Realities of Gay and Lesbian Aging

Berger, Raymond M.

doi:10.1093/sw/29.1.57

Cited by 67 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Such assumptions of associated pathology are problematic and offer limited insight related to the many positive and affirming aging experiences of LGBT adults and other vulnerable communities (Logie et al, 2007;Fredricksen-Goldsen et al, 2010). This is clearly evidenced in earlier literature and research describing positive psychosocial functioning among older gay men and lesbians (Berger, 1984;Gray & Dressel, 1985;Berger & Kelly, 1986), with favorable feelings about aging (Whitford, 1997), appearance (Gray & Dressel, 1985), and sexuality (Pope & Schulz, 1990). Subsequent studies found older gay male and lesbian adults to be no more depressed than their heterosexual counterparts (Dorfman et al, 1995), and a majority of gay and lesbian adults notably rate their mental health as excellent or good (D' Augelli & Grossman, 2001).…”

Section: Health and Mental Health: Underscoring Strengths And Resiliencementioning

confidence: 88%

Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population

Dentato

Orwat

Spira

et al. 2014

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment

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The aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community continues to grow considerably while often being faced with unique and unmet needs separate from younger LGBT cohorts or their non-LGBT counterparts. This article explores some of the differences in attitudes among generational cohort groups regarding coming out decisions; sexual risk and safety; the impact of evolving policies within systems and society; as well as the demonstrated strengths and resiliencies of the aging LGBT community. Implications and suggestions for education, training, and best practices among this expansive and diverse population are considered as well as continued research in the field of LGBT aging.

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Section: Health and Mental Health: Underscoring Strengths And Resiliencementioning

confidence: 88%

Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population

Dentato

Orwat

Spira

et al. 2014

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment

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“…The prevailing stereotypes portrayed "old gays" as depressed and undesirable. The early work in the field countered these stereotypes (Berger, 1984;Berger & Kelly, 1986Gray & Dressel, 1985;Quam & Whitford, 1992); through "crisis competence," (Friend, 1980;Kimmel, 1980) and "mastery of crisis" (Berger, 1980), it was hypothesized that the management of a stigmatized identity (e.g., gay) could result in the positive management of another identity (e.g., old age), with sexual minorities better prepared for aging compared to older adults in general (Adelman, 1990;Butler & Hope, 1999;Kehoe, 1986Kehoe, , 1988Sharp, 1997). Following the early research, more studies also began to explore the critical support provided by "families-of-choice" in the lives of older sexual minorities (Adelman, 1990;Beeler, Rawls, Herdt, & Cohler, 1999;de Vries, 2007;Orel, 2004) as well as the need for increased access to formal services and legal protections (Brotman, Ryan, & Cormier, 2003;Cahill & South, 2002;Quam & Whitford, 1992).…”

Section: Gaining a Foothold In Gerontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dismantling the Silence: LGBTQ Aging Emerging From the Margins

Fredriksen-Goldsen

2017

GERONT

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Historical, environmental, and cultural contexts intersect with aging, sexuality, and gender across communities and generations. My scholarship investigates health and well-being over the life course across marginalized communities, including LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) midlife and older adults, native communities experiencing cardiovascular risk, and families in China living with HIV, in order to balance the realities of unique lives in contemporary society. By probing the intersection of age, sexuality, and gender, my analysis is informed by both personal and professional experiences. With the death of my partner occurring at a time of profound invisibility and silence before HIV/AIDS, I found my life out of sync, experiencing a loss without a name. My life was thrust into a paradox: My relationship was defined by a world that refused to recognize it. This essay provides an opportunity for me to weave together how such critical turning points in my own life helped shape my approach to gerontology and how gerontology has informed my work and life. Reflecting on this journey, I illustrate the ways in which historical, structural, environmental, psychosocial, and biological factors affect equity, and the health-promoting and adverse pathways to health and well-being across marginalized communities. Although gerontology as a discipline has historically silenced the lives of marginalized older adults, it has much to learn from these communities. The growing and increasingly diverse older adult population provides us with unique opportunities to better understand both cultural variations and shared experiences in aging over the life course.Keywords: Life course, Equity, Gerontology, Sexuality, Gender, History As a gerontologist, my scholarship focuses on understanding life and aging across differing historical, social, and cultural contexts; how marginalization intersects with age, sexuality, and gender; and what approaches are most effective to promote the well-being of people of all ages and cultures. Of the many joys and concerns in the lives of older adults and the field of aging, I ask myself how these priorities, and the dilemmas they present, have surfaced as my primary substantive interests. Over the past 25 years, I have investigated health risk and health-promoting pathways in aging and well-being across diverse communities, for example, working in LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) aging (Fredriksen-Goldsen, Cook-Daniels, et al., 2014;Fredriksen-Goldsen, Emlet, et al., 2013), reducing cardiovascular risk in native communities (Walters et al., 2012), and supporting caregiving of older adults and their families living with HIV in China (Fredriksen-Goldsen, Shiu, et al., 2011;Simoni et al., 2011), a highly stigmatized disease within a global context. This essay provides an opportunity for me to reflect on the turning points in my life and how these have informed my work over time, especially now that I'm old enough to complete my own aging-related survey...

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“…The profession began to develop an intersectional understanding of gay and lesbian lives, factoring in how sexual orientation was impacted by other identity markers such as race (Icard, 1986;Loiacano, 1989) and age (Berger, 1984;Hunter & Schaecher, 1987). As might be expected, social work responded to AIDS and often used that crisis as its way into working with gay men (Dunkel & Hatfield, 1986;Furstenberg & Meltzer Olson, 1984;Gambe & Getzel, 1989).…”

Section: The 1980smentioning

confidence: 99%

A Queer Liberation Movement? A Qualitative Content Analysis of Queer Liberation Organizations, Investigating Whether They are Building a Separate Social Movement

DeFilippis

2000

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In the last forty years, U.S. national and statewide LGBT organizations, in pursuit of "equality" through a limited and focused agenda, have made remarkably swift progress moving that agenda forward. However, their agenda has been frequently criticized as prioritizing the interests of White, middle-class gay men and lesbians and ignoring the needs of other LGBT people. In their shadows have emerged numerous grassroots organizations led by queer people of color, transgender people, and low-income LGBT people. These "queer liberation" groups have often been viewed as the left wing of the GRM, but have not been extensively studied. My research investigated how these grassroots liberation organizations can be understood in relation to the equality movement, and whether they actually comprise a separate movement operating alongside, but in tension with, the mainstream gay rights movement.This research used a qualitative content analysis, grounded in black feminism's framework of intersectionality, queer theory, and social movement theories, to examine eight queer liberation organizations. Data streams included interviews with staff at each organization, organizational videos from each group, and the organizations' mission statements. The study used deductive content analysis, informed by a predetermined categorization matrix drawn from social movement theories, and also featured inductive analysis to expand those categories throughout the analysis. This study's findings indicate that a new social movement -distinct from the mainstream equality organizations -does exist. Using criteria informed by leading social movement theories, findings demonstrate that these organizations cannot be understood ii as part of the mainstream equality movement but must be considered a separate social movement. This "queer liberation movement" has constituents, goals, strategies, and structures that differ sharply from the mainstream equality organizations. This new movement prioritizes queer people in multiple subordinated identity categories, is concerned with rebuilding institutions and structures, rather than with achieving access to them, and is grounded more in "liberation" or "justice" frameworks than "equality." This new movement does not share the equality organizations' priorities (e.g., marriage) and, instead, pursues a different agenda, include challenging the criminal justice and immigration systems, and strengthening the social safety net.Additionally, the study found that this new movement complicates existing social movement theory. For decades, social movement scholars have documented how the redistributive agenda of the early 20th century class-based social movements has been replaced by the demands for access and recognition put forward by the identity-based movements of the 1960s New Left. While the mainstream equality movement can clearly be characterized as an identity-based social movement, the same is not true of the groups in this study. This queer liberation movement, although centered on identity claim...

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Realities of Gay and Lesbian Aging

Cited by 67 publications

References 4 publications

Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population

Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population

Dismantling the Silence: LGBTQ Aging Emerging From the Margins

A Queer Liberation Movement? A Qualitative Content Analysis of Queer Liberation Organizations, Investigating Whether They are Building a Separate Social Movement

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