| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to centre the voices of older lesbians about
their lived experience. Within the discourse of gerontology, the existence of older
lesbians is invisible. Older lesbian existence is also marginalized within the
lesbian community. Institutionalized heterosexism, homophobia, sexism and
ageism, counter to the Social Work Code of Ethics, serve to enforce that
invisibility and marginalization in the dominant Canadian culture. In order to
provide some information on this marginalized group, four lesbians over the age
of 55 were interviewed individually by a lesbian researcher. An exploratory,
emancipatory, feminist qualitative research methodology elicited an informationrich
discourse. The four women's stories were organized into their individual
stories, and were translated into eleven themes, as follows: (1) heterosexism and
homophobia, (2) ageism, (3) financial concerns, (4) housing and senior-serving
institutions, (5) health problems, (6) vulnerability to crime and abuse, (7)
isolation, (8) sexuality, (9) grief and loss, (10) organized religion, and (11)
feelings about the lesbian community. The women in this study spoke eloquently
about the issues that affect them and other older lesbians. The lived experience
of the participants challenges social work's policies, practices, education and
research to become inclusive of older lesbians. === Arts, Faculty of === Social Work, School of === Graduate
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