Ageism and the grey divorce

Images of the youth and it benefits are all over the media. Youth signifies energy, beauty, freedom and hope. The reverse is the case once an individual ages. However we are living longer should we then give up our dreams, hope and aspirations? This is the dilemma of the modern world.

This is evident in marriages and relationships. Should couples settle and stay in marriages and relationships – literally until death separates them?

However in the western world there has been a recent trend that goes against this notion. The grey divorce refers to the increasingly demographic trend of divorce rates amongst couples in long last marriages. Indeed one American lawyer stated that one in four divorces he was advising on had been together over twenty years!

The most famous couple that symbolised the grey divorce was that of Vice President Al Gore and Tipper his wife of over 40 years that decided to divorce in 2011.

It must be said this was just a year after their daughter got divorced!

The scandal of the grey divorce is certainly not for the faint hearted at a time when society says you should be settled and accept your life for what it is .Various reasons for the grey divorce could be seen from discussions.

The longer life span, in American some couples married at twenty and lived well passed their seventies. Failure to adapt to their partners likes or transformation.
Economic reasons and inheritance from dead parents could lead to freedom of one partner that had previously been submissive.
Children leaving home and empty nest syndrome. There was really nothing to keep the couple together once the children had become independent.
The need to explore and fear of not really living once they has reached the age of retirement .

The reasons are numerous however such emphasis on the grey divorce signifies society’s view that the matured mind should just settle and wait for Death to come knocking at the door! This like so many social barriers such as seen in employment, entertainment, health policies show that ageism is alive and kicking in a world that people are living longer!

Written by Kafayat Oshodi