Gay Men at Midlife

Abstract

This study draws on interview data, a grounded theoretical methodology, and social identity theory concepts to explore how early midlife gay men manage their age identities through the use of linguistic labels, intragenerational talk among peers, and intergenerational talk with younger gay men. Face-to-face, semistructured interviews were conducted with 40 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse early midlife gay men (aged 40-53) in four U.S. cities. Men discussed conversations between themselves and gay men in their 20s, as well as the nature of their age identities. Open and axial coding of the men's intra-and intergroup language use and other communicative behavior-with attention to accompanying motivations for engaging in such talk and nonverbal expression-revealed a new grounded theory of social identity management. Similarities and extensions to social identity theory were discussed, as were the theory's implications for understanding gay midlife.

Gay men in early midlife: Intergenerational accommodation for approval, reclaimed status, and distinctiveness

“…This research also was useful in its detailing group members' actual accounts of accommodation strategy use in a real-world social context. Heuristically, these findings offer evidence of alternative ways that some midlife gay men seek positive distinctiveness and approval through communication accommodation, other than those offered in Hajek's (2014) discoveries related to social identity theory. Finally, any social group's communication accommodation behaviors may be considered unique in some ways and universal in other ways.…”

“…This research takes an intergroup perspective on intergenerational communication (e.g., Giles et al, 2002Giles et al, , 2012Hummert, 2012), and defines intergroup communication as individual communicative behavior based on perceptions of self and others as belonging to different social categories. This is an appropriate approach for the study of gay men's lives, given the high salience and group-based nature of their sexual and age identities that play significant roles in communication and psychological well-being (see also , Hajek, 2014, Hajek, , 2012Hajek and Giles, 2002). The present study uncovers how and why some gay men in early midlife strategically use communication accommodation with younger gay men to manage their age identities.…”

“…It was in the spirit of these factors that CAT concepts and strategies were selected as a starting point to explain intergroup communicative behavior at the intersection of "midlife" and "gay" identities. From a CAT perspective, possible threats to midlife gay male social identity due to advancing age and/or discrimination from younger gay men (e.g., Hajek and Giles, 2002;Hajek, 2014) may lead some midlife men to engage in particular communicative strategies to manage their compromised identities. Threats to midlife gay men may include the perceived loss of social status that had been derived from being a part of the youth-oriented gay culture, decreased opportunities for integrating with that culture, associated feelings of alienation, and a lack of respect from younger gay men.…”

“…Gaps in the literature on gay midlife communication and identity management (see, however, Hajek, 2014) have led to the following question:…”

Social and psychological creativity in gay male midlife identity management

“…And group members may respond by employing SIT's well-defined and researched responses to a threatened social identity, including using what Tajfel and Turner (1986) refer to as social creativity strategies that largely involve converting negative ingroup values into positive ones, and making favourable intra-and intergroup comparisons. In an exploration of the full range of SIT's mechanisms, Hajek (2014) investigated how some gay midlife men managed their identities through the use of linguistic labels, intragenerational talk among peers, and intergenerational talk with younger gay men. Among the findings was some men's propensity to respond to a negative gay midlife identity by attempting assimilation with the younger outgroup.…”