Where have all the intergenerational connections gone?

A group of older individuals pose together in front of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag. Photo courtesy of the LGBT Aging Center

It goes without saying that the LGBTQ+ community has a storied history. Even before LGBTQ+ narratives came into the limelight, people who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or who identified with any other identity in the LGBTQ+ community existed.

According to Teaching LGBTQ+ History, the term lesbian was first used in 1732 by William King in his book “The Toast.” The term homosexual was coined by Hungarian journalist Karl-Maria Kertheny in 1869. Bisexual was used in the 1994 pamphlet “Psychopathia Sexualis.” The world was introduced to the term transgender in 1965 in John Oliven’s book “Sexual Hygiene and Pathology.”

When you think of the history of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States, what events or people come to mind? For many, the 1969 Stonewall Riots remain a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Dig a little further and maybe you think of the creation of the Society for Human Rights in 1924 — the first LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S.

Regardless of which events you recall as being noteworthy, many of the stories from those events stick with us and have been passed down from generation to generation in the LGBTQ+ community. While many of the original voices and drivers for change have passed away over the years, there is still a large community of older LGBTQ+ individuals who take up the mantle of telling those stories.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, an estimated 2.7 million LGBTQ+ adults aged 50 and older live in the U.S., 1.1 million of whom are 60 and older — and many are facing higher rates of issues compared to their straight or cisgender counterparts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 20% of LGBTQ+ adults aged 50 and older had incomes below the federal poverty level in comparison to 15% of straight or cisgender adults aged 50 and older, according to the Williams Institute.

Data courtesy of the Williams Institute

These issues only become more complicated when looking at multigenerational — or lack thereof — relationships within the LGBTQ+ community. According to researchers, more than 60% of LGBTQ+ elders reported feeling a sense of isolation from the younger LGBTQ+ community. So what’s happening? Why aren’t multigenerational connections being fostered more, especially with the roles older members of the LGBTQ+ community played in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights?

This can be the result of multiple factors, including discrepancies between the lives of LGBTQ+ youth and LGBTQ+ elders, age segregations within LGBTQ+ communities, and the simple disregard for other perspectives.

I recently had the opportunity to work on two stories, one for Ithaca Week and the other for The Ithacan. The first explored the Table for One Trivia game, which is not an explicitly LGBTQ+ space. However, in speaking with the game’s host and several of its participants, I’ve come to learn just how a game of trivia can make space for everyone. Questions cover general knowledge — anywhere from current events to pop culture. It’s something anyone can get into, and that’s entirely the point. The trivia games aren’t just for the LGBTQ+ community, nor are they just for college students or retirees. The games, and in turn the space, is for everyone. Ithaca local Naomi Falk, who I interviewed for this story puts it best:

“I think that different generations of queer people have had very different experiences and struggles and so they sometimes feel kind of isolated from each other,” Falk said. “But I think that there is so much connection to be had.”

The story I worked on for The Ithacan is also not specific to the LGBTQ+ community but rather focuses on the collective activism of older women. The Stand Up Women: Social Activism in Tompkins County highlights the artistic work of a group of women who are deeply rooted in their own forms of activism, whether that be LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, civil rights, etc. Each art piece highlighted the personal struggle and journey each woman took on the road to resilience. In speaking with several of the woman who worked on the project, I became keenly aware that the issues raised by the women were very much issues that are still discussed in the modern day. The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 is a huge example of this. These pieces serve as both a reminder of the struggle the women overcame in their youth and an open conversation between older and younger generations of the ongoing fight for rights.

If ever there was a time to listen to the stories of our elders, the time is now.