Serving the LGBTQI&A: Influencing the Service of the Mainstream Aging Population

What language will we, the Baby Boomers, use to describe our experience of Aging, and how will we accept its challenges? RainbowVision Properties has been engaged in the re-examination and exploration of new language evolution to describe stages of Aging, and our experience of it, since 2004.
RainbowVision Properties opened its first community in June of 2006, built to offer LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, BiSexual, Transgender, Queer and InterSexed) people an opportunity to live in a community along with straight seniors in what we coined “Community of Living Diversity”. What surprised us was how member residents experienced and defined “diversity”.
We were using an LGBTQI&A definition for “diversity” but members redefined it to include professions, former professions, walk of life, age, place of origin, culture, family group identification, religion and philosophies. Additionally, members felt that “diversity” was an active state of being rather than a descriptor, and so formulated the concept of “Living Diversity”. RainbowVision Properties adopted this phrase as our tagline. We wholeheartedly agree that this is a better description of an essential, resident member -defined RainbowVision experience. What might this experience have to offer the mainstream senior care industry.
Let us take into consideration the breakdown of gender and orientation, at our initial community: gender is estimated at 52% female to 48% male, and orientation is LGBT at 60% to 40% non-LGBT. There were also a significant number of LGBT people who chose RainbowVision for their straight loved-ones. This is a result of the acceptance of differing family structures allowing for comfortable family gatherings and celebrations.
In an examination of the historical experience of the LGBTQI population, we find that it has had some unique circumstances that influence the aging experience.. One such event is the advent of 1980’s AIDS crisis. Many gay men have often remarked that they feel like they are the miracles of their generation in that they are alive at all. What we took away from this experience is the understanding that end- of- life issues are not necessarily age-related, therefore; our first community in Santa Fe was not age-restricted. This restriction in the industry largely has to do with financing, as well as with resident preference in terms of having children in residence. Without such restriction, members of various ages were accepted who presented with the challenges of MS, lupus, cancer, and Parkinson’s, etc. Many of these challenges may occur as early as 20 years old. Some, or all, of these factors influence mainstream aging issues, communities or services.
What has been learned by serving the elderly LGBTQI population may influence the provision of mainstream aging services in two major ways: 1) by the redefinition of what constitutes “family” and 2) by the refinement of the language of “aging” so that challenges may be served in a timely fashion. Since the more senior part of the LGBTQI population generally did not experience acceptance from family of blood, a system of family of choice was created for care-taking purposes (re AIDS crisis)as well as for general family support. Peers often served in this capacity, but often older generations served in the role of mother or parent to younger generations in “friendship” or identified “family” groups as well.
Today’s mainstream boomers often have family members who have moved a considerable distance from their point of origin. The activities of daily living may be experienced by “friendship” groups which serve as family in terms of influence, reliability, and support for many major life decisions. This function focuses the decision-making process oftentimes on the end –user of services, rather than the traditional influencers (oldest daughter care-taker) and parallels the LGBT historical experience.
If we are to directly appeal to the client or potential resident, and end of life issues are not necessarily related to age, then the experience gleaned from LGBT history asks us to find a word that encompasses more than the words “senior” , “elderly” or “aging” in order to serve its challenges. Withe aging denial deeply embedded in boomer culture (don’t trust anyone over thirty), RainbowVision Properties moves towards replacing the word “aging” to “evolving”.
RainbowVision Properties continues to develop communities of Living Diversity.