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ABSTRACT
There is increasing awareness in research about the social service needs of older LGBTQ adults. However, there are few studies that deal with differences in this community regarding elder care services. As a rule, transgender individuals are not included in these studies. This study focuses on how older Swedish LGBTQ adults reason about openness in an elder care context concerning their future needs for services and adopts Nancy Fraser’s theoretical framework of recognition. The material consists of fifteen semi-structured interviews with older LGBTQ adults. The results indicate that the main concern for older LGBTQ individuals is being accepted for their preferred sexual orientation and/or gender identity in elder care. However, there were differences regarding that concern in this LGBTQ group. There were also a variety of approaches in the group as to preferences for equal versus special treatment with respect to their LGBTQ identity. In addition, there were differences as to whether they prefer to live in LGBTQ housing or not. The findings contribute to existing knowledge by highlighting the diverse views on elder care services in both this group of interviewees and its subgroups. These findings emphasise the importance of the social work practice recognising different preferences and having an accepting approach. The results can further provide guidance on how to design elder care services for older LGBTQ adults.
ABSTRAKT
Inom forskningen finns idag en ökad medvetenhet om HBTQ-äldres behov av äldreomsorgsinsatser. Få studier har hittills belyst skillnader inom gruppen gällande önskemål av framtida insatser från äldreomsorgen. I dessa studier är transpersoner ofta inte inkluderade. Föreliggande studie fokuserar på hur svenska äldre HBTQ-personer ser på öppenhet i ett framtida äldreomsorgsammanhang samt hur detta relaterar till önskningar om behov av insatser. Studien utgår från Nancy Frasers teoretiska resonemang om erkännande. Materialet består av femton semi-strukturerade intervjuer med HBTQ-äldre. Resultaten visar att de flesta äldre HBTQ-personerna vill bli accepterade för den egna sexuella läggningen och könsidentiteten/könsuttrycket i ett framtida äldreomsorgssammanhang. Hur denna önskan ser ut skilde sig dock åt inom HBTQ-gruppen. Det fanns också olika uppfattningar om man huvudsakligen föredrar likabehandling eller om man istället vill att särskild hänsyn ska tas till den egna HBTQ-identiteten. Även inställning till huruvida man föredrar att bo på ett HBTQ-boende eller inte delade gruppen av intervjuade. Resultaten bidrar till existerande forskning om äldre HBTQ-personer genom att synliggöra de skillnader som finns inom gruppen gällande inställning till att använda framtida äldreomsorgsinsatser. Vidare påvisar resultaten vikten av att det sociala arbetet har ett öppet och erkännande förhållningssätt för olika preferenser. Resultaten kan vidare bidra till vägledning kring hur man utformar äldreomsorgsinsatser för HBTQ-äldre.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Jenny Löf is a Ph.D. Candidate in Social Work at the Department of Social and Welfare Studies at the University of Linköping Sweden. Her research focuses on LGBTQ-questions within the social work sector and more specifically the inclusion of older LGBTQ-adults in eldercare. Furthermore she is interested in how older LGBTQ-adults observe and construct themselves in relation to the societal context. Other areas of interests are related to gender theory, queer theory and intersectionality.
Anna Olaison is an Assistant Professor in Social Work at CESAR Centre for Social Work, Uppsala University, Uppsala and the Department of Social and Welfare Studies at the University of Linköping Sweden. Her research concerns institutional interaction between the welfare state and citizens in social care services. Recent work has concentrated on social workers’ documentation practices as well as needs assessment practice involving people with dementia. Her interests also include questions concerning the impact of social policies on communities and services for older people.
Notes
1 We use this acronym in the findings section when we talk about the group as a whole, which also correlates with the empirical material since the majority of interviewees talk about LGBTQ issues. One person also sympathises with queer as an identity, namely the idea of a non-binary, fluid identity construction. When we refer to other studies more generally, we will also use the same acronym. However, if we refer to specific studies, we will use the same acronym that the authors have used.
2 She also develops a third level, the political dimension in which she talks about representation (Fraser, Citation2011).
3 This study has been reviewed and approved by a Swedish Regional Ethics Committee (doc. no. 2016/125-31).
4 The first author has prior experience from participation in the LGBTQ community, however this was not addressed in the majority of interviews. It might however lead to an increased pre-understanding of terminology and knowledge about the community.
5 The interviews addressed four different themes: the first was about everyday life and aging, the second was about social attitudes and norms; the third concerned the issue of elder care and the fourth concerned social relations and networks.
6 They were all CIS-women/CIS-men.
7 All of them were designated male at birth. Trans-identities included transvestites, transsexuals and also more fluid trans- identities. One of them identified also as a lesbian.
8 Gayseniorerna, Golden Ladies and HBT-seniorerna.
9 One of the women identified as bisexual. Two men said they were a mix of bisexual and homosexual.
10 There are initiatives trying to improve the inclusion of older LGBTQ adults in elder care for example the Pink Passkey in Netherlands. This is a certification that elder care providers can undergo to ensure to be LGBTQ-friendly and is symbolised with a pink key (Roze50plus.nl, Citation2018).
11 Six of the people interviewed expressed views in line with the argument above; four of them were LGB – two women and two men – and two identified as transgender.
12 Seven interviewees emphasise such an attitude – two of the bisexual/lesbian women, two of the bisexual/gay men and three of the transgender individuals. In two of the interviews it is not possible to determine whether the interviewees would opt for equal or preferential treatment.
13 In 13 of the 15 interviews, it is mentioned that greater knowledge is needed in elder care to gain understanding and to eliminate stigma, discrimination and negative attitudes. Of the two interviewees who did not mention this, both identified as LGB, one man and one woman.
14 RFSL started issuing LGBTQ certificates in 2008. Organisations and companies in the private and public sectors complete the certification process especially to educate and inform people about LGBTQ lives and how LGBTQ individuals are affected by societal norms, while also addressing various grounds for discrimination (RFSL, Citation2016).
15 Nine of the interviewees emphasised that they want to live in specialist LGBTQ accommodation because they could understand the feeling of belonging to a community, share the same experiences and feel safer. One of the interviewees said he would like to live in such accommodation if he was single which he was not at the time for the interview. Five of the interviewees noted that they were not interested in staying in special accommodations. Of these, two were older transgender adults, two identified as bisexual/lesbian women and one identified as a bisexual/gay man. One of the transgender individuals expressed an interest in housing specifically for older transgender adults, while the other transgender person favouring such housing was also a lesbian.
16 Some of the limitations of the study is the relatively small sample-size, with only a few representatives from each subgroup in this LGBTQ group. This means that if we have had more material, we may have been able to identify clearer patterns in the variations or similarities observed. Another major limitation in the study was that no individuals identified as transmasculine.