You never think about getting old. Never. And once again this proves that there really is very little difference between gays and straights. The young people of any sexual orientation all live as if they will be eternally young, eternally desirable, and eternally beautiful. Reality check.
clipped from www.nytimes.com
Disparities: Illness More Prevalent Among Older Gay Adults
Older gay and bisexual men — ages 50 to 70 — reported higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and physical disability than similar heterosexual men. Older gay and bisexual men also were 45 percent more likely to report psychological distress and 50 percent more likely to rate their health as fair or poor. In addition, one in five gay men in California was living with H.I.V. infection, the researchers found. Yet half of older gay and bisexual men lived alone, compared with 13.4 percent of older heterosexual men.
More than one in four lived alone, compared with only one in five heterosexual women.
Steven P. Wallace, associate director of the U.C.L.A. Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the brief, said it was important to raise awareness of these disparities. “The gay culture tends to be youth-driven, and the aging community network doesn’t usually think about gay and lesbian elders,” he said.
Trust me, when I was in my 20's in the 1970's, Manhattan was my gay playground. I enjoyed it to the fullest. And like the young gays of today, I would be repulsed by the sight of older gay men in the bars and pitied their lives filled with (seeming) desperation to still be wanted. Well, kiddies, we get old. Those of us who managed to avoid the AIDS epidemic which began in the early 1980's are now in our fifties and sixties. And we have more in common with our straight brethren than ever before. We spend an awful lot of time talking about our latest aches and pains and what new meds we're taking. And we're all going to need help one of these days.
Those of us who have been successful in our lives and have the financial security to age gracefully and securely are truly blessed. And those of us who are in long term relationships are doubly blessed. I have been lucky enough to be with the same person for over 35 years now. So my advice to you (which will go in one ear and out the other) is screw your brains out now if that's what you want to do. But sometime, when your alone, think about your older relatives, your parents, or grandparents and see where their lives are at. Then realize you're going to be in the same place one day.
When I was studying to be a priest, we had a teacher who told us that there was nothing deader than a dead priest meaning being unmarried and childless you left nothing behind. I would amend that to there is nothing lonelier than an old gay person who faces his last days partnerless. Just think about it.