Mignon R. Moore, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology and African American Studies

1. In the Shadow of Sexuality:  Social Support and Health Challenges in the Lives of Older African American Sexual Minorities Mignon R. Moore, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology and African American Studies Co-Director, Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research UCLA

2. Moore, Mignon R. Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships and Motherhood among Black Women.(California Press, 2011)

3. Health Domains • Physical and mental health • Access to health care • Social support

4. Research Aims 1. Assess major factors influencing physical health, mental health and access to medical care for older African American sexual minorities, determine the ways community institutions can better service them

5. Research Aims 2. Qualitatively describe social context of aging, define characteristics of support systems, determine the directions of exchange these systems provide

6. Research Aims 3. Combine the qualitative data with archival data to learn about the social histories of this group: how they understood their own sexual orientation, race, and gender in the context of the social movements of that time

7. Focus for Today’s Presentation Qualitatively define the characteristics of support systems, determine the directions of exchange these systems provide

9. Mental health, physical health, access to health care are critical issues for this population • High rates of HIV/AIDS among African American gay and bisexual men born before 1956 • Specific barriers in accessing health care • Laws and policies discriminate against older LGBT adults

10. Social Support • The sources and functioning of social support may be different for older African American sexual minorities, relative to their heterosexual counterparts and White LGBT counterparts

11. Social Support • Resources that individuals provide each other –includes affection, aid, and affirmation. • Operates through direct and indirect means, across multiple dimensions • Emotional support • Instrumental assistance • Informational assistance (Cohen & Syme 1985; Crohan & Antonucci 1989; Berkman 1984; Martire et al 1999)

12. Qualitative Interview Data Types: In-depth interviews (50), focus group interviews (2), participant-observation field notes Descriptive Characteristics (N=50) Men 40% Women 60% Mean Age: 65 (born 1945) Age Range: 54 – 81 years (born 1956-1929) LA: 40% of sample NY: 60% of sample

13. Respondent (standing) at his father’s 90th birthday party

14. Findings • Deteriorating health and lack of mobility pressing problems for 90% of respondents • Social isolation and depression mentioned by almost everyone as well

15. Esther Boward* (b. 1937), retired nurse(*all names are pseudonyms) In our day it was not considered a good thing to have children. That was not encouraged. There was no community for that. Lesbians didn’t have babies…Either adopting them or having them naturally was not sanctioned by the greater culture back in the late fifties and sixties. It just wasn’t…

16. …The perception was you weren’t considered fit to raise a child, or that, more so in the male community, you and your partner might molest a child or influence a child’s sexuality…All of those things were major prohibitions against having children.

17. Findings Many older sexual minorities do not have children and are missing a key source of social support

18. Findings • Assumption in past research: Homophobia results in emotionally distant relationships between LGBT people and their families of origin • Current study suggests: Racialized sexual minority elders may maintain closer kin relationships than what has been assumed in past research

19. Thomas O’Malley (b.1949), retired postal worker I guess I never really been comfortable with being gay, even now...If someone asks me if I am gay, I won’t answer them directly. I would ask them, “So why do you want to know? Why are you concerned? Are you interested or something?” Turn it back on them you know, and I never answer them. Even my son. Well my nephew that I raised. I call him my son…

20. …He asked me a couple of times and I just told him “You know what? Whatever my sexual preference is, is not your business.” I said, “Straight or gay. I don’t feel like the parents should discuss their sex life with their children.” And that is how I left it. And that is basically the answer I give anybody, even now.

21. Thomas O’Malley I am the oldest in the group of my siblings. I don’t want to be the leader. I don’t want to be the person in charge. I am sick of it and I think because I am gay and it has been known since before birth, so I think that people do tend to go to that person that they can depend on. That they can rely on and for me,…

22. …many people in the gay and lesbian community, they are that person that people will come to, and I’m tired of it. I love my family. Love them dearly and I know they will give a whole bunch of lives for me, but they still look at you as that resource for information, for money.

23. Darlene Clark (b. 1951), retired film producer (excerpt from Focus Group) Yeah like my brothers told me, they say, “You’re the matriarch of the family.” I’m the youngest. I’m the youngest. I said, “We still got a sister who is older than me. Why don’t you go bug her?” [They reply] “But you’re the matriarch.” James Woodson: We put ourselves in that position sometimes...We take care of the sick, the shut-in, the elderly and it seems like we sometimes put our lives on hold.

24. Darlene Clark Actually we took care of Mama and Daddy as soon as we started making two dimes because we didn’t have little crumb-snatchers [children]. We took care of them [our parents] and they’ve started to rely on us for everything throughout life and then when they passed on, then of course, here comes their other children [our siblings]. Coming to you for this, that, and the other.

25. Findings • Assumption in past research: Social support as one-way exchange of resources, LGBT people primarily as recipients of support • This work suggests social support is a multi-directional exchange, where older LGBT racial minorities maintain close relations with kin/community members, provide support

26. Penelope Ford, retired educator (b. 1941) Men, their situation looks a little different from lesbian women because of AIDS. I know men who have no friends left. They’ve had two or three partners to die from AIDS. They are HIV positive themselves or they have AIDS and they are living with it. So, the picture in the men’s community is a little different from the picture in the women’s community in terms of aging LBGT people.

27. Findings African-American gay men in this age cohort may organize and maintain partnerships in ways that are distinct from heterosexual marital relationships • Fewer restrictions around sexual monogamy • Partners maintain separate households • Limited mingling of resources • Legally marrying someone of the opposite sex to appear heterosexual

28. Summary LGBT elders face unique barriers to successful aging. They often lack traditional support systems in the form of cohabiting marital partners and children. Social stigma, both historical and contemporary, based in sexual orientation as well as race, make it harder for this population to achieve elements of healthy aging.

29. Policy Implications • How we conceptualize “open” and “hidden” expressions of gay sexuality in older cohorts • The relationships aging sexual minorities have with kin • The development of interventions to address health inequities for this population • Collaborations between mainstream aging organizations and LGBT groups can help increase awareness of their needs and improve community services

30. Policy Recommendations • Increase funding for and provision of LGBT elder programs • Provide immediate access to LGBT-based care • Provide education, tools, and legal services to LGBT elders • Advocate for greater research on LGBT older adults • Create a national public discussion about LGBT aging issues

31. Acknowledgements This research was supported by the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Improvement of Minority Elderly/Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research, NIH/NIA, under Grant #P30AG021684. I thank Taquesha Brannon for research assistance, and Ron Andersen for his mentorship.