EXISTENTIALISM AND AGEISM. Stella Duffy 5th June 2024 7-9pm UK time on Zoom

Existentialism and Ageism

Stella Duffy

At sixty-five one is not merely twenty years older than one was at forty-five. One has exchanged an indefinite future – and one has a tendency to look upon it as infinite – for a finite future. (de Beauvoir, The Coming of Age, 1970/1996, p. 378)

Ageism is rife in our culture, arguably it has always been so, Shakespeare’s seventh age of man – “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything” – hardly speaks of a well-rounded and fully lived old age. In the 21^st century, ageing often carries an imperative to remain forever young and fit, lest we become a burden on the health system, our loved ones, and future generations.

What age is old? Unless we are aiming to be 110, can 55 really be ‘midlife’? And if naming ourselves as ‘old’ at 60 or 70 is uncomfortable, what does that say about our internalised ageism?

This event will consider the value of taking an existential approach to ageing and ageism in our work with clients and in daily life.

Bring your youthful vigour, your aged wisdom, and everything in between, for an engaging and experiential conversation about what the numbers really mean.

Stella Duffy has recently completed a doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy and her research is in the embodied experience of postmenopause. Alongside her psychotherapy practice, she is the award-winning writer of seventeen novels, over seventy short stories and fifteen plays, and worked in theatre for over thirty-five years as an actor, director, and improvisor. The co-founder and, for eight years, the co-director of Fun Palaces working with communities and inclusion across the UK, Stella has been active in equalities and diversity work in the arts and LGBTQ+ communities for many decades. She is also a yoga teacher, leading regular workshops in yoga for writing.