Yesterday on the US network Logo, the documentary Gen Silent debuted, which looks at the rarely explored lives of older LGBT people.
They come from generations when being gay was illegal and many of whom fought for the rights of LGBT people to be able to live openly.
However those battles have sometimes left scars and now that they are aging (indeed some don’t come out until old age), they discover themselves in a world where the younger generations of LGBT aren’t interested in them, the support networks that exist for the elderly aren’t set up for them, and many saw their friends decimated by the AIDS crisis.
As a result, many are left lonely and isolated.
Stu Maddox told HuffPo, “The isolation was just… can’t describe it. We queer folk don’t have a patent on growing old alone but we definitely get a double dose of it because our support group is smaller. Even now, it’s more likely you have a brother or sister who has “issues” with you and won’t be there for you in the crunch, or that you lost a lot friends from AIDS in the 80s/90s, or maybe you just don’t want the married with children life. All of these things made me realize that it’s extra important to fill my life starting now with people who will really love me enough to wipe my bottom later on. Did I just say that? Yup. It’s true though.”
Take a look at the trailer for Gen Silent below.
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