Gay and Lesbian Ageing Issues in Australia

Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the American Society on Aging. Extensive links and online resources, including articles and reference lists as well as organisations working in sexual minority elder care. Links to OUTWord online and OUTWord, the network’s international newsletter.

http://nz.com/NZ/Queer/OUT/news_199804/19980416.html

OUT magazine New Zealand looks at issues in gay and lesbian retirement accommodation.

http://www.inthelife.com/0 featur.htm

This site called in the life, features several articles on gay and lesbian ageing issues.

http://www.inthelife.com/fea9805k.htm

is one such article with many links to other sites of interest on gay and lesbian ageing.

http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/pages/issues

The Lambda Legal Defence and Education Fund, USA, has a dedicated attorney working on gay and lesbian aged people’s legal rights. Follow the link to ‘older gays and lesbians’.

http://www.sageusa.org/

Seniors Active in a Gay Environment (SAGE), the USA’s oldest and largest organisation for gay and lesbian elders. Held a National Conference in New York around these issues in May 2000.

http://www.ngltf.org/pi/aging.htm

The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce’s aging issues initiative, recently established within their policy institute in the USA.

http://www.gaylesbianretiring.org/

Gay and lesbian association of retiring persons, based in Los Angeles.

http://www.oloc.org

Old Lesbians Organising for Change, based in Arizona, USA

http://www.asaging.org/networks/lgain/outword.html

Includes article on gay, lesbian and transgender elder abuse.

http://www.rainbowquery.com

Using this search engine, search for ‘aging’ and 20 pages of relevant sites are listed. Also search for ‘seniors’ – 55 entries come up.

http://www.magnsw.org

Mature Aged Gay Men, a group in Sydney.

http://www.pridesenior.org/

Pride Senior Network, based in New York, USA.

http://www.rainbow-gardens.com/

Rainbow Gardens assisted living facility for older lesbians, gay men and their families.

MORE WEBPAGE LINKS WILL BE

A Struggle for Recognition: The Place of Lesbian and Gay Elders in Australian Gerontology

Despite the impression one might get from publicity surrounding the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the situation for older gays and lesbians within the field of ageing research and service development does not warrant much celebration in the land ‘down under’.

Australian gerontology is a long way from fully recognising gay and lesbian ageing issues. Apart from a few exceptions, current Australian ageing research, education, policy and service development rarely, if ever, addresses non-heterosexual experience or issues. Heterosexist assumptions are embedded in Australian gerontological literature and research reports. Discussions of sexuality and ageing inevitably focus on stereotypical notions of ‘asexual’ heterosexual elderly people, and responses to such stereotypes.

Gerontologists discuss concerns related to the family, carers, income maintenance, social support and community networks - all from a perspective of heteronormativity. Federal policy in aged care makes no mention of gay and lesbian needs. As such, gays and lesbians are virtually invisible in gerontology in Australia and there is little evidence of change taking place.

I conducted a small scale exploratory research project which investigated the process by which the needs of gay and lesbian older people might be recognised and incorporated into aged care policies and service programs in Australia. The project also involved looking at the way in which political activists might play a role in this process.

The participants were experienced change agents in gay and lesbian rights, aged consumer rights, aged policy or a combination of these. I interviewed them about gay and lesbian ageing issues and prospects for change.

Three primary themes emerged from the interviews: Barriers to Change; Who Should Do What? and Strategies for Success.

(1) Barriers to Change

The activists referred to a range of factors which they regarded as barriers to the achievement of gay and lesbian recognition in aged care policy in the future. The main sub-themes relating to the barriers were: Cultural blindfolds; Homophobia and heterosexism; Ageism; Stereotyping; Invisibility; Churches, and Accountability.

Cultural blindfolds

Participants referred to what they saw as a problematic denial or neglect by gerontologists of a culture around sexuality.

It’s a very similar situation, very much a cultural situation , not understood by the mainstream, and that’s the similar nature of Aboriginal and gay and lesbian services. It does make a difference, the shared values and expectations and the shared lifestyle stuff between the community and the consumers they serve.

Aged rights activist

Homophobia and heterosexism

Homophobia and heterosexism within services was seen by participants as needing to be challenged.

One of the comments we’ve had when we complain about homophobia from home support workers is that the service doesn’t discriminate, which means they don’t acknowledge that there can be special needs for gay and lesbians in terms of training for their workers, sensitivity for their workers, even some kind of sifting process that shows they don’t have violently homophobic people working for them.

Gay and lesbian rights activist

Churches

The aged rights activists referred to the dominance of religious organisations in aged care, particularly residential care, in Australia.

Churches are the big providers, the Catholic and Uniting churches. It’s going to be very difficult.

Aged rights activist

(2) Who Should Do What?

Comments focused on the ways in which the barriers to change could be removed. They referred to a process involving education, advocacy, policy analysis, gay and lesbian organisations, research, government responses and initiatives, community development and professional and business interests in gerontology. Sub-themes were: Aged advocacy; Research and Education; Numbers; Government; Gay and lesbian organisations; The Pink Dollar; Evolution of Change and Community Control.

Research and education

Participants saw the gathering of evidence of need, the education of those within the sector, as well as the general public, and the presentation of well informed policy recommendations to government as keys to the change process.

Where there are allies in the association of gerontology, for example, where there are people who are not off side, for example, they might not be on side, but they’re not off side, to try and get them to accept the arguments and then provide opportunities for research papers or research results to be promoted.

Aged rights activist

Evolution of change / Community control

Participants were asked whether the change process would take place even if the aspects of the process they had predicted did not eventuate.

Maybe they (services) will be forced to take these things into account when cranky old lesbians and gay men start turning up and complaining about things, like they always have.

Gay and lesbian rights activist

Well I think we might have to move to set up our own services. If we don’t set up something for ourselves we might be in trouble.

Gay and lesbian rights activist

(3) Strategies for Success

The activists referred to factors which might lead to success or failure in getting gay and lesbian issues into aged care policy. Sub-themes were: The strategic approach; Credibility and clout; Hooks; Australian style; Timing; and Collaboration.

Australian Style

We don’t have the history of philanthropy they seem to have in America. It would depend very much on the people involved whether something would work or not.

Gay and lesbian rights activist

Well things like the USA organisations could work here, but they wouldn’t be like them. They would be about what we, us who are between 40 and 60 now want - it would be different because we would be different.

Gay and lesbian rights activist

Credibility and clout

The participants referred to the importance of a knowledge of the aged care ‘scene’ as essential to the success of the change process. The combination of knowledge of aged policy and gay and lesbian politics was seen as the ideal recipe for success.

One way to go might be through some of the professional bodies. You still need the gay and lesbian activists to take a lead because nobody else is going to, but to work through some of those professional bodies that can help to give the issue a credibility that it needs to get on the mainstream agenda.

Aged rights activist

The outcomes of the research contribute a positive message about the prospect for collaborative change to influence Australian gerontology towards recognition of diversity and rejection of discrimination in the future. They also indicate that this will not be an easy task, and may involve a significant struggle for those involved.

While the research was limited in scope, it flagged several significant issues which could be taken up in further research in Australia. The experience of discrimination, attitudes of service providers and the ‘cultural’ nature of gay and lesbian ageing all warrant further research. In particular, the notion of a ‘strategic process’ by which change might take place has important implications for further research.

This idea of a collaborative effort involving experienced activists for change in both gay and lesbian and aged care advocacy is the subject of research I am currently conducting. This research takes place within the context of social movement theories and investigates the structural and cultural factors which will be significant in such a change process in Australia. It looks at the factors which have been significant in struggles for change outside Australia, and begins to build a picture of the process that might take place in our own country. It is hoped that the research will provide some guideposts for action for those who are embarking on this important change process. Hopefully, it may also help us to avoid some pitfalls!

Jo Harrison is a PhD scholar in gerontology at the University of South Australia.

Snail Mail: c/- School of OT

University of South Australia

North Terrace

Adelaide

SA 5000

Australia

Jo.Harrison@unisa.edu.au