Midlife and Aging in Gay America: Proceedings of the Sage Conference 2000

Rating:
Summary: defining and promoting older, gay America
Review: The contributors make a point of showing how little has been written on older gay men and lesbians in this country. Unfortunately, they don't have much to say either. The chapters here are incredibly short. This book was the result of a conference. This becomes obvious when reading so many of the entries that sound like speeches, rather than well-elaborated texts meant for reading.

Some articles are brilliant. For example, the narrative from an older transgendered person almost brought me to tears, and to action. The books last chapter on homeless, HIV-positive, older gay men was also eye-opening. Still, one article seemed like an advertisement for a visual clinic, that wasn't even gay-specific. In fact, much in this book would apply to all senior citizens, not just the gay ones. One chapter that seemed like it would talk about intergenerational couples in film went on to discuss this group in biography and real life. Why not put it in the title of the chapter then?

The book is written by a mix of men and women. However, the chapters are male-dominated, thought the editors' seem to have gender equality as a goal. This is shocking given that women live longer than men, regardless of sexual identity. Some chapters did not discuss people of color at all. However, others did so impressively, but you wouldn't know it from their chapter titles.

This was a nice book to get the conversation going. However, it has many rough edges.