Changing the Picture: Older Men’s Responses to Media Representations of Ageing in an Irish Context

The relationship between ageing and media representations can be a strained one. Our study set out to explore how the images of older men in advertising, TV, and film compared to men’s lived experiences of ageing in Ireland, as participants considered how a variety of contemporary screen genres conform to or challenge stereotypes. Understanding the images that older people perceive as constraining or empowering, and reflecting on their observations of how genre informs these representations, provides an opportunity to learn more about, and move beyond, gendered ageist cultural stereotypes. Drawing on focus-group discussions, this chapter explores these issues in the framework of hegemonic masculinity.