Financial Distress

Participants were asked to describe challenges facing older LGB adults, and financial distress was repeatedly named as an issue among both generations. Although poverty is common in late adulthood, it is potentially worsened by homophobic discrimination. Incidents of being denied a job and threats of being fired were faced by numerous participants. Betty (71, married, lesbian) described an incident of being denied a job at a reproductive care center, noting that HR informed her that her sexual identity was an impediment to effectively doing her job. She elaborated that HR blatantly stated that she is going to have a really hard time finding a job in Kansas City, due to her sexual orientation. Similarly, Fred (60, married, queer) reported that a supervisor informed him, I’m sorry, but I [have to] let you all go … you’re too gay. Homophobic discrimination also affected performance reviews, which has implications for promotion and salary. Dawn (73, married, lesbian) noted that homophobic bias shaped her performance review as a teacher. She revealed that her supervisor accused her of being too close to a female student, an incident she interpreted as laden with homophobic biases.

Participants’ narratives revealed that discrimination has long-term consequences on their lives, especially financial stability. Dave (80, single, gay man) noted:

.. They have not built IRAs or thought about it until we were in our late 40s … we know people that just are going by the skin of their teeth. They’re on food stamps, and their job never paid enough for them kissbridesdate.com over here to accrue anything for retirement, and their social security certainly is not good.

Similarly, Joseph (83, married, gay man) revealed that, due to a lack of promotions and bonuses, saving was not something they [gays, lesbians, and bisexuals] could do because they could hardly live just on what they were getting. So, they enter the area of a timeframe in their lives where they don’t have the finances. Read more