I think you're fighting an uphill battle here, Ronni, to redefine the word 'old.' It's not just with people that the word 'old' has a negative vibe. Cars, houses, software, fashion, phones, etc., etc., all get old and/or worn out.

I am old and worn out and I call myself old or elderly all the time. A surprising number of people will correct me, saying, "You're not old!" If not old at 72, what exactly am I? Other cultures place a higher value on old people but that's never going to happen here in the USA, no matter how many people jump on your band wagon.

Yes to reclaiming the word OLD, a necessary part of consciousness-raising about growing old, in a way similar to the use of slogans like Black is Beautiful and Sisterhood is Powerful in the Sixties, which shifted our concepts about blackness and women. Why do older people collude with negative views of OLDness and aging? It is frustrating.

When someone complements me for not looking my age, I reply by saying it' s my genes. This is my way to give credit to my ancestors and at the same time inform and deflect the intended complementary words. In truth such words are insulting to me, the person. But let's face it...do we really want to be on the defense all the time? I don't....

I don't mind being called "old", Senior Citizen", "Old Timer" or any of the usual euphemisms.However, the first person that calls me "Pops" is gonna' get it.

The neighborhood organization that I have been attempting to hold together for over a year now (and it's been going relatively well, actually) met last night for our monthly get-together. A speaker from the regional Area Agency on Aging spoke and it was a lively discussion, with much intelligent and helpful input from the audience. The neighborhood represented is one of middle or lower-middle class, mostly white homeowners, primarily female who have been in their homes for decades. If the speaker had not referred to some of the requirements for program participation as being 55 or 60 or 65, I'm not sure there would have been any reference to age at all. It just felt good to feel that we were sharing experiences common to most of us, and trying to support one another in the process.

Words can wound or they can uplift. You have reformed me, Ronni. I used to call myself a Senior, but now I never use that word. I am an elder and I am very old.

George Carlin touched on a use of words for dying that irritate me more than being called an old biddy. I really cringe when I hear that someone "passed" or "passed away". They died; pure and simple. I am going to die. I am not going to expire, pass away or go to a mythical place called heaven.

re darlene, i think i'll just croak; that one always appealed to me. i won't treat the last experience as being any more special or dignified than the rest of them that make up a life.

My mother was in three different nursing homes for a total of 18 years before she died, and she was spoken to as "Sweetheart," "Sweetie,"Sweet Pea," "Honey," and even "Little Peanut," (she was petite and very slim)and she hated it...really hated it. I can't tell you how many staff members I talked to about how much it upset my mother, and yet it continued. I wonder what else I could have done to get it to stop.

I don't like the cutesy euphemisms either. But there is nothing cutesy, derogatory, or evasive about "senior" or "senior citizen." In fact, "senior" derives from the Latin "senex," meaning old. You can't get any more straightforward than that. The Online Etymology Dictionary even points out that "The Latin word yielded titles of respect in many languages, such as French sire, Spanish señor, Portuguese senhor, Italian signor." I use "old," "senior," and "senior citizen" interchangeably, for I've earned them all and am proud of it.

Totally agree! So grateful to have lived to be proudly OLD.

Old is somewhere on a continuum. I am 20 years older than one of my favorite friends. I am 5 or 10 years younger than friends who are retired with me. I search terms such as old, senior, retired, aging, single with no children, no long term care insurance, multi-age communities, … to find a safe and rewarding space for the duration. If you aren't already old, you will be. Get over it and get on with it - preferably with exhilaration and joy.

It's a myth that other cultures put a greater value on being old. Nope, they don't. China is very ageist, openly and overtly. You are an old woman at 40+. Your job in life is to retire early and babysit, do tai chi in the park. India is the same. No modern culture reveres the old, the only reason you see them looking after the elderly is that there is no social safety net.

It's also a myth that trying to look younger is new. I like reading old magazines, newspapers and ads from the past and it was common to advertise hocus pocus potions to keep your youthful glow, for well over 100 years.

I couldn't agree more. My mother used to call herself and my dad "senior citizens" and it made me grit my teeth, vowing I would never use that term for myself and I haven't. But, like most other women on this site, I hate, hate, hate even more to be called honey or sweetie or dear or young lady. I wonder why, if we all hate it so much, we have not made our feelings clear when people use those terms. Personally, I haven't quite had the courage to say "don't call me that" because I'm assuming the perpetrators mean well, but I'm beginning to think we should all rise up and take back our dignity. Just as African Americans made it quite clear they didn't want to be called "negro" maybe it's time we need to be out and proud and tell those well-meaning but stupid youngsters off. Meg