people in the gyms. However, the attitude and perceptions of distance varied and were neither inclusive nor similar in all the studied gyms. Significant differences were found among the gyms, depending on the location, the exercisers, trainers, the ownership, and so forth. Thus, it is suggested that ageist behaviour depends on the relevant variables; the more conspicuous among these are the socio-geographic location and the management's characteristics.
Methodology
The ethnography is based on participant observations carried out in three gyms, and is also based on conversations with both male and female trainers and exercisers. The male author is a sports therapist. At the time of carrying out the study he was in his early forties and a veteran of both gyms in Tel Aviv that were studied. During the course of his study, the researcher's physical activity focused mainly on weights and exercise machines, and he often observed the activity in the aerobics classes. Over the course of about two years, the researcher kept a consistent record of events at both gyms at different times during the day. The female author was at the time of the study in her late sixties. She began training at a gym, located in a suburban area, for the purpose of the study. Since she started training, which lasted for one full year, she visited the gym between two and four times a week. Each visit to the gym included participation in a workout class, followed by about 30-minutes walk on a treadmill. For three months, she consistently recorded her experiences and impressions from observations and conversations with other female exercisers, female trainers, and the female owner of the gym; later she continued documenting them irregularly.
The analysis of the ethnography is based on grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967), according to which the qualitative data collection process is integrated with a process of analysis and design of the research method. This method is based on the point of view of the informants and on what they say; ‘their explanations of what they are doing constitute bricks used to build a theory’ (Shkedi 2004: 155).
The gym in Ramat Aviv is in a country club located at the heart of a residential neighbourhood. The exercisers are mainly from families of high socio-economic status. The gym has an area with aerobics equipment and an area with equipment for strength training and free weights. In the afternoon, the exercisers are mainly over the age of 60. Exercisers aged 16 to 40 arrive in the afternoons and evenings.
At the gym in the centre of Tel Aviv the exercisers are mainly between the ages of 17 and 40. The gym has aerobics classes, attended mainly by women. Martial arts classes, attended by men, are held in the afternoon hours. The gym has machines for strength training as well as machines for aerobic training; the exercisers are mainly men, most of them are veteran attendees and experienced.
The suburban gym is located on the basement floor of a mall. The most active hours are during the aerobics classes, about an hour or two in the morning and again in the evening. Most of the participants in this activity are women. Those who use the strength training equipment are mostly men. The population at the gym is heterogeneous—men and women, young and old, who train in all of the gym areas and perform various types of activities.
To protect their privacy, the identity of the exercisers and the locations of the gyms remain confidential. We follow the anthropological approach that perceives the researcher as the main tool of the study (Hazan 1992: p. 8). Thus, the differences between us, in terms of age and gender as well as in terms of physical fitness and training habits, entail significantly different subjective experiences and implications for the analysis. From our point of view, this cooperation contributed to the complex understanding of issues related to age and ageism in the studied gyms.
Generating Social Distance from ‘Representatives of Death’
In his article ‘Complete Silence’, Hazan (2006b) argues that the attitude of the social-cultural environment toward adults constructs old age in terms of stigma, expulsion, and exclusion. In gyms, this attitude is greatly emphasised due to the prominence of the physiological dimension of this environment. The analysis reveals that ‘old age’ is associated with threat. However, it turns out that ‘old age’ challenges everyone—‘young’ and ‘old’. Physical fitness activity and perseverance are perceived as signs of overcoming physical weakness and as slowing down the deterioration of the body. The observations revealed that the attitude toward the ‘elderly’, of both male and female trainers and trainees, ranged from an encouraging attitude to contempt and disregard.
Loathing: Distancing Due to Fear
At the Ramat Aviv gym, in Tel Aviv, most of the trainees in the mornings are women aged 60 and older. The staff calls this time the ‘dead hours’. The older exercisers often use treadmills and gym bikes. It seems that older men, like young ones, do not invest in sportswear. Older women are also often seen in mismatching clothes.
The older female exercisers tend to speak loudly and to complain freely. They may, for example, ask to lower the temperature setting of the air conditioner and to reduce the volume of the music. They talk about politics, television series, and similar topics with other women of their age. Thus, the researcher realised that older women trainees are sometimes perceived by the trainers and exercisers as bothersome. Moreover, it seems that the younger women tend to avoid contact with the older women, out of aversion and even disgust. Erella, a 45-year-old exerciser at Ramat Aviv, describes her feelings as follows:
Look, it's such fun that there aren't any fucked elders here! They are such a nuisance; it's crazy! A few days ago, I was running on a treadmill, and a young woman touched an older woman walking on treadmill next to her by mistake. You should have heard (imitating the older woman, making an angry face, and waiving her hands)—‘what, why can't you be more careful, I could have fallen’. You wouldn't believe how worked up she was! And in general . . . the older people are also filthier. They have no awareness of hygiene; after working out, they leave the machine full of distasteful sweat, without cleaning anything; and there are a lot of them who don't even use deodorant.
Like Erella, Nadav, a year-old investment advisor, says that each time he runs into Dvir, a veteran exerciser in his mid-seventies, during a workout at the gym, he takes a deep breath and doesn't dare breathe next to him until the ‘wave of stink’ moves on. The words ‘gross’, ‘I feel like throwing up’, and ‘catastrophe’ were repeated several times using his description of how he feels when walking past Dvir. On one occasion, Nadav said, ‘I'm really afraid that when I get to be his age I'll be that way too, with zero awareness of my body; there's something about being that old that makes you disconnect from your environment—it's scary’.
The deep revulsion from being close to older people is justified by uncomfortable physical sensations, mainly related to hygiene and smell, as well as to dress and behaviour. But Nadav's claims also reveal the hidden fear that, in his case, lies behind the unbearable feelings associated with meeting the ‘representatives of old age’.
In his work on Yeruham (a poor town in the South of Israel), Ori Shahak (1985) argues that the use of ‘dirt’ as a signifier of a collective generates a social distance related to power relations, serving to justify control and for the realisation of interests. Similarly, Esther Hertzog (2010) suggests that the reference to the absence of hygiene and to dirt serves the concept of a hierarchical social distance between groups—‘strong’ and ‘weak’, ‘caregivers’ and ‘patients’, ‘professionals’ and ‘clients’, as self-evident. Nevertheless, it appears that more than serving for control, the ‘dirt’ and ‘lack of hygiene’ attributed to older exercisers at the Tel Aviv gym serve the need for differentiation and distancing from ‘old age’ that older exercisers represent. The threat of old age is especially evident in places where youth is sanctified, as in gyms. Nadav's words illustrate Hazan's claim that ‘those who are close to the end of human life . . . foreshadow, by their very existence, the coming of death, and therefore become scorned and denounced’ (Hazan 2006a: 85). The definition of morning hours, during which mainly older men and women attend the gym, as ‘dead hours’ by the staff, implicitly evokes the hidden link between the presence of the older exercisers, in this case older women, and death. Hence the hostile attitude toward the older exercisers, expressed in a harsh verbal manner, is perceived as a way of creating distance and separation from what they represent.
Associating ‘old age’ with deterministic deterioration marks ‘the elderly’ as a homogenous population whose members are all carriers of old age (Alon et al. 2013). The presence of ‘old age’ at the gym represents for the younger exercisers a situation that does not suit youth and fitness. The fear of the physical and social implications of ‘old age’ may explain the alienation and disrespect exhibited by young adults, as is evident in the gyms in Tel Aviv. Muscle building exercises as well as shaping and toning exercises increase physical capital and are assumed to grant young exercisers protective cover and a sense of security from ageing. ‘The fear of the inevitable and undesirable future’, argues Hazan ‘brings middle-aged people to muster the inner conviction and strength necessary to believe that they can fight the ageism that they themselves created, to prolong their stay at their age of choice’ (2013: 60).
The claims made by Yotam, age 41, a regular exerciser at the gym, illustrate the belief that massive work on the body serves as a tool by which time and ageing can be stopped:
I pray that with God's help we'll be healthy and stay healthy and beautiful, and that our bodies will continue to serve us and look the way they do, through a lot of work [physical training], and that I'll still have the strength, even at the age of 60 and 70, to go to the gym to tone my body and keep this wonderful machine in top form, always.
But the belief that training and fitness can protect against ageing and weakening of the body is common to older people as well. Despite their awareness of the physical implications of chronological age, they seem to believe that by investing in strengthening the body, they will avoid bodily illnesses and spiritual weakness. Moreover, both older males and females are interested in toning the body, losing weight, reducing the size of their belly, tightening loose arms and strengthening the mind, as a guarantee of strength in the face of physical and mental crises, related or unrelated to ageing.
The distancing from older exercisers and especially from older female exercisers at the fitness centres in Tel Aviv is also expressed in a tangible way. Often, the trainers at these gyms ignore the older women, even when they perform exercises with poor technique that can cause physical injuries. Sometimes they send messages and talk on their mobile phones during private (paid) training sessions with older women. In contrast, a young woman, fashionably dressed, is likely to be given close guidance by the trainer.
Geographical Location and Age-Related Distancing
The situation at the suburban gym appears to be different, at least in part. Although some of the younger exercisers wear fashionable sport outfit and some of the men wear tight shirts emphasising their muscled body, yet there is no significant difference in dress or behaviour according to age groups. Moreover, the loud talk and conversations among those practicing aerobics is not age related. There was mainly one person who allowed herself to speak loudly and even chat with other exercisers during the classes—Iris, the owner of the gym, who used to participate in some of the classes. Veteran exercisers and an older man who participated in the Pilates class also used to talk during the training with the trainer and the gym's owner. It seems, therefore, that the more vocal and unrestricted chats during classes are related to a sense of self-confidence and control of the situation rather than the age of the exerciser. The different attitude toward the elder exercisers in the two social-geographic contexts (in Tel Aviv and in a suburban site) implies that even distinct perceptions of age can be expressed differently, depending on the relevant context. The variety in terms of age and fitness were conspicuous at the suburban gym. Thus, for example, the number of older people (over 60) seemed to be relatively high there. Two disabled men were observed as regular exercisers, one of them accompanied by a Philippine carer. Another, in his eighties, after a heart operation, was also a regular exerciser. It is suggested, therefore, that the generalisation with regard to age (as to other social categories) blurs the complexity and variety of situations and contexts.
Although no incidents of disrespect or superiority towards older exercisers were observed at the suburban gym on the part of trainers or younger exercisers, the issue of age could be noticed from time to time. A certain event, experienced by the female researcher raises doubts regarding the claim about differences in ageist attitudes between the gyms in the two regions. It exposed latent ageism-based attitudes, expressed in a ‘subtle avoidance of contact’ (as coined by Butler 1995).
The event was documented in the researcher's field notes as follows:
I entered the hall with two other exercisers, a man of about 40 and a woman of about 50 . . . We went to the TRX equipment, carrying out exercises with ropes. From the very start of the training session, I noticed that the trainer, in her early twenties, was ignoring me. She consistently looked at the two other exercisers . . . I noticed that the trainer positioned herself with her back to me, and that she looked at the other exercisers, who were on my left, offering them comments . . . the more the trainer kept her back to me and reacted only to the other two exercisers, I got more frustrated and angry at her . . . Later, the trainer brought balls for the other exercisers and said that it would probably be too hard for me. I told her that I could try, and then she brought a ball for me too. I successfully performed all of the exercises with the ball.
. . . During the last 20 minutes I got very frustrated because the exercises became even harder and the trainer continued to look only at the other exercisers while ignoring me and keeping her back turned to me. I felt humiliated. I was convinced that the trainer didn't consider me a serious exerciser worth correcting since I'm older than the other exercisers; because I'm ‘just an old woman’. At this point, I started to think about what I could do about it. Should I keep quiet and not say anything, because acknowledging the feeling that I'm being ignored and discriminated against—means affirming that I'm old and irrelevant.
The class ended . . . the trainer left the hall and went to talk with the manager. I came up to them and asked the trainer why she practically didn't look at me at all and offered no comments. She answered, ‘I let you do your own thing, because I understood that you were doing what was right for your body’ . . . I said, while trying to control my anger, ‘I don't want you to let me do my own thing . . . ’ And she said, ‘Ok, I'll keep track of you next time. . .’ I left the gym and thought to myself, ‘Wow, that's great material for my ethnography’ and my next thought was, ‘If I wasn't doing a field study I'd surely start crying . . . ’
The event described above suggests that the researcher expected to be treated just like the other exercisers. Being treated differently, she felt hurt and angry, but at the same time she expressed her anger. The trainer's annoying conduct was firmly responded to by the researcher, embarrassing and ‘punishing’ her by complaining about the way she treated the exercising researcher in front of the gym's manager. Complains about the trainer's attitude, made by ‘a client’ is likely to impact the trainer's position there. Thus, power relations change when the exerciser uses the relevant resource in her possession, as a client, to correct the imbalance in the relationship with the trainer. In other words, the offended researcher is not a passive victim, but is rather an active agent who can influence her self-image and her social image.
The researcher's vulnerability is exposed by the fact that although other exercisers also found it difficult to perform exercises that require great effort, she exerted special efforts not to be ‘caught’ failing to complete the exercises. This reveals her need to demonstrate to the ‘younger’ environment that she is of ‘normal’ physical ability and also her need to distance herself from the realm of physical decay. In other words, the images projected by ‘the others’ are internalised by ‘the elderly’ even without being openly spoken. The fact that the other trainees are not ‘young people’ in their twenties or thirties emphasises the transparency of those associated with ‘relative old age’. The ‘young elders’ enjoy relevant professional attention, while the ‘older elder’ (the researcher) is irrelevant and transparent to the trainer, who herself is very young relative to the other two participants in the class.
The trainer's disregard of the researcher can be explained in (at least) two ways. It is possible, of course, that the trainer believed, as she explained in the conversation with the gym's manager, that the researcher does not need her guidance because she ‘listens’ to her body and does what is best for her. This is an unsatisfactory explanation because executing an exercise in the wrong way may result in physical injury, and it is the trainer's responsibility to prevent it. The gyms’ basic obligation to provide professional and equal treatment to all exercisers also cancels out this explanation. It appears that a more relevant explanation refers to the trainer's need to avoid stigmatising contact because of the tendency of the stigma ‘to spread, from the stigmatized individual to those close to him’ (Goffman 1983: 28); and to her need for physical and mental distance from ‘the representatives of old age’ (Hazan 2006b). Feeling uncomfortable to relate to the researcher, whose advanced age is evident in her white hair and wrinkled face, the trainer distanced herself from the researcher physically, turning her back to her. ‘The visibility of the (aging) body is thus a confluence of personal, physical, situational, and institutional factors that are interpretively sorted in practice’ state Jaber Gubrium and James Holstein (in Tulle 2008: 11). In the situation described above, these factors played a significant role in the trainer's interpretation of the researcher's social positioning, as reflected in her attitude. The age gap, accentuated by physical signifiers of age played a central role in the situation described above.
It follows, therefore, that reality is more complex than the perceived dichotomy between ‘the elderly’ and ‘the young’ and between ageism in ‘the metropolis’ versus ageism in ‘the suburb’. Stereotypical attitudes with regard to age are context-dependent, influenced by a variety of factors, and are relevant not only to ‘old age.’
Paternalism, Control, and Resistance
Paternalistic encouragement bestowed on older people can serve as a means of comforting for the chronological threat of wearing out of the body and its biological end. This attitude was apparent in several observed occasions.
In a conversation, that took place after one of the classes at the suburban gym, Iris, the manager, told one of the veteran female exercisers that she completed a Pilates trainers’ course, explaining that she wants to work with the elderly, because ‘it [the work] is more focused, more in depth, more sensitive. I want to help—not to shape, not for form, but to do better . . . I connect with this age group because of my own age’. It seems that Iris's emotional expression was also directed to the researcher (of a similar age . . . ), who listened to the conversation. These sentiments might sound human, respectful, and professional. Yet, the expressions of personal and emotional commitment disclosed the fact that Iris perceived the needs of the ‘elderly’ as inherently different from the needs of young people. Her assumption that this ‘age group’ is not interested in, and does not need, care and toning to the same degree as younger people consume discloses her own ageist hidden attitude. Although Iris justified her intentions to work with ‘the elderly’ by relating herself to this age category, her words sound patronising. Iris's good intentions imply that she is far from the menacing age group, since she will be the trainer and not the exerciser, with expertise that transcends the limits of age.
Several studies elaborate on strategies used by ‘the elderly’ to avoid being identified with ‘old age.’ Gamliel (2007), for example, describes how the ‘expertise’ and ‘altruism’ attributed to professional mourners’ in Yemenite culture is used by them to their ‘non-elderly’ self-perception. Similarly, the self-perception of older actors as ‘non-elderly’ entails their resistance to being identified with ‘old age’ (Gamliel 2011). Her interviewees claimed that ‘because of their perpetual naïveté, they are able to internalize the characters’ (2011: 396). Spector-Marzel's study (2008) about the retired military officers of 1948, discusses the extreme contrast between ‘old age’ and the ideal of the militaristic, masculine figure of the Western masculine Israeli Sabra. Her interviewees demonstrate domination, hegemony, and masculinity ‘as opposed to the Israeli-Western image of old age as weak, marginal and genderless’. Their old age is shaped as the antithesis of the common image of old age, and as challenging the stereotypes associated with it. The officers ‘base their “identifying card” on the cultural axiom that determines that a masculine Sabra commander cannot, by definition, be old’ (2008: 16). Moreover, according to the officers’ cultural perception ‘acting on behalf of the collective is a shield against old age’ (2008: 16).
The discourse on physical deterioration and its impact on controlling older people are incorporated in Western culture. Tulle (2008: 4) demonstrated the interaction between forms of control imposed on older bodies by larger structures and discourses, and their impact on the opportunities for agency. Following this argument Iris's good intention can be interpreted as a way of justifying her relative superiority, despite her age. The advantage of expertise enables her control over ‘aging bodies’ and involves a business potential (within ‘industries that “forestall old age”’, which flourish in Western societies and enjoy huge profits [Spector-Marzel 2008]). The control sought in Iris's case is not related to age or an intergenerational gap, since her age is similar to that of her potential customers. It seems that Iris's exceptional physical fitness (achieved by her adherence to an hour-long fast run on the treadmill every day) gave her a sense of confidence in her ‘non-old’ body and ‘non-elderly’ physical abilities. Her robustness, so it seems, encouraged her sense of superiority in relation to other women who are perceived by her as ‘older’. If so, a high level of physical fitness provides the feeling of distance from the bounds of being affiliated with the threatening ‘old age’.
The presence of ‘old age’ and the threat it carries were revealed to the female researcher especially through expressions of encouragement and support commonly reserved for older people. Female exercisers appear to be patronised more than male exercisers. The latter, so it seems, are more easily identified with physical strength (and less with physical weakness), or possibly evoke more caution in those who try to patronise them (women are more likely to be brought up to be ‘nice’ and not to hurt).
The changes in women's participation, including older women's, in sport and even in ‘male’ fields such as marathons and boxing, that took place in recent decades, did not bring about the avoidance of the discriminating, sexist discourse that stigmatises and commercialises the female athlete's body (McGowan and Smith 2010; Vertinsky 1995). In all the observed gyms encouraging expressions were directed at older women, by both trainers and exercisers, intending to compliment them for sticking to the training at the gym. Expressions such as ‘good for you; you don't give up’, ‘I hope to be like you when I'll be 5, no 10, years younger than you’, ‘I salute you’, ‘I take my hat off . . . ’ were often heard in interactions between trainers and older exercisers. However, compliments, at times, provoked resistance. In one occasion, after one of the classes, a woman in her early fifties who had been exercising at the gym for many years complimented the ‘elderly’ researcher kindly. The ‘older’ researcher reacted unkindly to the younger woman. Why ‘good job’? she inquired. The younger woman answered, ‘Because you persevere’. The researcher reacted reluctantly with a hostile silence.
While expressions of encouragement are intended to compliment older exercisers, they reflect a degree of condescension on the part of the person giving the compliment related to the chronological and social distance. The threatening image older people represent for younger people may evoke the urge to placate them while having difficulty hiding it. Hence, older people's resistance stems from the fact that they are perceived as children to be encouraged, deserving of a pat on the back and in need of consolation for not being treated like other younger individuals. Thus, the resistance displayed by the researcher is interpreted as a protest against the implied exclusion from the circles of ‘ordinary’ people, who do not merit a special degree of respect for simple behaviour, such as persistence in participating in classes or for their level of performance in the exercises.
The resistance of older people to stereotypes that construct their identity as related to ‘dependency, distrust, disregard and distancing’ (Hazan 2006b: 103) was also observed in the behaviour of a veteran male exerciser, over 80 years old, who visited the Ramat Aviv gym on a regular basis. The man used to arrive in worn out, sweaty clothes. This caused revulsion and distancing on the part of other exercisers, but he kept ignoring them, continuing ‘to do his thing’, as if on purpose. Hazan describes the ‘rebellion’ of the elderly as
defiance; demonstration of the ‘self’, especially in powerful environments . . . This defiance can be expressed in behaviours done ‘on purpose’; in what the elderly person does to annoy and irritate, to say: ‘I am different from what you want me to be; I am someone with a personality, with the ability to make decisions; with a will; and I am entitled to, and want to, demonstrate this will’. (1984: 103)
Hence, the ‘rebellion’ is against the image of ‘otherness’, someone who is no longer an inseparable part of the ‘ordinary’ public; it is also a rebellion against being perceived as a person who does not ‘belong.’
Hannah's account provides another example of an older person's resistance to the stereotypes that shape her identity. She was at her mid-seventies, a veteran exerciser in a gym in Tel Aviv:
There is no difference between the young and the elderly; age is just something chronological. I come to work out, and I don't think about my age. After you retire or reach old age, it's always possible to find something wrong with your body, your knees, your elbow, your back hurts etc., but you just must not think about it and keep going. So many people at the gym tell me ‘good job’ and ‘wow, how awesome, I hope that's how I'll be at your age’, and I tell them ‘stop, I'll start blushing’. I pity the elderly who are passive; giving up is the easiest thing to do—to sit at a coffee shop or at home and read newspapers. At the gym, I connect with all ages; I have friends who are 15 and friends who are adults, too. So many young people tell me, ‘Hannah, I would so much like to get to know you’. Look, my goal is to keep doing what I started, so many years ago, to keep being active . . . it's not easy. Sometimes I feel I've been worn down. Sometimes I feel I've reached my limits in terms of ability. again, the goal is not to give in, not ever!
It appears that Hannah contradicts herself. On one hand, she claims that ‘there is no difference between the young and the elderly; age is just something chronological’, while on the other hand, she explains why she is in fact ‘elderly’—because ‘after you retire or reach old age it's always possible to find something wrong with your body . . . but you just have to not think about it and keep going’. Hannah expresses satisfaction with the encouraging compliments due to her perseverance in physical fitness activities. They seem to imply that she succeeds in defying the expected behaviour of people at her age, almost causing her to ‘start blushing’. Yet, at the same time, she expresses reservation in response to the compliments, telling those who compliment her to stop. Hannah's response reveals her satisfaction from the fact that she is accepted and respected by the younger people. She seems to be happy for being appreciated by them because of her persistence in ‘regular’ activity at the gym. At the same time, however, her response seems ambivalent. All she wants is to continue to be active and ‘not to give in’; but her main desire, it seems, is to be in the company of people of all ages—and in her words: ‘at the gym, I connect with all ages; I have friends who are 15 and friends who are adults, too’. In other words, Hannah acts decisively and obstinately to be integrated in untagged social environment. Moreover, Hannah tries to distinguish herself from other elderly people, through patronising them, explaining that she ‘pities the elderly who are passive’, who prefer to ‘sit at a coffee shop or at home and read newspapers’. Perseverance at the gym allows her to feel younger than ‘them’ and to be part of the ‘non-elderly’ population.
Hannah's account also points to the impact of sociopolitical aspects on the individual. After retirement, an age determined by law and implemented by employment organisations, one can, so she suggests, ‘always . . . find something wrong with your body’. Thus, the law of retirement influences one's sense of well-being and mental state. This example appears to contradict Hazan's claim that a deviation that involves a threat to the social order is responded by social sanctions. He explains that ‘old people who present a danger that they are not synchronized in terms of old age time, they want for instance to behave like young people, they want to dress like the young . . . ageism is applied in order to get them back on their appropriate age track’ (Hazan in Koren 2013: 45). Hannah's behaviour, which deviates from the expected age norms, inspires positive reinforcement, in the form of compliments and encouragement. At the same time, compliments can be seen as a way of strengthening the status of ‘age-based otherness’. Hannah's participation in exercise classes at the gym may not expose a threat to the social order as long as she is perceived as a ‘nice’ un-harmful exception (like a child who is admired when he succeeds in doing things that do not correspond with his age).
Hannah's account appears to represent the feelings of many people at her age, not only her own. Thus, it can be inferred that the institutionalised exclusion of people at a certain age (of ‘retirement’ age) from the labour market and labelling them ‘old’ are internalised and foster compliance connecting age, illness, and weakness. It follows that the age tag is internalised through both passive acceptance and at the same time acts of resistance that are constantly demonstrated at the gym.
Conclusion
The authors’ observations and conversations with exercisers and trainers in gyms in Tel Aviv and in a suburb highlighted the role of age perceptions in social interactions. The attitude toward the ‘elderly’ of both male and female trainers and exercisers appeared to range from a considerate and encouraging attitude to contempt and disregard. However, a ‘regular’ attitude, similar to the attitude toward ‘younger’ exercisers, was also often observed by the authors with regard to ‘older’ exercisers. Expressions of the reserved and even distancing attitudes are not consistent nor do they happen regularly in all the gyms. Rather, significant differences were found, depending on various factors, such as the type and time of activity, the geo-social location, the characteristics of the gym owners, and more. The documented social interactions seem to convey a sense of age relativity in perceptions of the ‘other’.
Disregard, patronising attitudes, and rejection of the elderly at gyms are interpreted as ways of defending oneself from the physical and social threat that older people represent, through their body and presence. However, whereas many expressions of disdain and even contempt directed at older exercisers were documented by the male researcher at the gyms in Tel Aviv, at the suburban gym, the female researcher observed relative age integration. Moreover, older exercisers in all the gyms expressed resistance to the patronising attitude towards them and sometimes even defied it. Analysing the ethnography, the authors suggest that power relations between age groups are embedded in the gym's social atmosphere. They vary and depend on the circumstances, situations, and places in which they occur.
The attitudes toward older people at the gym are emphasised due to the physiological dimension conspicuous in this very physically active environment. ‘Getting old’ is revealed as threatening but also challenging. Fitness exercises and perseverance in physical activity are perceived by exercisers of all ages as means of distancing from physical weakness (and the deterioration of the body). They are also perceived as a way to overcome it.
Hence, it is suggested that ‘old age’ is perceived by gym attendees in relative terms and is influenced by divergent conditions and the social surrounding. Ageism appears to prevail in all studied gyms but it is expressed differently and in more or less subtle ways. The issue of social integration versus social segregation should be studied further, relating, for instance, to life at home compared to life in the community housing options for older people.
Notes
Nevertheless, Hazan (in Koren 2013: 37) argues that as new categories of sexual types, which were not recognized in the past, have emerged, even the category of ‘sex’ cannot be perceived anymore as dichotomous.
According to a document issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics (2020), the elderly population in Israel consists of 11 percent of the population. They are about 1,000,000 people and only 4 percent of them live in out-of-home residences.
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