The Stigma of Being Young on the Experience of Rate-Busting as Positive Deviance

This study compares younger and older librarians with regard to how they experience age-related stigma. The purpose was to show how youth, although a culturally valued attribute, can be experienced as stigmatizing (i.e., as a form of positive deviance known as rate-busting). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 librarians who ranged in age from 27 to 64. Although both younger and older librarians reported feeling stigmatized because of their age, only younger librarians reported instances of other people drawing unwanted attention to their age. Because librarians are an older demographic, the attention young librarians receive as rate-busters may be due to disconfirming expectations.