Fashion Designer Anjali Phougat talks about age shaming; says we should openly talk about age, not hide it

People say that age is just a number, but many people avoid discussing their age because of the taboos linked with it. Anjali Phougat, a fashion designer and humanitarian, believes that we should stop shaming people based on their age because age is just a number that does not define them. She believes that getting older makes you wiser.

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Nowadays, Age Shaming has become very common be it any industry or any other field. We often hear or unintentionally become a part of the age-shaming conversations as well.

Age shaming has become a common thing. It is even rampant on social media. “Social media world is full of fakes and gives encouragement to false beauty standards and many social media users have started living their lives behind those filters. I strongly feel age shaming should stop. We should never be scared to be ourselves and openly talk about age and not hide it,” she says. Sarcastically addressing people as uncle and aunty has become a running gag. Karan Kundra was recently in headlines for referring to Shamita Shetty as "aunty" in Bigg Boss 15.

“I have faced it too. People say if our kids call everyone uncle and aunty because we gave them such values but to me it’s offensive and rude. I was called aunty by a twenty-year-old boy in my mid-thirties, and I told him up front that I don’t make relationships outside my real ones and professionally preferred to be called by my name. I work with many young models and would feel quite disgraceful of them to not call me with my real name, it turns me off. This shows unprofessionalism and lack of basic morals,” she stated.

Beside this she further stated that age discrimination at workplace are quite common Ageism expresses itself in all directions, including the younger end of the spectrum. We've all thought, 'She's too young for this job!' or 'He's too old to keep up with the demands of this job!' That's ageism, and it's all around us. Yes, I did lose a few projects early in my career because I was told I was too young and inexperienced to handle them. It's a common myth in our society that if you only have great experience in one field, you can do great, but I believe that if you're a good learner with no prior experience and are eager to take on any job, you should be given equal opportunities and not discriminated against because of your age, race, or gender.

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Diversity training that covers topics such as respect, implicit bias, and team building will go a long way toward creating a strong and inclusive workplace,” she shares. What do you think is the best way to deal with ageism? “If you are being treated unfairly based on your age, it may not hurt to let the other person know about your feelings. Be vocal about this issue and it can help you to stop someone from discriminating against you for the wrong reasons right away,” she ends.