Ageing Gay Men

Abstract

One of the aims of this article is to look at the contribution that has been made by the sociology of embodiment to the study of older people. Researchers within this field have pointed to the ways in which negative perceptions of ageing bodies reflect attitudes toward older people and are factors leading to their marginalization within many contemporary Western societies. We hope to develop this idea further by investigating attitudes of gay men toward ageing bodies and, from this, to suggest reasons why older gay men appear to be marginal to gay culture. In so doing, we shall be drawing comparisons between older women and older gay men with particular reference to the work of Tseelon.

Age and embodied masculinities: Midlife gay and heterosexual men talk about their bodies

“…From a masculinities perspective, these differences between gay and heterosexual men may reflect internal hegemonies of masculinities. A concern over appearance is indicative of oppression (Jones & Pugh, 2005), whereby men are objects of the male gaze, rather than subjects exhibiting mastery and agency over their environment. Some scholars also argue that within the gay community a “local” hegemonic ideal (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005) exists which places particular importance on a youthful and physically fit appearance (Slevin & Linneman, 2010).…”

“…Given that the culturally ideal form of masculinity is predicated on heterosexuality (Connell, 1995) and that gay masculinity stands as the “repository of whatever is symbolically expelled from hegemonic masculinity,” (Connell, 1995, p.78) it is not surprising that old gay men share with old women the fear of loss of physical attractiveness. Aging may be more problematic for women and gay men given that both groups share a form of oppression where their appearance is of particular importance for their social and cultural value (Jones & Pugh, 2005). Moreover, some scholars have argued that gay men experience “accelerated aging,” in that they are deemed older at younger ages than heterosexual men (Jones & Pugh, 2005; Slevin & Linneman, 2010), which may stem from a “local” hegemonic ideal (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005) within the gay community that places particular importance on a youthful and physically fit appearance (Slevin & Linneman, 2010).…”

“…Aging may be more problematic for women and gay men given that both groups share a form of oppression where their appearance is of particular importance for their social and cultural value (Jones & Pugh, 2005). Moreover, some scholars have argued that gay men experience “accelerated aging,” in that they are deemed older at younger ages than heterosexual men (Jones & Pugh, 2005; Slevin & Linneman, 2010), which may stem from a “local” hegemonic ideal (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005) within the gay community that places particular importance on a youthful and physically fit appearance (Slevin & Linneman, 2010). In summary, previous empirical and theoretical work provide reasons to expect that midlife men will experience their bodies in relation to cultural discourses of aging (i.e., a discourse of decline) and that their embodied experiences will be further shaped by 1) the fact that they are men and 2) inequalities between men based on sexual orientation.…”

"If I had lots of money... I'd have a body makeover:" Managing the Aging Body

“…Valorization of the young, muscular man in gay culture leads gay men to experience "accelerated aging." (Bennett and Thompson 1991) However, empirical data regarding how gay men experience this phenomenon are scarce and contradictory (Jones and Pugh 2005). For lesbians the literature is contradictory and even less clear.…”

Un/doing Chrononormativity: Negotiating Ageing, Gender and Sexuality in Organizational Life

“…While this application of chrononormativity to understanding discrimination and disadvantage at the level of social structure has been particularly important, others have highlighted the value of focusing more on lived experiences of non-normative sexualities throughout the life course. For example, research has pointed to chrononormative consequences in lesbian women's accounts of the sexual and gendered dynamics of in/visibility (Averett et al, 2011;Jones and Nystrom, 2002;Phillips and Marks, 2008) while research on older men reveals how gay cultures may fetishize notions of youthfulness, positioning age as an aesthetic phenomenon (Jones and Pugh, 2005;Slevin and Linneman, 2010). Despite the insights derived from this body of literature, scholars have concentrated disproportionately on gay men's experiences to the detriment of other sexualities, in particular, the experiences of those who identify as bi and trans-sexual (for a notable exception, see Schilt and Connell, 2007).…”