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An important contribution is made by Rosenfeld ( 2003) and she promotes the need to understand life histories in relation to identity formation. ( 1997) is of some considerable use, especially regarding its discussion of the ability of OGM to cope with challenges of daily life in old age. Now dated, if critically evaluated, it provides an interesting grounding into issues of gay ageing and of gay gerontology’s scope. ‘ Gay and Gray’ is Berger’s ( 1982) seminal work is very frequently cited, despite being temporally and spatially limited and John Lee ( 1991) draws together his own work and other notable authors such as Richard Friend. A number of history texts illuminate pre-liberation society, the implications of gay liberations, the living of double lives and types of relationships ( Vacha 1985 the Hall Carpenter Archives 1989 Jivani 1997, Weeks and Porter 1998). Gerontology’s failure to reflect critically on the gendered and heteronormative framework in which it operates accounts for both the biomedicalisation of sexuality and an unproblematic acceptance of the heterosexual/homosexual divide, which help to explain the continued social exclusion of older lesbian and gay adults.ġ.4 The gay gerontology niche is left to research and report on non-heterosexual experiences. In Daatland and Biggs’ ( 2007) collection on diversity and ageing, Cronin ( 2007: 111) strongly states in her contribution that: Some older people’s issues covered are of relevance to them as older people, but little or nothing specifically relates to unique needs, and it should ( Cronin 2007). This is in terms of the fluid, multiple and intersecting identities of interviewees and the interviewer, and the relevant power dynamics that come into play (see: Gilleard and Higgs 2000 Weeks 2003 Plummer 1995 Anthias and Yuval-Davis 1983 Yuval-Davis 1997).ġ.3 Recent gerontology includes nothing to the scant inclusion of LGB elders (see Lee 2006 Cronin 2007). The conclusions reached argue that age, gender, and sexuality in particular, affect an interview’s tone, the data generated, and the analytical process. I realised that researching this sensitive topic highlighted certain considerations about best practice, thus a section on undertaking gay research explores key themes to assert that qualitative studies in gay gerontology have been insufficiently reflexive regarding the influence of researcher’s and participants’ intersecting identities. I then examine how the participants were selected and recruited, and the SSIDI methodology, argued here to be most suited to this kind of study. A semi-structured in-depth interview (SSIDI) methodology was developed to capture the men’s life histories and opinions to understand the specific needs this group were thought to have and to give them an opportunity to reduce their invisibility and silence.ġ.2 I outline what we know already about OGM from gerontology, and my identity that is likely to have impacted on the research experience. The exploratory, small-scale study partly reflects our lack of knowledge about British OGM and their relative invisibility in gerontology and lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) studies. Introduction 1.1 This article outlines the empirical methods used to examine the identities, welfare needs, and service use experiences of British older gay men (OGM). Keywords: Older Gay Men Homosexuality Ageing Gender Qualitative Methodology Semi-Structured-Interview Reflexivity Therefore, it is asserted from this that increasingly reflexive research is paramount to the development of qualitative methodologies and gerontology, to ensure the academe is inclusive of diverse identities and that its research stands up to rigorous scrutiny. The conclusions are that the shared gender and sexual orientation (although not without their differences) were crucial to the successful completion of the research and in trying to ensure participants felt valued and empowered. The author theorises about the ways in which the qualitative interviewing that took place was influenced by his age, homosexuality, and gender during the interaction with older gay men. In this case, the focus is not upon the research findings per se, but on the research methods used to elucidate them. This paper draws on exploratory research examining the sexual and ageing identities of gay men in England and the way in which these affect welfare needs and service use experiences.
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Finding the Way to the End of the Rainbow: a Researcher's Insight Investigating British Older Gay Men's Lives