Isn't getting old hard enough as it is?
The New York Times today reports on various forms of mistreatment and
bias against elderly gay people, especially in assisted-living and
long-term care facilities. There are not a lot of data here, just a
few anecdotes and examples of efforts to address the problem, but
that's ok - the fact that it ever occurs is unacceptable. And you can
sort of see what's going on - elderly people slowly lose their ability
to control the environment they live in, and the world at large is
still quite homophobic. So if you've grown up in the closet and
eventually gotten past all the barriers to coming out, you now find
yourself in a position of going back in, or struggling mightily to
surround yourself with people who will accept you.
The problem simply had never occurred to me, and I have few words to
express how sad it makes me.
posted by Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., @ 10/09/2007 08:00:00 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:31 PM, Anonymous Melinda Voss said...
I had never thought about this either. And I do find it
incredibly sad. For some reason, I have a special affinity for
gay people. In the early 90s, I did a series for The Des Moines
Register on what it's like to be gay and lesbian. I had
incredible interviews with dozens of gays and lesbians in Iowa.
It was one of the most incredible experiences of my career.
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