Ageism and Heterosexism in African American LGBT Lives

How do coming of age and coming out affect older African Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender as they age? Black LGBT older adults live at the intersection of multiple forms of bigotry and discrimination: being lesbian, gay, and/or trans in a heterosexist society; being a person of color in a racist society; and being old in a youth-worshipping society. This article, by Our Bodies Ourselves content expert Dr. Imani Woody, tells the stories of LGBT African Americans, their very real problems around coming of age, and how those experiences shaped their lives as they grew older, centering the stories of lesbians and gay men.

I knew I was different as a child. … But I guess I was in my early teens [before I knew the words], because you don’t know what the word is. When I was coming up, the word was bull dagger. It was so negative, so you still don’t know. You are a kid; you don’t know, there were no words for it, I hate that word. It’s just I’ve gotten older, I just, ugh. … That’s so derogatory. It’s negative.

SOURCE: Diverse Elders Coalition • AUTHOR: Dr. Imani Woody • LAST UPDATED: February 19, 2014