Rethinking What It Means to Age

This zine, created by nonbinary activist Ryan Backer, examines social preconceptions of aging and raises awareness of ageism within an intersectional context. Backer, a self-described "old person in training" encourages us to reconsider the binary of young versus old, and to reject ageist ideas that are fueled by capitalism. The zine also provides tips and activities for groups and partners that discuss aging. While this resource doesn't explicitly center a feminist perspective, it provides a helpful intersectional and queer framework for rethinking how we understand aging for people of all genders and sexual identities.

There is no "perfect age"! And I would say no stage at all, or stages for that matter. From my experience, and from the experience I witness of others, aging is more like a playset, with a slide, climbing bars, ladders to go up and down on, poles to slide on, ledges to jump off of, and wood chips to break our falls.

• AUTHOR: Ryan Backer • LAST UPDATED: June 1, 2019