Lavendar and Gray: A Brief Survey of Lesbian and Gay Aging Studies

This article discusses the small body of research that discusses gay and lesbian issues. This article was written in 1991. The author discusses that there seemed to be the lack of information and interest in this area of gerontology, except by gay gerontologists. Since 1991, I hope gay and lesbians issues have not continued to be overlooked by gerontologists.

Aging Gay Men

Here is an overview of some of the themes discussed regarding older gay men:

• Sex remains important for gay men regardless of age. 

• Older gay men have had to cope with abandonment or conflict with their families their entire lives. 

• Older gay men describe conflict and brutality by law enforcement and other forms of institutional discrimination from the medical community. 

• How military service can negatively impact a gay man's ability to be comfortable with his gay identity. (What impact has the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy had on gay men in the military? When was that policy implemented?)

• Denial of being gay, especially as a young man. Many of the men had been married. Can you imagine  going through the eight stages of the family life cycle while hiding your true self to those you love? 

• Many of the older gay men discussed having difficulty finding a long-term partner. 

• History of heavy drug and alcohol use.Is this an outcome of denial?

• Older gay men may be more comfortable being gay in our society after a lifelong inner struggle with self-acceptance than younger gay men.

• Many older gay men had gay male friends their own age. However, those with younger gay male friends appeared to have adjusted better to getting older. 

• Some gay men interviewed felt they experienced age discrimination by younger gay men. 

• There is a strain between older gay men who do not understand the young gay movement or how their lifestyle choices are portrayed in larger society. 

One of the issues that struck me while reading this article was when the referenced studies or the papers  were done. The author didn't reference any work past 1989. What affect would HIV and AIDS have on the older gay men interviewed for these referenced works? It wasn't until 1984 and 1986, years after the first reports of disease, researchers discover and name the viruses that are the precursor to AIDS, HIV-1 and HIV-2 (CDC, 1998). By 1989, 1 million persons in the United States were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (CDC, 1990). I'm just surprised even though, it was early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic that the topic wasn't discussed.
 

Aging Lesbians 

Here is an overview of some of the themes discussed regarding Aging Lesbians:  

• Older lesbians may still deny they are gay even though they are in a same sex relationship. 

• Older lesbians in a relationship don't play roles. The author is surprised by this due to butch/femme roles (Do you think these were common terms to describe lesbians in 1989? They seem very derogatory to me.) in pre-movement days. 

• Older lesbians face discrimination by institutions, especially the medical establishment. 

• Strong friendship ties replaced weak kinship ties.  These friendships were helpful to successful aging.

• Sex remains important for lesbian women regardless of age. 

• Older lesbians realize they are in a minority group and face much discrimination. They realized the important of having wills in place since their relationships are not legally recognized.  

• Traditional senior programs do not meet their needs and there is a fear of discrimination.

 At the end of the article, the author discusses how the studies she discusses tries to paint a different image of the lonely gay man and lesbian. One theme that came up from both men and women was feeling more comfortable with who they are as they get older and less denial of being gay or a lesbian. I hope young gay men and lesbians today don't have to wait until they are older to have this comfort level to be themselves.


Cruikshank, M. (1991). Lavender and grey: A brief survey of lesbian and gay aging studies. In J. A. Lee (ed.), Gay midlife and maturity, (p. 77-87). Binghamton., NY: Haworth. 


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 1998. Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2.  Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/hiv2.htm


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 1990.  Current Trends Estimates of HIV Prevalence and Projected AIDS cases: Summary of a Workshop, October 31-November 1, 1989.
Retrieved from:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001564.htm