Acknowledgments

Special thanks go to my research participants-as this study would not have been possible without their time and support. I also thank Brian Powell, who helped inspire this project. I would also like to express appreciation for the feedback that Eliza Pavalko, Jaclyn Tabor, and Nichole Pena provided on the article. Finally, thank you to the anonymous reviewer and editor for their helpful feedback.

Scholars in recent years also investigate diversity in aging, emphasizing that gender, race, and social class shape aging experiences (Arber et al., 2003; Calasanti & Slevin, 2001; Mehrotra & Wagoner, 2019; Settersten & Trauten, 2009). Central to understanding variability in aging experiences is the cumulative inequality approach, which posits that the accumulation of inequality over the life course leads to worsened quality of life in late adulthood (Dannefer, 2003; Ferraro & Shippee, 2009). This theory also asserts that early life events shape outcomes in late adulthood, including health (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009; White et al., 2020). , 2018; Minkler & Estes, 2020).

Visions of End-of-Life Care

Transgender and nonbinary individuals were intentionally omitted from the study, as their experiences are qualitatively different from LGB people; gender-based concerns may instead drive their current aging experiences, which would have required that a different set of interview questions be asked. Simultaneously, there may also be overlap in cisgender LGB and transgender people’s visions of late life, an issue I return to in the discussion section.

Results

However, attitudes toward staying in long-term care homes are also driven by fears of facing institutional and attitudinal homophobia. For example, Bill (66, separated, gay man) expressed fears that predominately heterosexual nursing homes would be comprised of individuals who “lived in an era where it wasn’t cool to be gay.” He elaborated that LGB people were viewed as mentally ill during earlier periods, which he believed would affect the attitudes of older, heterosexual residents. (more…)