Ignored in what sense? Sorry really don't understand.
I don't remember anyone asking Mum her sexuality!
Seems really weird thing to say , older lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans (LGBT) people get ignored
Lots of people get ignored, regardless of sexuality!
( I am not quite sure why we have a separate board on here to be honest!)
It's interesting that many of you have asked the question.
Older LGBT people may have experienced prejudice through their lives. especially if they have had experiences of homophobia. Remember it was made legal in the 60s. Even in the 1980s Clause 28 spoke of LGB people living in 'pretend families'.
As a result they may not be willing to open up about their sexuality. This can be a barrier to accessing helath and social care. There can be nervousness at reveling their sexuality for fear of receiving a poorer service.
If you have carers coming into your home, the last thing you want to do is be worried that the carers might be homophobic and end up hiding apsects of your life that mide out you.
In addition, older people as seen as being sexless and so we don't always think about them as whole people with previous relationships.
If you are older and in a same sex relationship, you might find it hard having professionals understanding your realtionship (e.g Not understanding the terms 'Civil Partner' or only asking you have a husband if you're female or a wife if you're male).
Older LGBT people are more likely to be in social isolation as they are less likely to have children and have close family relationships in the same way as their heterosexual counterparts.
Being older and LGB has it's added difficulties over and above what other older people may feel. There's a lot of research and anecdotal evidence to support this.
Anyway, the research project is open to contributors.
