Over
the Rainbow, But Not Over the Hill
by Terrance Griep, Lavender Magazine, Minnesota
We’re quite the group,” Harry Hartigan says simply. “We are quite
the group.” After that sentiment-in-stereo lingers in the air for
a long moment, Hartigan seems to think on it, then speaks again. “I’m
clearly passionate about this,” Hartigan, 61, observes, more by way
of apologia than apology, “because when I joined this group 10 years
ago, I was alone and isolated as a gay man.” The group to which Hartigan
refers is the local chapter of Prime Timers, of which he is the secretary.
Hartigan notes, “The Prime Timers are defined as gay and bisexual
men who are older and our younger admirers.”
Chinese
gay seniors and admirers
Oldster
is a BBS targeted at gay seniors. A
photo sub-board is the most popular forum on the site, but photos
only show up for registered users. ChGay, a website aimed at a wider
age range, has a section
for seniors as well as a
group for May-December romances.
LGBT
seniors: Out of the closet and nowhere to go
By Victoria Brownworth, Philadelphia Gay
News, May 28th , 2009
There are few gay men who can’t do an imitation of Gloria Swanson
in “Sunset Boulevard.” (“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”)
The quintessential commentary on what it means to grow old in a perpetual
youth culture, Billy Wilder’s classic film featured a 50-year-old
Swanson in the role of the “aging” silent-film star, Norma Desmond.
Today, 50 is the new 40, not the death knell it was for both Swanson
and her character. Yet, for many LGBT seniors, life can be as lonely
and desperate as Desmond’s was in “Sunset Boulevard.”...
According to a recent study by the
Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law at UCLA, lesbians and
gay men are twice as likely as heterosexuals to grow old unpartnered
and nearly 10 times more likely not to have someone (a spouse, child
or other family member) to care for them in old age.
Many
over-45s 'ignore Sexually Transmitted Infection risks'
By Jim Merritt , Newsday, March 14, 2009
Many middle-aged people are continuing to take an irresponsible
attitude to their sexual health, say experts. The Royal Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain polled over 2,000 adults. Nearly a fifth
of those polled aged 45 to 54 said they had had unprotected sex with
someone other than a long-term partner in the past five years. There
is a misconception that their risk of catching a sexually transmitted
infection (STI) is "next to nothing", says the RPSGB. Sexually transmitted
infections have doubled in under a decade in people over 45 and have
been rising at a faster rate than in the young, recent figures from
the Health Protection Agency show.
Coming
out later in life
By Jim Merritt , Newsday, March 14, 2009
Gay men and lesbians say learning to be true to themselves
is not an easy matter -- After concealing his sexual orientation for
most of his life, Louis Lisi decided to begin living as an openly
gay man in 1994 when he was 67. Emerging from years of secrecy was
not an easy decision for Lisi, a Roman Catholic with strong family
ties. "I loved my wife and I didn't want to leave her, and I loved
my children, too," he explained.
Aging
gay couple reconsider decision not to marry
By Joanna Lin, LA Times, March 4, 2009
Army Sgt. Bob Claunch and Lt. Jack Reavley fell in love in
1951. Still together today, they had no interest in wedding when same-sex
unions were briefly legal. Now they think differently.
Though they are registered domestic
partners in California, federal marriage benefits -- including Social
Security and survivor payments -- are out of reach, even for same-sex
couples with valid marriage licenses. Still, Claunch and Reavley are
reconsidering. If the opportunity to marry comes again, they said
they probably would take advantage of it -- and hope that federal
marriage benefits would someday follow.
Older
people face greater HIV infection risks: study
Reuters. Tue Mar 3, 2009
Among the aged, the study said sexual activity is the most
likely mode of HIV transmission. One reason for the increase in frequency
is the use of impotence treatments that have allowed both men and
women to have more sexual partners. "Since 1998, erectile dysfunction
drugs have been extending the sex life of many older individuals and,
at the same time, may be extending the HIV epidemic into older age
groups," the study said. "Older individuals are less likely than their
younger counterparts to practice safer sex," it said.
In
praise of older men - How love and desire can leap across a gap
By Joseph Couture, Vancouver, Thursday, February
26, 2009
Twinks and trolls. Young men and old. One naturally turns into
the other, yet in gay life they appear separate and distinct creatures
inhabiting different realms of being. Is there a bridge to this divide
between twink and twilight? Can older and younger men find common
ground? Maybe even have a relationship?
Old
age is no place for sissies
Tuesday Feb 17, 2009, The Edge, Boston
A topic many in the LGBT community don’t think about often
is aging. We can accept it, but American society, unfortunately, still
isn’t comfortable with “the gays.”[not just American! - Ed.] Thus,
when gay seniors need to find a retirement home, they are often shoved
back into the closet. Significant others of many years are torn apart
as they aren’t legally recognized as a couple with rights. What happens
to you if you’re in your 60’s or 70’s with no biological family? How
do you find affordable living arrangements that don’t muzzle a major
part of your identity or life? A
Place to Live: The Story of Triangle Square is a documentary film
that investigates this problem. The film won the Audience Award at
OUTFEST in 2008.
Boston
GLBT Seniors Have a Place of Their Own
Tuesday Feb 17, 2009, The Edge, Boston
A new concept in senior living is making it easier for gay
seniors and their friends to grow "old and gay" gracefully. Bellevue
Senior Living has transformed a historic manor home on the desirable
Bellevue Avenue in Melrose into a shared single-family residence actively
welcoming GLBT seniors.
In
the prime of their lives
By Praveen Sathianathan, Feb 5, 2009, Dallas
Voice
Although turning gray seems like the end of the world to many
in this youth-obsessed society, to members of Prime Timers, aging
is something to relish. And gay men come in a variety of sizes and,
as the group likes to point out, ages. Jarvis Cummings, president
of DFW Prime Timers said the youth-oriented gay culture is making
a huge mistake to ignore older LGBT people. “Don’t count us out,”
he said. “Older men have just as much to contribute these days.”
Gay
and lesbian seniors home proposed for Vancouver
Tuesday, April 15, 2008, CBC News
A seniors home for gays and lesbians in the East Vancouver
neighbourhood of Mt. Pleasant could be the first of its kind in Canada.
So far, the project is nothing more than a proposal, but already more
than 30 people have plunked down a $1,000 deposit since it was first
advertised two weeks ago, according to the U.S. developer.
Male
Sex Surveys Unveil Mysteries, Truths, Performance Issues for older
men
By Carol Forsloff, Digitaljournal.com
A large funded by the
National Institutes of Health involved men ages 57 to 85 who were
asked about their sexual problems. Although the media has shown that
men can have healthy sex lives into their 80’s, there are wide differences
in ability and performance involving age and racial groups...Men in
the age group from 75 to 85 were 2.4 times more likely to report the
inability to have an organism and 1.9 times more difficulty to sustain
an erection than men in the age group from 57 to 64. There was, however,
no diminution in sex interest with the increase in age.
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