Grey Planet
Professor Jayne Raisborough
Professor - School Of Humanities And Social Sciences
Biography
Professor Jayne Raisborough is an established researcher and author. She has diverse research ranging from ethical consumption to feminist theory and her current work focuses on stigma and social inequalities. She understands popular culture as sites where common-sense understandings about people and groups are reproduced in ways that legitimise social injustices. Jayne has a background in exploring stigma in relation to age and ageing; body size and more recently, poverty. She is currently examining the role of creative arts and theatre in destabilising harmful stereotypes.
Synopsis
In many parts of the world populations are getting older. There are many concerns about the social and financial cost of an older population. We see media stories warning of a grey tsunami or of an ageing time bomb. In this talk, Professor Jayne Raisborough takes issue with how older people are represented as a threat and a burden. She asks whether it’s time to regard these unprecedented demographic changes as an opportunity to tackle social inequalities, which make themselves felt as we grow old. Jayne argues that while our world is changing and greying, the future can still be bright no matter what our age.
