Ageism is a bias against, discrimination towards, or bullying of individuals and groups on the basis of their age, younger or older. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against the elderly, patterned on the terminology of sexism and racism. Butler defined ageism as a combination of three connected elements: negative attitudes towards old age and the aging process, discriminatory practices against older people, and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about elderly people.
Robert N. Butler, founding director of the National Institute on Aging who coined the term "ageism"
Barbara Robb, founder of the Aid for the Elderly in Government Institutions pressure group
A 14-year-old newsboy in New York City, 1910
National Youth Rights Association members protesting the voting age in Berkeley, California (2004)
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, religion, physical attractiveness or sexual orientation. Discrimination typically leads to groups being unfairly treated on the basis of perceived statuses based on ethnic, racial, gender or religious categories. It involves depriving members of one group of opportunities or privileges that are available to members of another group.
An African-American man drinking from a racially segregated water cooler marked "Colored", in Oklahoma City c. 1939
Nationalists in Corsica sometimes spray-paint or shoot traffic signs in French.
Anti-Arab sign in Pattaya Beach, Thailand
German warning in German-occupied Poland 1939 – "No entrance for Poles!"