The sliding scale of queer representation

[sqbr]

Headline: Advocates hail first aged-care facilities for gays

Teaser: Gay rights advocates are hailing a Government decision to recognise the specific needs of elderly gay people, with three aged-care facilities being built specifically for gay and lesbian people currently in the works.

Halfway down the page: the Government is going to legislate and include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex older people in the Aged Care Act

(This is a quote, mind you, the journalist might well have left bisexual, transgender and intersex people out of the article altogether given the chance. Too confusing, you know. And let's not even start on other identities like being genderqueer...)

Anyway, the news itself is good. I was actually just discussing this with my mum, who eventually had to put her atheist parents into religious nursing homes because that's all she could find. Grandma complained that noone appreciated her pro same sex marriage stance :)

Also I have decided that this is my bisexuality icon until something better comes along.

Comments

[yalovetz]

An acquaintance of mine is currently doing a masters research project into the aged care needs of trans people. The irony is that trans and intersex people's needs in aged care are likely to be quite different from the needs of gays and lesbians (in terms of medical care for prostate/cervical health, type of bedpans required, issues relating to possibly having had genital surgery, including urethral reconstruction, and the implications of that for conditions such as incontinence, etc...)

[sqbr]

That's a really good point. "Inclusiveness" in the sense of not being actively bigoted is a good start, but not all there is to actually being accessible to everyone.

[ardhra]

This is actually a poorly researched area. There has been some research in the USA, but very little in Australia. The actual funding in the aged care reform package for LGBTI aged care needs is around cultural sensitivity training for workers. While the training is important, and the people who've put it together are excellent, it doesn't address the health or care needs of trans and intersex people.