"There were no words": Older LGBTQ+ persons' experiences of finding and claiming their gender and sexual identities.

This article explores how older Canadian LGBTQ+ persons' gender and sexual identities evolved over time and were influenced by language, role models, and significant others. We draw on data from a qualitative interview study with 30 LGBTQ+ older adults. We analyze our data thematically, finding three overarching themes, namely: a) Lacking language and role models, b) Drawn and pushed out of the closet, and c) Current fluidities and future concerns. Our participants reported that, earlier in life, they had lacked language or positive frameworks with which to make sense of their identities. Upon finding language and role models, all but one eventually came out or transitioned, often after consulting trusted others, experimenting in secret, leading double lives, and/or finding same-sex love. Many were fearful that as they aged, they might once again lose their abilities to openly claim their gender and sexual identities. We discuss our findings in relation to queer theory and the LGBTQ+ aging literature.

From invisible to extraordinary: Representations of older LGBTQ persons in Canadian print and online news media.

The purpose of this study was to examine how older LGTBQ adults were portrayed in mainstream Canadian newspapers and popular magazines. Our sample included stories that were published in English between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 in three national newspapers, 13 provincial newspapers, one national online news website, and the five most widely-read popular magazines whose readerships included or catered to the mature market. Our content and thematic analyses of our sample of 190 stories resulted in three overarching findings: a) older LGBTQ adults were largely invisible; b) older LGBTQ persons were often depicted as victims of historical and ongoing discrimination and social exclusion; and c) older LGBTQ individuals were frequently portrayed as extraordinary role models and icons who demonstrated resilience and had paved the way for the younger generations. We discuss our findings in light of the extant research and theorizing concerning the role of the media in reflecting, reproducing, and/or challenging dominant social norms and ideologies, including heterosexism, homophobia, and age-based prejudice.