COVID-19 interactions that feature ageism
A case study of conversation among Japanese women
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jld.21451Keywords:
COVID-19, Discourse Analysis, Positioning Analysis, Japanese Women, AgeismAbstract
This study investigates how ageism is displayed among Japanese women in their mid-twenties when they talk about their experiences with COVID-19. Ageism, which is discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice based on people’s age, was reinforced by the outbreak of the disease. This study gathered data through virtual conversations recorded during the second wave of COVID-19 cases that hit Japan in August 2020. The conversation is examined using discourse analysis, focusing on how the participants position themselves and others through the narration of their personal experience. The analysis shows how participants co-construct the image of elderly people as others who are vulnerable to the virus but ignorant of their own risks. This image is created as the participants establish rapport-oriented interactions with friends that they align with as young and healthy citizens who are responsible for preventing the spread of the virus.
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