This article explores how theories of diversity and intersectionality can improve our understandings of the lives of older lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults. In so doing, it argues that theories of diversity help us to understand both the structural constraints and the advantages that may arise from being an older LGB adult. However, these theories are unable to fully account for differences that may exist within this social group. In order to address this omission, we argue that we need to move beyond a focus on diversity per se, to incorporate the multiplicity of identities suggested by intersectionality theory. We conclude by assessing the implications of this debate for policy and research. Throughout the article we draw on existing research as well as our own empirical studies with older LGB adults.
Age Concern (2002) ‘Issues Facing Older Lesbians, Gay Men and Bisexuals’, Age Concern England (ed.), URL (consulted February 2008): http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/Documents/OLGMppp.pdf
2.
Arber, S. and J. Ginn ( 1991) Gender and Later Life: A Sociological Analysis of Resources and Constraints. London: Sage.
3.
Aura, J. ( 1985) ‘Women’s Social Support: A Comparison of Lesbians and Heterosexual’, unpublished dissertation, Los Angeles, University of California.
4.
Baltes, P.B. and M.M. Baltes ( 1990) ‘Psychological Perspectives on Successful Aging: The Model of Selective Optimization with Compensation’, in P.B. Baltes and M.M. Baltes (eds) Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioural Sciences, pp. 1-34. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5.
Bell, D. and G. Valentine ( 1995) Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexualities. London: Routledge.
6.
Berger, R.M. and J. Kelly ( 1986) ‘Working with Homosexuals of the Older Population’ , Social Casework (April): 2003-210.
7.
Calasanti, T.M. ( 1996) ‘Incorporating Diversity: Meaning, Levels of Research, and Implications for Theory’, The Gerontologist36(2): 147-56.
8.
Calasanti, T.M., K.F. Slevin and N. King ( 2006) ‘Ageism and Feminism: From "Et Cetera" to Center’ , NWSA Journal18(1): 13-30.
9.
Carpenter, C. ( 2008) ‘Sexual Orientation, Income and Non-pecuniary Economic Outcomes: New Evidence from Young Lesbians in Australia’, Review of Economics of the Household6: 391-408.
10.
Clover, D. ( 2006) ‘Overcoming Barriers for Older Gay Men in the Use of Health Services: A Qualitative Study of Growing Older, Sexuality and Health’ , Health Education Journal65(1): 41-52.
11.
Conway-Turner, K. ( 1999) ‘Older Women of Color: A Feminist Exploration of the Intersections of Personal, Familial and Community Life’, Journal of Women and Aging11(2/3): 115-30.
12.
Crenshaw, K. ( 1993) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review43(6): 1241-99.
13.
Cronin, A. ( 2004) ‘Sexuality in Gerontology: A Heteronormative Presence, a Queer Absence’, in S.O. Daatland and S. Biggs (eds) Ageing and Diversity: Multiple Pathways and Cultural Migrations, pp. 107-22. Bristol: Policy Press.
14.
Cronin, A. and A. King ( 2010) ‘A Queer Kind of Care: Some Preliminary Notes and Observations’, in R.L. Jones and R. Ward (eds) LGBT Issues: Looking Beyond Categories, pp. 69-81. Edinburgh: Dunedin .
15.
Daatland, S.O. and S. Biggs (eds) (2004) Ageing and Diversity: Multiple Pathways and Cultural Migrations. Bristol: Policy Press.
16.
Dannefer, D. ( 1996) ‘The Social Organization of Diversity, and the Normative Organization of Age’, The Gerontologist36(2): 174-7.
17.
Davies, M., S. Addis, S. MacBride-Stewart and M. Shepherd ( 2006) The Health, Social Care and Housing Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Older People: Literature Review. Cardiff: Centre for Health Sciences Research, Cardiff University.
18.
Davis, K. ( 2008) ‘Intersectionality as Buzzword: A Sociology of Science Perspective on What Makes a Feminist Theory Successful’, Feminist Theory9(1): 67-85.
19.
Dorfman, R., K. Walters, P. Burke, L. Hardin, T. Karanik and J. Raphael ( 1995) ‘Old, Sad and Alone: The Myth of the Aging Homosexual’ , Journal of Gerontological Social Work24(1/2): 29-44.
20.
Elmslie, B. and E. Tebaldi ( 2007) ‘Sexual Orientation and Labor Market Discrimination’ , Journal of Labor Research28: 436-53.
21.
Evandrou, M. ( 2000) ‘Social Inequalities in Later Life: The Socio-economic Position of Older People from Ethnic Minority Groups in Britain’, Population Trends101(Autumn): 32-9.
22.
Fish, J. ( 2008) ‘Navigating Queer Street: Researching the Intersections of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Identities in Health Research’ , Sociological Research Online13(1), URL: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/1/12.html
23.
Friend, R.A. ( 1991) ‘Older Lesbian and Gay People: A Theory of Successful Aging’, in J.A. Lee (ed.) Gay Midlife and Maturity, pp. 99-117. New York: Haworth Press.
24.
Green, A.I. ( 2007) ‘Queer Theory and Sociology: Locating the Subject and the Self in Sexuality Studies’, Sociological Theory25(1): 26-45.
25.
Harrison, J. ( 2006) ‘Coming Out Ready or Not! Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Ageing and Aged Care in Australia: Reflections, Contemporary Developments and the Road Ahead’, Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology2(2): 44-53.
26.
Hartmann, D. and J. Gerteis ( 2005) ‘Dealing with Diversity: Mapping Multiculturalism in Sociological Terms’, Sociological Theory23(2): 218-40.
27.
Heaphy, B. ( 2007) ‘Sexualities, Gender and Ageing: Resources and Social Change’, Current Sociology55(2): 193-210.
28.
Heaphy, B.(2009) ‘The Storied, Complex Lives of Older GLBT Adults: Choices and its Limits in Older Lesbian and Gay Narratives of Relational Life’, Journal of GLBT Family Studies5: 119-38.
29.
Heaphy, B. and A.K.T. Yip ( 2006) ‘Policy Implications of Ageing Sexualities’ , Social Policy and Society5(4): 443-51.
30.
Heaphy, B., A.K.T. Yip and D. Thompson ( 2004) ‘Ageing in a Non-heterosexual Context’, Ageing and Society24: 889-902.
31.
Hughes, C. and A. Evans ( 2003) ‘Health Needs of Women Who Have Sex with Women’ , British Medical Journal327: 939-40.
32.
Jackson, S. ( 2006) ‘Interchanges: Gender, Sexuality and Heterosexuality: The Complexity (and Limits) of Heteronormativity’, Feminist Theory7(1): 105-21.
33.
Kehoe, M. ( 1991) ‘Loneliness and the Aging Homosexual: Is Pet Therapy the Answer?’, Journal of Homosexuality20(3/4): 137-41.
34.
Keogh, P., P. Weatherburn, L. Henderson, D. Reid, C. Dodds and F. Hickson ( 2004) Doctoring Gay Men: Exploring the Contribution of General Practice. London: SIGMA Research . URL (consulted November 2008): http://www.sigmaresearch.org.uk/downloads/report04d.pdf
35.
Kimmel, D.C. ( 1978) ‘Adult Development and Aging: A Gay Perspective’ , Journal of Social Issues34: 113-30.
36.
King, A. and A. Cronin ( 2010) ‘Queer Methods and Queer Practices: Re-examining the Identities of Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Adults’, in K. Browne and C. Nash (eds) Queer Methods and Methodologies: Intersecting Queer Theories and Social Science Research, pp. 85-96. Aldershot: Ashgate.
37.
Kitzinger, C. and R. Perkins ( 1993) Changing our Minds: Lesbian Feminism and Psychology. New York: New York University Press.
38.
Krekula, C. ( 2007) ‘The Intersection of Age and Gender: Reworking Gender Theory and Social Gerontology’, Current Sociology55(2): 155-71.
39.
Langley, J. ( 2001) ‘Developing Anti-oppressive Empowering Social Work Practice with Older Lesbian Women and Gay Men’, British Journal of Social Work31: 917-32.
40.
Lee, A. ( 2007) ‘"I Can’t Ask That!" Promoting Discussion of Sexuality and Effective Health Service Interactions with Older Non-heterosexual Men’, in K. Clarke, T. Maltby and P. Kennett (eds) Social Policy Review 19: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy2007, pp. 127-50. Bristol : Policy Press.
41.
McCall, L. ( 2009) ‘The Complexity of Intersectionality’, in E. Grabham, D. Cooper, J. Krishnadas and D. Herman (eds) Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location, pp. 49-74. London: Routledge.
42.
McFadden, S. ( 2001) ‘Feminist Scholarship as a Meeting Ground for Age and Disability Studies’, The Gerontologist42(1): 133-7.
43.
Mann, C. and F. Stewart ( 2000) Internet Communication and Qualitative Research: A Handbook for Researching Online. London: Sage.
44.
Musingarimi, P. ( 2008) Social Care Issues Affecting Older Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual People: A Policy Brief. London: International Longevity Centre.
45.
Niezen, R. ( 2003) The Origins of Indigenism: Human Rights and the Politics of Identity. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
46.
Peplau, L.A. and A. Fingerhut ( 2004) ‘The Paradox of the Lesbian Worker’, Journal of Social Issues60(4): 719-35.
47.
Price, E. ( 2005) ‘All but Invisible: Older Gay Men and Lesbians’ , Nursing Older People17(4): 16-18.
48.
Prins, B. ( 2006) ‘Narrative Accounts of Origins: A Blind Spot in the Intersectional Approach?’, European Journal of Women’s Studies13(3): 277-90.
49.
Rahman, M. (2009) ‘Theorising Intersectionality : Identities, Equality and Ontology’, in E. Grabham, D. Cooper, J. Krishnadas and D. Herman (eds) Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location, pp. 352-73. London: Routledge.
50.
Richardson, D. ( 2007) ‘Patterned Fluidities: (Re)Imagining the Relationship between Gender and Sexuality’, Sociology41(3): 457-74.
51.
River, L. ( 2008) ‘Recent Research from Polari on the Health Needs of Older Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals and Trans People’, Paper given at Housing, Health and Social Care Issues Affecting Older Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People, International Longevity Centre, UK, 18 November.
52.
Roseneil, S. ( 2004) ‘Why We Should Care about Friends: An Argument for Queering the Care Imaginary in Social Policy’, Social Policy and Society3(4): 409-19.
53.
Rosenfeld, D. ( 2002) ‘Identity Careers of Older Gay Men and Lesbians’ , in F. Gubrium and J. Holstein (eds) Ways of Aging, pp. 121-44. Oxford : Blackwell.
54.
Seidman, S. ( 1995) ‘Deconstructing Queer Theory or the Undertheorization of the Social and the Ethical’, in L. Nicholson and S. Seidman (eds) Social Postmodernism: Beyond Identity Politics, pp. 116-41. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
55.
Skeggs, B. ( 1997) Formations of Class and Gender: Becoming Respectable. London: Sage.
56.
Taylor, Y. ( 2008) ‘"That’s Not Really My Scene": Working-class Lesbians In (and Out of) Place’, Sexualities11(5): 523-46.
57.
Taylor, Y.(2009) ‘Complexities and Complications: Intersections of Class and Sexuality’ , Journal of Lesbian Studies13: 189-203.
58.
Walter, K.L. and J.M. Simon ( 1993) ‘Lesbian and Gay Male Group Identity Attitudes and Self-esteem: Implications for Counselling’, Journal of Counselling Psychology40(1): 94-9.
59.
Ward, R., R. Jones, J. Hughes, N. Humberstone and R. Pearson ( 2008) ‘Intersections of Ageing and Sexuality: Accounts from Older People’, in R. Ward and B. Bytheway (eds) Researching Age and Multiple Discrimination. The Representation of Older People in Ageing Research, pp. 45-72. London: Centre for Policy on Ageing / The Open University.
60.
Weeks, J., B. Heaphy and C. Donovan ( 2001) Same-sex Intimacies: Families of Choice and Other Life Experiments. London: Routledge.
61.
Weston, K. ( 1991) Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. New York: Columbia University Press.
62.
Yuval-Davis, N. ( 2006) ‘Intersectionality and Feminist Politics’ , European Journal of Women’s Studies13(3): 193-209.
