FTiTTIl news
hat do older queers want?
“Socializing with others
seems to be the overwhelm
ing need of many seniors,”
says Allanya Guenther,
executive director of Phoenix Rising
Foundation, a Portland-based organization that
provides counseling and support services to sex
ual minorities.
That assessment, she adds, is based on pre
liminary findings of a survey aimed at older gay,
lesbian, bisexual and trans people in the
Portland area.
In February, Phoenix Rising sponsored a
community meeting entitled Building a Golden
Community, which was designed to attract
queer seniors.
The event, held at the Multicultural
Southeast Senior Center on Southeast Belmont
Street, drew more than 80 people, many of
whom completed questionnaires.
Among the findings compiled thus far:
• Forty-five percent of respondents identi
fied as gay, 49 percent as lesbian and 3 percent
as bisexual;
• Forty-nine percent were between the ages
of 50 and 59, 34 percent between 60 and 69,
while 13 percent were between 70 and 79, and
3 percent were 80 or older;
• Forty-one percent said they realized their
sexual orientation between the ages of 13 and
19, while 1 percent realized they were queer at
the age of 70 or older;
• Forty-one percent identified as single,
while 32 percent said they were currently living
with a partner.
A vast majority indicated that physical limi
tations, economic security, transportation and
housing were “no problem.”
Nearly 70 percent said they were interested
in social activities for older people, such as
attending concerts and lectures, going to the
theater and movies, sightseeing, dancing and
potlucks.
Guenther says distribution of the surveys is
continuing, and final results won’t be available
for a few more months. The findings will be used
to develop a multi-year strategic plan for senior
services.
“This is just the start in terms of getting a
sense of what seniors are looking for,” she says.
Phoenix Rising, meanwhile, is now affiliated
with Senior Action in a Gay Environment, a
national organization for gay and lesbian elders
and their allies.
The group recently held the first country
wide conference solely devoted to aging in the
lesbian and gay community.
The event, which pulled in 500 people (300
were expected) was held at Fordham
University’s Lincoln Center Campus in
Manhattan on May 1 and 2.
Health, Legal Issues and Life Experiences; and
Sex and Sexuality in the Later Years.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Robert
Butler was the keynote speaker. He is a physi
cian, gerontologist, psychiatrist and innovator
who coined the term “ageism.” The well-known
lesbian couple Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon,
who founded the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955,
also spoke.
“The youth beauty culture remains a major
area of concern for older gay men,” explains
Martin Wendel, SAGE’s executive assistant.
“Lesbians seemed to have developed a healthier
perspective around all of that, probably because
of feminism. Gay men need to develop a femi
nism of their own.”
According to Wendel, other topics of discus
sion included developing a sense of communi
ty—connecting with other older folks in a
relentlessly youth-obsessed culture, and con
necting with older queer folks in a relentlessly
heterosexist culture.
Older gay men and lesbians also want to send
the message that just because you may have
more years under your belt, your yearning to
hang, dish and have sex doesn’t necessarily
diminish.
Elder sexual minorities may also encounter
obstacles meeting peers because of closetedness,
or may have difficulty obtaining appropriate
care as the effects of age begin to take their toll.
Then there are the myriad concerns around
property and inheritance, lifestyle options, deci
sions about life and death—matters which take
on a particular urgency as the years mount.
“The unexpectedly high turnout (at the con
ference] proved what we know at SAGE—gay
and lesbian seniors are a vital and vast commu
nity dealing with a slew of issues,” says Wendel.
“We’re planning to do another one of these con
ferences in two years and it could be even bigger
by then.”
Phoenix Rising staffer Jawea Mockabee, 53,
attended the national SAGE gathering. She
gave a presentation outlining Phoenix Rising’s
work in the area of senior services.
That includes the creation of a regularly-
meeting seniors’ committee, which has been
collaborating with Multnomah County to joint
ly identify the queer community’s seniors and
supportive services in order to develop a
resource directory.
Mockabee says, “Aging is difficult, complex
and challenging no matter who you are, but it
can be even tougher for those who are lesbian,
gay, bisexual or trans.”
She adds, “This conference was really
groundbreaking because it began to shed light
on that reality and open up discussion.”
A ging G racefully
A Portland area survey and national conference
spotlight aging sexual minorities by Inga Sorensen
Jawea Mockabee
Older gay men and
lesbians also want to
send the message
that just because you
may have more years
under your belt, your
yearning to hang,
dish and have sex
doesn't necessarily
diminish.
Del Martin (left) and Phyllis Lyon
“The debates about aging, ageism, and age
phobia are really heating up in the lesbian and
gay community,” says Terry Kaelber, SAGE’s
executive director, “and there is a deep need to
confront the unequal treatment older gay people
face in the mainstream.”
The conference featured workshops entitled
Images of Vital Lesbians and Gay Men Over 50:
Photos and Stories; AIDS and Aging: What
Professionals Need to Know; Racism and Aging:
Being Old, Gay and a Person of Color;
Transgender Elders: Mental and Physical
■ To
learn more about PHOENIX
SENIORS’ COMMITTEE, call 223-8299.
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