If you were 18 the summer of the Stonewall Riots, Happy 60th! (Sorry if I missed it.) As the generation of gay men and lesbians that came of age during the gay rights movement reaches their 60s, we need to get serious about a conversation about sexuality and retirement. How will these men and women choose to retire? Are retirement communities for heterosexual individuals and couples heterosexualized in ways that make them unattractive to gay and lesbian couples and individuals? Are they open to sexual diversity? Is this how gay men and lesbians want to retire? And if so, can we expect them to have the same rosy experiences marketed to heterosexual couples?
Some new research suggests that this is a significant issue. Older gay men and lesbians ought to worry about retiring and growing old in communities where they don’t experience stigma. The study focuses exclusively on gay men, but did compare single gay men with gay men with domestic partners and legally married gay men. They found that stress related to aging was compounded by “sexual minority stress” in ways that pose significant mental health risks for gay men.
Inequality by (Interior) Design 