Hong (63, separated, gay man) noted that he hoped to stay in a gay-friendly long-term care home in order to avoid any potential instances of inadequate care, due to discrimination

Finally, similar to the experiences of heterosexual individuals, participants’ concerns about utilizing paid care were driven by financial instability (Cicero & Pynoos, 2016). Beth (76, partnered, lesbian) remarks that she cannot afford to stay in a long-term care home. Others discussed the availability of LGBTQ-friendly retirement communities across the country, but noted that they often are not financially accessible. He elaborated, I don’t know why … people assume that all LGBT people have money. As mentioned earlier, cumulative inequality largely created financial distress in late adulthood, which has spill-over effects on participants’ ability to afford housing (see also de Vries et al. 2019 for a discussion of this). Indeed, older LGB people’s exposure to poverty may be exacerbated due to the effects of discrimination on wages over time (Badgett, 2020; Grant et al., 2010).

Aging in LGBTQ-Friendly Communities

Participants emphasized that they wished to age in community with one another or minimally with LGBTQ-friendly people in shared residences and long-term care homes; this departs from heteronormative (i.e., heterosexual-centric) understandings of aging with a predominate reliance on biological family for care. Continue reading →