LGBT aging and hetorical silence

Hypervisibility: Toward a Conceptualization of LGBTQ Aging

“…The experiences and realities of older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adults remain largely unrecognized and unexamined in both theoretical and empirical bodies of social science literature (Brotman et al 2015;Brown 2009;Eliason et al 2010;Kimmel 2015;King 2014;Knauer 2011;Rose and Hospital 2015). However, several factors justify the need for attempts to conceptualize and more systematically study aging phenomena in sexual minorities and transgender populations.…”

“…First, given the continued salience of medicalized aging (Fishman et al 2008;Lupton 2003), as well as the growing visibility of non-heterosexual and non-cisgender identities among the elderly (Cahill 2007), it is possible to suggest that medical surveillance plays an increasingly influential role in limiting expressions of nonnormative sexuality and gender identity in old age. Second, perhaps more importantly, in light of the recognized need for both the fields of queer theory and gerontology to address problems located at an ever more multifaceted intersection of identities and experiences, the development of theory that situates same-sex sexuality and gender non-conformity within the context of the life course may not only be pertinent, but also necessary (Brotman et al 2015;Brown 2009;Kimmel 2015;Knauer 2011). This paper constitutes an attempt to conceptualize aging phenomena within communities selfidentifying as BLGBTQ,^hereon referred to interchangeably as Bqueer/trans^for the purpose of convenience.…”

“…The question of Bhow^such hypervisibility operates to regulate LGBTQ identities in later stages of the life course reflects the focal problem I wish to address in this paper. Although I will acknowledge that past attempts to theoretically situate the experiences of LGBTQ elders have primarily addressed the hegemonic silencing of older sexual minorities and transgender populations (Brown 2009), I will propose that such processes of erasure reflect mere features of a broader system of panopticism and regulation that constrains nonheterosexuality and gender variance in old age.…”

“…First, I discuss the contributions Brown (2009), as well as others (Eliason et al 2010;King 2014;Knauer 2011), have made in theorizing queer/trans aging as a context characterized by rhetorical or hegemonic silence. Here, I argue that despite the strengths of this lens in addressing the hegemonic invisibility of LGBTQ elders within the social sciences, a more comprehensive framework is needed to explain mechanisms of surveillance and control to which LGBTQ adults are subject in later stages of the life course.…”

Intervención social con mayores Trans. Estudio de un caso hipotético [Social intervention in transexual elders. A hypothetical case study]

“…Otros autores van más allá al señalar la exclusión del colectivo de mayores LGTB de los estudios de teoría queer, de la comunidad LGTB y de la propia gerontología (Brown, 2009). …”