Aging among Dykes
Social service workers are becoming increasingly aware that there exists a large population of older gay and lesbian individuals. Estimates range from 1.75 to 3.5 million older gay men and lesbians in the United States. To put these figures in perspective, this is approximately equal to or two times greater than the number of older adults living in a nursing home setting. As this population has been little studied or even acknowledged to exist, few programs are provided to meet the special needs of these individuals.
Many myths and negative stereotypes exist concerning the aged and the homosexual. Together, the older gay or lesbian suffers from a double stigma in American society. The image of the older gay man or lesbian as depressed, isolated, desperate, and sexless is prevalent. This image, however, does not hold up empirically .
Some of the research on gay and lesbian aging has demonstrated the similarities in aging between a homosexual and a heterosexual population. It has stressed that the majority of factors related to aging are the same for a heterosexual population as a homosexual population. For example, when discussing how the older gay man adapts to the aging process, Berger cites two individuals responses: "Whether you are gay or straight doesn1t make a difference. It's your attitude that makes the difference", and "Any person who hasn't adjusted well to other aspects of his life won't adjust well to aging, either. Being gay is just icing on the cake". In addition, older homosexuals go through a life review process as do heterosexuals. Thus, more similarities that differences are likely to exist, in regard to the aging process, between gays/lesbians and heterosexuals.
While many aspects of aging appear to be universal, research on gay and lesbian aging has demonstrated several specific positive and negative effects of aging as a gay man or lesbian. Several of these will be discussed below.
