A Lesbian Older Adult Managing Identity Disclosure: A Case Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the experience of an older lesbian in managing the disclosure of her sexual identity. Specifically, the team wanted to better understand the ways she managed her identity in an assisted living facility. Using a qualitative case study methodology, 2 in-depth interviews were conducted. The following 5 themes were identified in the data: keeping her own counsel, maintaining "family" connection, celebrating second chances, living outside the L box, and staying morally centered. Practice and research implications are offered and the case study is used to expand understanding of disclosure management and resiliency theory.

Older bisexual people: Implications for social work from the ‘Looking Both Ways’ study

“…There is a growing social work literature on the experiences of older LGBT people (Hughes, 2009a;Hughes 2009b;Jenkins, Walker, Cohen, & Curry, 2010;Lee & Quam, 2013;McGovern, 2014;Quam, Whitford, Dziengel, & Knochel, 2010;Rowan & Giunta, 2014;Van Sluytman & Torres, 2014;Ward, Rivers, & Sutherland, 2012) as well as literature aimed at enabling social work practitioners to work more holistically with older LGBT service users (Erdley, Anklam, & Reardon, 2014;Fredriksen-Goldsen, Hoy-Ellis, Goldsen, Emlet, & Hooyman, 2014;Gratwick, Jihanian, Holloway, Sanchez, & Sullivan, 2014;Portz et al, 2014;Stonewall, 2012;Westwood, King, Almack, & Suen, 2015). However both bodies of literature are predominantly based on the experiences of older gay men and, to a lesser extent, older lesbians, meaning that little can be deduced about the distinctive experiences of transgender and bisexual people (Barker et al, 2012).…”

First-person narratives around sexuality in residential healthcare settings: a meta-ethnographic synthesis

“…Of those described, 48% of participants were male and 52% female. Four studies reported on participants' ethnicity (Brown, Reavey, Kanyeredzi, & Batty, 2014;Jenkins, Walker, Cohen, & Curry, 2010;McCann, 2000;Stein et al, 2010). Due to inconsistent reporting, overall participant demographics could not be summarised.…”

“…Some gay and lesbian participants harboured fears about disclosing their sexuality (Jenkins et al, 2010;Röndahl et al, 2006;Stein et al, 2010): (Quinn & Happell, 2015a, p.125).…”

“…Eight stu dies made reference to the hopes and fears that participants had regarding their sexuality as patients in residential healthcare settings and for the future (Frankowski & Clark, 2009;Jenkins et al, 2010;Lemieux et al, 2004;McCann, 2000;Röndahl et al, 2006;Stein et al, 2010).…”

Older lesbian women's health and healthcare: A narrative review of the literature

“…Challenges or disruption caused by marginalisation has seen lesbian women develop resilience (Jenkins et al . ) or a substantial capacity to bounce‐back , and this coping mechanism is referred to in the literature as crisis competence (Kimmel ). Further, the development of crisis competence empowers lesbian women to shield themselves against the challenges associated with ageing (McCann et al .…”