The Lesbian and Gay Elderly Community

I thought I would add another topic to the board. In chapter 14 there was a very brief section about elderly persons and couples that are gay or lesbians. As we have talked about in class there are the same struggles for elderly couples as younger couples in the rights they posses when it comes to their partner. In a society that has a federal government that does not recognize same sex couples in terms of any legal rights, the struggles for the elderly become even greater. Just imagine living with your partner for 20+ years and they become sick, but you have no say on what happens to him or her. Or your partner dies and you are a gay couple the money and property could be taken without you having any rights to it. These are realities of gay and lesbian couples alike, but especially real for the elderly where sickness and death are a normal part of later years. Another interesting point that was made in this section, was there are retirement homes per se that are dedicated to those gay and lesbian singles, widows, and couples. In theory this may sound like a good idea, however, as the author said this kind of living situation may discriminate the elderly group by sanctioning them into only one area instead of allowing them to live among others in the community without having the label and stigma of living in an all gay community living complex. Lastly, I would like to point out that as many of us we don't like to think of the elderly having sex, or do many people even think that they do have sex. A friend of mine made the comment just the other day, "Are there old gay people?" She was so serious about the question that the ignorance of the question just made me laugh. As if gay and lesbians stop being gay after a certain age, if they don't have sex "anymore" they are gay either. Or maybe her thinking was more along the lines of since homosexuality has become more acceptable in our society in the last decade for sure, maybe there are only younger gay couples, I mean the only gay or lesbian people you see in the media are good looking young people. I just thought it so interesting that even in our ever more accepting generation there are still stereotypes and assumptions especially about gay elderly couples. Anyone have any thoughts about the topic or things that you have heard please share.