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The age group of people aged sixty and over has been conventionally referred to as “the elderly.” This categorization was mainly the result of the implementation of an “old-age” policy. In the early 1960s, this policy was based on the creation of a target population, “the elderly,” who, because of their age, were thought to be a burden on the rest of society. The frame of reference for this public policy was essentially built around the negative and deficient images of old age embodied by these older people. In turn, these policies have given credence to an image of this age group as a burden on society. Their “exponential” demographic growth and their supposedly excessive cost in terms of public spending were invoked. This combination of a “welfare” old-age policy and negative social representations has gradually transformed this categorization by age into social discrimination by age, now known as “ageism.”