--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I don't want is to be called an…" description: "\"“What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. I saw 'Octogenarian Jane Gardam' and I thought 'Blow me!' I mean, I am, but that's not the point.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/jane-gardam-20104_called-octogenarian_what-i-don-t-want-is-to-be-called-an-oct_51330.png" --- # What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. I saw… ![“What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. I saw 'Octogenarian Jane Gardam' and I thought 'Blow me!' I mean, I am, but that's not the point." (Inteview, The Guardian, 8 January 2011)” quote by Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/jane-gardam-20104_called-octogenarian_what-i-don-t-want-is-to-be-called-an-oct_51330.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/jane-gardam-20104_called-octogenarian_what-i-don-t-want-is-to-be-called-an-oct_51330.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/jane-gardam-20104_called-octogenarian_what-i-don-t-want-is-to-be-called-an-oct_51330.png) > ““What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. I saw 'Octogenarian Jane Gardam' and I thought 'Blow me!' I mean, I am, but that's not the point." (Inteview, The Guardian, 8 January 2011)”” [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects the label of octogenarian, emphasizing that age categories can feel limiting and reductive despite factual accuracy. **In simple terms:** Resists age labeling Key Takeaway Labels can misrepresent identity Themes age perception identity social labeling self-perception stereotypes Mood defiant wry reflective Type personal anecdote humorous remark When to use this quote - interview contexts - public speaking - media profiles Key Concepts age identity social constructs Practical Applications - personal branding - age advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How do labels shape self‑image? - When is it appropriate to use age descriptors? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Have you heard of this? An octogenarian, nasal cannula and wheeled oxygen, explains to me he’s ready and eager, exhausted by consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-pope/have-you-heard-of-this-an-octogenarian-nasal-cannula-and-wheeled/) Colin Pope > [“you might find yourself passing a lone octogenarian, his shoulders bent with the weight of age, his slippers shuffling along the cobblestones, his passage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/you-might-find-yourself-passing-a-lone-octogenarian-his-shoulders/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [I'm the only topless octogenarian in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roosevelt-longworth/i-m-the-only-topless-octogenarian-in-washington/) [Alice Roosevelt Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roosevelt-longworth/) > [“I think it's something like Mr. Peter Sloane and the octogenarians. The other evening Mrs. Sloane was reading a newspaper ans she said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery-2/i-think-it-s-something-like-mr-peter-sloane-and-the-octogenarians-the/) [L. M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery-2/) > [At my advanced age - I'm now an octogenarian - I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who want to take my picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/at-my-advanced-age-i-m-now-an-octogenarian-i-m-constantly-amazed-by/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [“when I was one on one with twentysomethings, I found myself as confused as an octogenarian with a smartphone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-denker/when-i-was-one-on-one-with-twentysomethings-i-found-myself-as/) Jayne Denker ## More by Jane Gardam > [I just knew I would be a writer. It just seemed the only sensible thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-just-knew-i-would-be-a-writer-it-just-seemed-the-only-sensible/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I think the most dangerous influence for a young writer is to be treated with cynicism or discouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-think-the-most-dangerous-influence-for-a-young-writer-is-to-be/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [“His colleagues at the Bar called him Filth, but not out of irony. It was because he was considered to be the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/his-colleagues-at-the-bar-called-him-filth-but-not-out-of-irony-it/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [When I was young and the empire was beginning to disintegrate, the idea was absolutely unbelievable, particularly to children who'd been taught that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/when-i-was-young-and-the-empire-was-beginning-to-disintegrate-the/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [“Judges live with shadows behind them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/judges-live-with-shadows-behind-them/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I hate the idea of sequels. I think you should be able to do it in one book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-hate-the-idea-of-sequels-i-think-you-should-be-able-to-do-it-in-one/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [Only a great genius like the Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell can be mother, wife and novelist without solitude. I couldn't write until my youngest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/only-a-great-genius-like-the-victorian-novelist-elizabeth-gaskell-can/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I longed from a tiny child to get away on my own. When I was five, I walked out along the sands from Redcar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-longed-from-a-tiny-child-to-get-away-on-my-own-when-i-was-five-i/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [The complexion of a novelist is seldom rosy (Paul Bailey once announced to a heavy-hearted audience of novelists at PEN that we have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/the-complexion-of-a-novelist-is-seldom-rosy-paul-bailey-once/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [Stories of all lengths and depths come from different parts of the cave. For a novel, you must lay in mental, physical and spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/stories-of-all-lengths-and-depths-come-from-different-parts-of-the/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [English country life is more like Chekhov than 'The Archers' or Thomas Hardy or even the Updike ethic with which it is sometimes compared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/english-country-life-is-more-like-chekhov-than-the-archers-or-thomas/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [Mum was a tremendous Anglo-Catholic. Very impressive, actually. She made me go to church for years - I still don't want to because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/mum-was-a-tremendous-anglo-catholic-very-impressive-actually-she-made/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I was nearly 40 when I started. I had no fear that I wasn't going to write. I knew it was just delayed. Then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-was-nearly-40-when-i-started-i-had-no-fear-that-i-wasn-t-going-to/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [“So the years passed and everyone grew old and Nell’s husband died and Hilda grew to be a large, angry sort of woman very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/so-the-years-passed-and-everyone-grew-old-and-nell-s-husband-died-and/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I started to write as a child as soon as I could read, or even before, when my mother read me Beatrix Potter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-started-to-write-as-a-child-as-soon-as-i-could-read-or-even-before/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) [Explore all 31 Jane Gardam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. 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