Against Ageism: A Queer Manifesto starts with what it is not: a socio-economic argument against ageism, celebrating the ‘elderly’ as economically viable. 

Instead, Simon(e) van Saarloos presents a radical critique of conventional arguments against ageism, rejecting constructs of ‘age’ and ‘youth’ and assumptions of their inherent qualities. Drawing from personal experience, the manifesto offers a reckoning with how ageism overlaps with structures of white supremacy and patriarchy.

Through the lens of crip and queer theory, as well as anti-carceral and anti-colonial perspectives on time, this piercing text provocatively calls for the abolition of age-related laws, reframing commonly held understandings about age from van Saarloos’s defiant perspective. 

Body/Politics is a new series which presents essays on ground-breaking ideas about the human body in relation to racial identities, sexuality, and politics.

Author/Artist: Simon(e) van Saarlos
Publisher: Mack Books
Page Count: 176pp
Size: 4.25 x 6.25
Notes: paperback
Date of Publication: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 978-1915743855