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abstract
What happens to identity when life challenges include two major individual characteristics that are often considered negative: identifying as bisexual and identifying as an older adult? In this issue we learn more about the varieties of lived experience of older bisexuals. In the larger society, and even within smaller affinity groups, these labels often include social stigmas and challenges to whatever identity a person formed earlier in life. Some larger questions arise. How can adults think of themselves as having a fully formed identity when that identity is challenged? Could accepting and incorporating these labels help an adult grow and learn to cognitively conceptualize personal identity in a more complex, flexible, growing way? Creating and re-creating the concept of the self, the identity, over the course of adulthood is a cognitive and a personal challenge and a potential source of growth. This article introduces the five articles in this special issue, broadens our view of aging bisexuals, and examines the possible cognitive aspects of creating a flexible identity. Societal changes and the growth potential for dealing with the dual life challenges of bisexuality and aging are considered.
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Notes on contributors
Jan D. Sinnott
Jan D. Sinnott, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Towson University and a licensed psychologist. She specializes in Lifespan Positive Development and the applications of existential, transpersonal, mind–body, and positive psychology. After completing a postdoc at the National Institute on Aging, she developed her theory of complex problem-solving in adulthood, termed complex postformal thought. She has authored or co-authored over 100 scholarly and applied books and publications. Her research team is currently studying complex problem-solving, intelligence, mindfulness, concepts of the self, and satisfaction in intimate relationships.