Old Age is Old School: Ashton Applewhite K’74

She co-founded the Old School Hub, a website created to educate people about ageism and support movement-building at the grassroots level. “My mission is to put age bias on people’s radar alongside other forms of prejudice and discrimination,” the Brooklyn-based Applewhite said.

Before founding Old School, she wrote the well-received 2016 book This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. Her profile got an additional boost the next year from her TED Talk “Let’s End Ageism,” which has amassed nearly two million views.

When Old School launched in 2018, it had no political-action “campaigns” section. Now it contains more than 30 initiatives around the world aimed at dismantling ageism. “That is concrete evidence that awareness is building in tangible and effective ways,” said Applewhite, who designed her own major in architecture at Kirkland.

Her interest in ageism began when she looked in the mirror in her mid-50s and felt a “vague, creeping anxiety” about growing old. She wanted to understand where those feelings came from and soon began questioning why we hear only the negative side of the story.

“We’re aging from the minute we are born. Aging is not something icky and sad that only old people do.”

Now, she said, “I’m in the business of helping people approach aging from a fact-based perspective rather than one that’s fear-based. Sexist, misogynist, patriarchal, capitalist forces want us to be scared, and they do not operate in our best interests. We’re aging from the minute we are born. Aging is not something icky and sad that only old people do.”

Applewhite envisions a world where “age” is neutral. She suggests decoupling the words “old” and “young” from positive or negative assumptions. “When you say, ‘I feel old?’ do you mean you feel incompetent, or sad, or lonely? You probably felt all those things when you were 13,” she said. “By the same token, you can feel engaged, vigorous, and sexy throughout life. It’s not about age.”