This is one of the photos I had taken for publicity purposes four years ago. What do you see when you look at it? More importantly for the purposes of this essay, what do literary agents/editors/publicists/librarians who book school visits/literary conference organizers see? Do they see someone vibrant, energetic, and enthusiastic or do they see someone who doesn't have enough years left for a long career, who won't have enough energy for school presentations, and who is probably old-fashioned and out-of-touch. What a quick look at my author photo can't show you is the abundance of my life experiences. I'm an immigrant to the US, a mother and a grandmother, the survivor of several careers and a life-long learner. All those experiences are reflected in my writing.
In her great #kidlitwomen essay "How Do I Look: Ageism and Women's Author Photos" Louise Hawes had some thoughts about ageism and how it might affect an older female author's career. One book buyer told her, “From my experience as a buyer, all energy and marketing tends towards young women and men.” Are young women and men writing all the best books then? Or is ageism rearing its ugly head in the publishing world?
In her great #kidlitwomen essay "How Do I Look: Ageism and Women's Author Photos" Louise Hawes had some thoughts about ageism and how it might affect an older female author's career. One book buyer told her, “From my experience as a buyer, all energy and marketing tends towards young women and men.” Are young women and men writing all the best books then? Or is ageism rearing its ugly head in the publishing world?
When I quit my job at a big corporation ten years ago many of my colleagues assumed I had not left voluntarily. Why? Because of my age. In the headquarters of this massive company the percentage of employees over 50 was very small. The whisper network was rife with stories of people “let go” because of their age. Long-time employees tend to have higher wages and medical insurance costs — a company can save money by replacing them with younger, cheaper employees. Nondisclosure agreements prevent employees from speaking about their dismissal and so the practice remains effectively hidden.
Some cultures value age; ours does not, and especially not in women. So women dye their hair, Botox their lips, and surgically alter themselves all in an attempt to appear younger than they are. Most men don’t feel the need to go to these extremes. An aging male TV presenter is acceptable but his female co-host must be young and pretty. Stereotypical representations of aging are often insulting and feed discrimination. Not every older person is a terrible driver, or confused by technology, or permanently befuddled. We don’t all wear dreadful old-fashioned clothes, and we’re not all stooped and shuffling nincompoops with moles and hairs sprouting on our faces. Sadly such representations of aging are often included in children’s books. Writers, please don’t promote these stereotypes. After all, if you’re lucky, you’ll be old one day too. Write strong, vibrant aging characters that reflect the older people I know — people who travel, take university classes, delight in learning new things, run marathons, hike, and march in protest against politics they abhor.
I’d love to know what you think about this. If you have thoughts on ageism and age discrimination in books and the publishing industry, please post them in the comments below.
One final thought: time does not destroy my urge to write. I can still lose my heart to my characters and put their story on a page. As Margarita Engle wrote in her beautiful poem (in her own post for #kidlitwomen):
Some cultures value age; ours does not, and especially not in women. So women dye their hair, Botox their lips, and surgically alter themselves all in an attempt to appear younger than they are. Most men don’t feel the need to go to these extremes. An aging male TV presenter is acceptable but his female co-host must be young and pretty. Stereotypical representations of aging are often insulting and feed discrimination. Not every older person is a terrible driver, or confused by technology, or permanently befuddled. We don’t all wear dreadful old-fashioned clothes, and we’re not all stooped and shuffling nincompoops with moles and hairs sprouting on our faces. Sadly such representations of aging are often included in children’s books. Writers, please don’t promote these stereotypes. After all, if you’re lucky, you’ll be old one day too. Write strong, vibrant aging characters that reflect the older people I know — people who travel, take university classes, delight in learning new things, run marathons, hike, and march in protest against politics they abhor.
I’d love to know what you think about this. If you have thoughts on ageism and age discrimination in books and the publishing industry, please post them in the comments below.
One final thought: time does not destroy my urge to write. I can still lose my heart to my characters and put their story on a page. As Margarita Engle wrote in her beautiful poem (in her own post for #kidlitwomen):
“old orchard
each year’s crop of fruit
always new”
each year’s crop of fruit
always new”
It’s Women’s History Month and the children’s literature community is celebrating with 31 days of essays seeking to address gender and social inequalities in our industry. Join the conversation at KidlitWomen on Facebook and by searching #KidlitWomen on Twitter.
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