The Young Gaze
Two cranky posts about ageism – Part I Most of the photographs on Cross Keys Village’s website are shots of actual people who live or work here. However, when I prepare promotional material designed to convey and refine the image of Cross Keys Village in the mind of older adults who are unfamiliar with our community, I occasionally need to rely on stock photography. Of course, my first concern is to select models who look as realistic as possible, and that I don’t recall having seen elsewhere.
In addition to avoiding over-familiar faces, I also stay away from photos showing older adults in certain situations that rub me the wrong way. I’m not just speaking about contrived shots (three men of three different races playing cards on an immaculate table). I have come across shots that truly puzzle me: a lineup of older gentlemen giving us the thumbs up, or a row of older ladies lifting one leg up like the Rockettes. To my amazement, such graphics are regularly used by marketing agencies that specialize in senior services accounts.
Tellingly, some of the most tasteful and evocative stock photography representing the Senior Consumer can be found in the promotion of products for the wealthy: No frozen smiles or hula hoops are required to sell exclusive financial services or heirloom watches.
It is only recently that I have identified what bothers me in hyperactive stock photography. I was listening to an archival interview of the late, great Toni Morrison, in which she explained the concept of the White Gaze: how people of color are assessed according to an often unconscious white-centered benchmark. While Morrison deconstructed her interviewer’s question in the most illuminating fashion, I understood that what I object to is the Young Gaze.
Next time you see an advertisement showing an older man surfing the waves or an older woman dancing suggestively, please join me in taking a step back: Who chose this photo, and what was the intention? Are we reassured about aging when we see it reflected through the prism of youth? Might we be closing our eyes to the beauty, the power, and the awe-inspiring irreversibility of aging? As I do my part to combat the White Gaze that Toni Morrison sensitized me to, I will also help others become aware of the Young Gaze, which threatens to dim our appreciation of our magnificent elders’ worth.
Oliver Hazan – VP Sales & Marketing, Cross Keys Village