Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Challenges in Research, Practice, and Policy

357 Pages·2012·7.943 MB·English

by  Tarynn M. Witten, A. Evan Eyler (eds.)

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Aging
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Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
& Transgender Aging
Challenges in Research, Practice, and Policy
Edited by
tarynn m . wit ten, ph.d., l. c.s.w., f .g.s.a.
Associate Professor
Center for the Study of Biological Complexity
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
and
a. e van e yler, m.d., m .p.h.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Psychiatry
University of Vermont College of Medicine / Fletcher Allen Health Care
Burlington, Vermont
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2012 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2012
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
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The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Mary land 21218- 4363
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender aging : challenges in research,
practice, and policy / edited by Tarynn M. Witten and A. Evan Eyler.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN- 13: 978- 1- 4214- 0319- 9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN- 10: 1- 4214- 0319- 6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN- 13: 978- 1- 4214- 0320- 5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN- 10: 1- 4214- 0320- X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Older gays— Care. 2. Older sexual minorities— Care. 3. Older
people— Abuse of— Prevention. 4. Preventive health ser vices for older
people. I. Witten, Tarynn. II. Eyler, A. Evan.
[DNLM: 1. Aging. 2. Homosexuality. 3. Bisexuality. 4. Elder
Abuse— prevention & control. 5. Health Ser vices for the Aged.
6. Social Stigma. WT 30]
RA564.9.H65G39 2011
3 62.1086'6—dc22 2 011009997
A cata log record for this book is available from the British Library.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more
information, please contact Special Sales at 410- 516- 6936 or
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The Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book
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To my children, Willow, Misty, and Amber, who are the best of my works;
and to my mother and father, who gave me so many gifts; and to Lynda.
tarynn madysyn wit ten
To my grandparents, three of whom w ere teachers; my mother, who
was my fi rst teacher; my father, a wonderful teacher from whom I have
learned a great many things about medicine and about life; and to John.
a. e van e yler
And to all of those individuals who have provided so much of
the information for the research cited in this book,
without whom we would have nothing about which to speak.
all t he faces of aging
Aging claims its place.
Make room.
It does not ask
What is the gender of my pain?
What is the sex of my sadness?
What is the sexuality of my loneliness?
See me for what I am.
For I am all the faces of aging.
—tarynn m . witten
Contents
Preface i x
List of Contributors xv
1 The Aging of Sexual and Gender Minority Persons: An Overview 1
Tarynn M. Witten
2 Informal Caregiving in the LGBT Communities 59
Karen I. F redriksen- Goldsen
3 Aging in the Gay Community 84
Brian de Vries and Gil Herdt
4 Aging in the Lesbian Community 130
Nancy M. N ystrom and Teresa C. Jones
5 Aging in the Bisexual Community 162
Paula C. Rodríguez Rust
6 Transgender and Aging: Beings and Becomings 187
Tarynn M. W itten and A. Evan Eyler
7 Intersex and Aging: A (Cautionary) Research Agenda 270
Heather Laine Talley and Monica J. Casper
8 C onclusion 2 90
A. Evan Eyler
Suggested Further Reading 303
Index 3 29
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Preface
The idea for this book arose quite a number of years ago, when we realized that
no integrative text addressed the unique problems of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender aging, and that the concerns of intersex- identifi ed older adults had
not been addressed. To be sure, there were books that contained a chapter on
some small subset of problems of LGBT aging. In the interim, a few books have
appeared (Clunis, Fredricksen- Goldsen, Freeman, & Nystrom, 2005; Herdt &
DeVries, 2004; Hunter, 2005; Kimmel, Rose, & David, 2006). However, this
important area of study deserves ongoing, integrated, and comprehensive cover-
age, with attention to the details of what is known and what remains to be learned.
This book is written for students and professionals in gerontology, medicine,
social work, psychology, nursing, public health, health care administration, and
related fi elds who wish to learn more about the life experiences and concerns of
sexuality and gender- minority- identifi ed el der ly persons, in order to effectively
serve their patients, clients, and ser vice consumers. Material is drawn from a
wide cross section of available research literature, which is unfortunately scant in
many important content areas. Questions are sometimes proposed and ideas
extrapolated from the general gerontologic and geriatric literatures, from profes-
sional practice, from discussions with our colleagues, and from survey response
data.
Chapter 1 offers basic demographic information regarding sexual and gender
minority persons in the United States and worldwide. Specifi c data are lacking in
many respects, so Tarynn M. Witten has extrapolated from existing census data
and population estimates regarding LGBT persons. Information regarding
gender identity and gender variance in a variety of indigenous cultural groups is
also provided.

Many people might ask why LGBT aging should be any different from aging
in any other population. In chapter 2, Karen I. Fredriksen- Goldsen discusses care-
giving from the perspective of sexual minority persons. Using that as a single topic