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Hour: $40
Hour and a half: $60
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general gayety
by leslie robinson :: qnotes contributor
The lot of the LGBT elder
As if arthritis and profuse nose hair
weren't enough. Aging is already loaded with
physical and emotional challenges. Now we
hearthat LGBT elders face a distinct set of
burdens in addition. It gives growing old all the
appeal of a colostomy bag.
Called the first major collaboration
between LGBT groups and mainstream
organizations-forthe elderly, a report called
"Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults"
lays out the problems LGBT seniors face and
offers recommendations.
Atwink's recommendation might be, just
don't grow old! It's hard when you're young
to imagine yourself over 40, let alone 70. But,
aging happens to every soul on the planet.
Unless you see to it that you depart the planet
early, determined to be a pretty corpse.
At 46, I'm showing signs of aging, from
gray hair to assorted aches to wrinkles
morphing into crevices. I'm on my way to el
der-hood — if I'm lucky — and I insist that all
these LGBT-specific problems be fixed before
I qualify for Medicare. Given how my back
feels right now, there's no way it will support
being old and discriminated against.
The report on the lives of LGBT elders was
co-authored by the Movement Advancement
Project (MAP) and Services & Advocacy for
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders
(SAGE) in cahoots with the American Society
on Aging, the National Senior Citizens Law
Center and the Center for American Progress.
AARP provided the foreword, lending the
whole affair a certain geriatric panache.
According to the abstract on MAP's
website, the report hones in on three bugaboo
areas for LGBT seniors. And, no, the difficulty
of singing "1 Am What I Am" with ill-fitting
false teeth is not one of them.
The first is money. Gay elders have less of
it, contrary to stereotype. "LGBT older adults
are poorer and less financially secure than
American elders as a whole due to a lifetime
of discrimination compounded by major laws
and safety net programs that fail to protect
and support LGBT elders equally."
The report examines the impact of every
thing from Social Security to estate taxes.
I'm so glad there are people out there who
undertake the scrutinizing of such important
subjects. If I had to analyze Medicaid and
long-term care. I'd drift into a coma — requir
ing Medicaid and long-term care.
The second area of concern is health and
healthcare. It's trickier for LGBT seniors to
stay healthy, for reasons including inhospita
ble healthcare environments, nursing homes
that fail to protect gay seniors and medical
decision-making laws that shut out LGBT
elders' partners.
Just reading how hard it is to get healthy
makes you sick.
The third area of particular difficulty is
LGBT elders are more likely to be socially iso
lated. "Despite a high level of resilience and
strong friendship networks, social isolation
has still been found to be higher among LGBT
older adults."
The idea of a previously animated social
butterfly sitting with his wings clipped in a
lonely apartment makes me want to cry. A
waste of fabulousness.
The report notes that gay elders are more
likely to live alone. They also face housing
discrimination, which may mean separation
from loved ones. Further, LGBT elders can feel
as welcome in senior centers as dry rot
Another reason for LGBT elders' social
isolation is they "often lacl;; support from, and
feel unwelcome in, the broader LGBT commu
nity." I don't doubt it Gay men especially put
such a premium on youth, holding off aging
like it's a rampaging movie monster. We don't
celebrate our elders; we collude in keeping
them hidden.
It's time to make gay seniors a glamour
group. And, soon — like the moment 1 be
come a member.::
info:
LesRobinson@aol.com. generalgayety.com
want more opinion & commentary
visit goqnotes.comAo/blog for daily insights, rants,
raves and news tidbits from qnotes staff and local
and national voices from around the web.
■?
NORTH CAROLINA
MOUNTAINS
Blowing Rock, Boone & Asheville
Wle also have properties available in a
private, gated gay and lesbian community.
8 qnotes Apr. i7-30.2010