Growing up, I've heard many stereotypes about old people. I didn't believe some of the stereotypes but I believed most and even thought of them as facts. For example, one of the most significant stereotype that I believed was that old people have no sexual drive. I believed it until I saw a news special about the rise of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV among the senior population. I remember thinking while watching, "old people have sex?". I didn't give those stereotypes too much thought untill I started working in a nursing home.
While working as a cna I realized that I didn't know much about old people. I've had some residents try to flirt with me, I've had a 80 year old lady try masturbating many times while I was giving her a shower, the ladies still like to get their hair and nails done and they are not as boring as I thought. There's even a singer there, who sings at breakfast every morning in the dining room and they like to curse when they don't get their way, so they are not as nice as some may think.
Although my job has allowed me to discard some stereotypes it also confirm others. For example I hear a lot that old people love bingo and I've found out that they really do. They will be very mad if they miss bingo, and they all have some kind of condition (but maybe that's because it's a nursing home). As far as stereotypes go, they may be true for some or most but there will always be the exception to the rule. We have to realize that everyone's different even if they might have similar experiences and we can't just put them in one all box.
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