Gay Men and Lesbians Caring for Spouses/Partners: Drawing on Positive Marginality and Community Resources

• In Event: 20403 - Aging in the Context of Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

Caregiving for a person living with dementia is challenging, especially when performed for spouses/partners. Much of this spousal caregiving research has focused on heterosexual husbands and wives; how this situation might vary by sexual orientation has been little examined. Scholarship on older sexual and gender minoritized populations reveal the negative impacts of stigma and discrimination—in the healthcare system and with its providers, for example—leading us to expect similar effects on sexual minority caregivers, exacerbating their stress and challenges. At the same time, however, some recent research points to another outcome of marginalization: through stress, adversity, and resistance, individuals marginalized by their sexual orientation can experience growth, value their identities and being untethered from heteronormativity, and form community. We explore these possibilities using in-depth interviews conducted nationally with 13 gay men and 16 lesbians who care for their spouses/partners living with dementia. We find that, most expressed positive views of their identities and the characteristics that the larger, heterosexual population stigmatize, and feel that these help them in their care work. They also point to the importance of the lessons that their experiences of discrimination have taught them, particularly through their communities, and how these influencing their caregiving in positive ways.

Authors

• Toni Calasanti, Virginia Tech

• Sadie Snow, Hollins University

• Jing Geng, Virginia Tech