The Birth of the Ageist Birthday Card

I found where it all started—the birth of the snarky, ageist birthday card.

You know, the type of card with a cartoon caricature of a bent-over, crabby old lady, with a sharp wit and bitter attitude. The one that contributes to the ageist messages that over 82% of people over 50 claim to see every day.

Remember Maxine?

Maxine was one of the most popular characters for Hallmark in the late '80s and early '90s. She certainly had her time and place; and did her part to contribute to the ageism baked into culture today.

In 1986 Maxine was the first edgy, snarky, line of cards for Shoebox Greetings, a division of Hallmark.

Maxine paved the way for the birthday card with cartoon-like visuals of sagging body parts paired with clever sentiments about how awful it is to be old.

Read more about the birth of Maxine, and how she contributes to ageism in this recent blog post, Maxine, the Birth of the Ageist Birthday Card.

In the 80s and 90s, the ageist birthday cards featuring Maxine became extremely popular overnight. This was long before the popularity of social media and the potential for a post to ‘go viral’. I wonder what it would take to get anti-ageist greeting cards to go viral today?

Visit our Where to Buy section to find a collection of age-positive designs.