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Family Relationships of Older LGBT Adults

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Handbook of LGBT Elders

Abstract

The study of older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults and their families is a growing area of research and practice. This field addresses intersections of social structure and personal experience, beginning with the interaction of family and sexual minority status, and complicated by gender, race, social class, ability status, and other social locations. Older LGBT adults experience families in normative and non-normative ways. They have families of origin (i.e., the family one is born into), families of procreation (i.e., the family one creates, typically, through a committed union and the children they rear), and families of choice (i.e., the family one creates through converting friends into kin). Yet, there are unique aspects of what it means to be an aging LGBT individual that affect the emotional dynamics of family relationships, including the historical treatment of LGBT individuals, the increasing social climate of self-affirmation and public acceptance, and the policies that impact their lives.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Erin Lavender-Stott and Emma Potter for their research assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA

    Katherine R. Allen & Karen A. Roberto

Authors
  1. Katherine R. Allen
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  2. Karen A. Roberto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine R. Allen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Debra A. Harley

  2. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Pamela B. Teaster

Learning Exercises

Learning Exercises

Self-Check Questions

  1. 1.

    In what ways did the scholarship on LGBT elders and their families emerge out of the social activism on behalf of LGBT civil rights?

  2. 2.

    What are families of choice? How are they significant in the LGBT aging community?

  3. 3.

    What impact will the legalization of same-sex marriage have for current generations of LGBT individuals as they age?

  4. 4.

    What are the unique circumstances that older LGBT individuals and their family members must prepare for, due to their sexual minority status?

  5. 5.

    What knowledge do health care professionals and social service providers need to be able to ensure quality of care to aging LGBT individuals and their families?

  6. 6.

    What do aging LGBT individuals have to teach others about family relationships?

Experiential Exercises

  1. 1.

    Visit a GLBT senior center or a GLBT community center and interview staff members and participants about their experiences of “chosen family” in their community.

  2. 2.

    View the documentary, Gen Silent, and reflect on the issues facing the LGBT individuals and their partners as they consider long-term care. http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/resource.cfm?r=14

  3. 3.

    View the short video featuring Hilary Meyer, Director of the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, discuss issues facing LGBT older adults (13.04 min). Identify 3-5 key caregiving issues in late life. http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/resource.cfm?r=13.

Multiple-Choice Questions

  1. 1.

    Families in which friends are converted into kin are called:

    1. (a)

      Families of procreation

    2. (b)

      Families of origin

    3. (c)

      Families of choice

    4. (d)

      Families of extension

  2. 2.

    Douglas Kimmel is one of the founders of:

    1. (a)

      SAGE

    2. (b)

      NLGTF

    3. (c)

      Gray Panthers

    4. (d)

      AARP

  3. 3.

    Which of the following US states has not allowed legal same-sex marriage?

    1. (a)

      Alabama

    2. (b)

      California

    3. (c)

      Montana

    4. (d)

      Virginia

  4. 4.

    “Personal attitudes and responses that are a result of not giving equal value to a loss in this kind of relationship” is the definition of:

    1. (a)

      Discriminatory action

    2. (b)

      Disenfranchised grief

    3. (c)

      Loneliness of isolation

    4. (d)

      Frustration of relentless battles

  5. 5.

    Family gatekeeper is a term that refers to what generation:

    1. (a)

      Grandparents

    2. (b)

      Adult children

    3. (c)

      Grandchildren

    4. (d)

      Great-grandchildren

  6. 6.

    Older LGBT adults’ relationships with their parents and siblings are characterized by:

    1. (a)

      Ambivalence

    2. (b)

      Support

    3. (c)

      Conflict

    4. (d)

      All of the above

  7. 7.

    Which theory explains how stigma, prejudice, and discrimination create a hostile and stressful social environment that can cause mental health problems?

    1. (a)

      Life course theory

    2. (b)

      Social exchange theory

    3. (c)

      Minority stress theory

    4. (d)

      Activity theory

  8. 8.

    LGBT care providers who purposefully conceal aspects of their sexuality are called:

    1. (a)

      Active disclosure

    2. (b)

      Passive disclosure

    3. (c)

      Active nondisclosure

    4. (d)

      Passive nondisclosure

  9. 9.

    Which of the following does not appear to be a major concern for older LGBT adults:

    1. (a)

      Going on vacations

    2. (b)

      Moving into a nursing home

    3. (c)

      Relationships with biological family members

    4. (d)

      Chronic illness

  10. 10.

    This chapter addressed the intersections across the following social locations:

    1. (a)

      Age, nationality, and residence

    2. (b)

      Age, family, and sexual orientation

    3. (c)

      Age, disability, and gender

    4. (d)

      Age, ethnicity, and religion

Multiple-Choice Key

  • 1. c

  • 2. a

  • 3. a

  • 4. b

  • 5. b

  • 6. d

  • 7. c

  • 8. d

  • 9. a

  • 10. b

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Allen, K.R., Roberto, K.A. (2016). Family Relationships of Older LGBT Adults. In: Harley, D., Teaster, P. (eds) Handbook of LGBT Elders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03623-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03623-6_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-03622-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-03623-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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