Deconstructing Multiple Oppressions Among LGBT Older Adults
The purpose of this chapter is to interrogate oppression through an analysis of discourses related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults. As part of our reflexive posture, we attend to the social constructions of meaning about age, ability, gender, race, and sex and their colossal impacts on LGBT older adults. We are mindful of the weight of oppression for LGBT older adults in general but in particular overlooked subgroups of this diverse population (e.g. people who are with low income, people of color, and people who are transgender and do not fit into the binary of woman or man, gay or straight) We confront multiple layers of discrimination by deconstructing cultural assumptions of normalcy (e.g. heteronormativity within the LGBT community) presented in visual form, verbal text, and within discourses.