17c起草社区

THE聽results of a recent study into the experiences of LGBT people living with dementia have been released, with the aim of聽debunking the notion聽that gay and lesbian people “become straight” when they get dementia.

The research was the first of its kind in Australia, undertaken in partnership between the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University and Alzheimer鈥檚 Australia.

[showads聽ad=MREC]Members of the queer聽community, including those living with dementia, were interviewed about their first-hand experiences as a way to improve service providers and carers.

ARCSHS senior research fellow Dr Catherine Barrett believes the results will provide an important foundation for future care responses.

鈥淲e asked gay and lesbian couples what they thought about the perception that you become straight when you get dementia聽and most people responded saying that 鈥榥aturally鈥� you are still gay,” she told the 17c起草社区.

鈥淭here was a lesbian that said sexuality isn鈥檛 a rinse colour you put in your hair, it鈥檚 fundamental, and this is important because we have to acknowledge that LGBT people are still LGBT.鈥�

One of the women interviewed for the project, Anne, reflected on her relationship with her long-time partner Edie, and said that something as fundamental as sexuality wasn鈥檛 going to change.

鈥淚t鈥檚 probably one of the most absurd things I鈥檝e ever heard of,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hat that鈥檚 saying is that Edie will turn away from what she鈥檚 been all her life and who she鈥檚 been with most of her life and go to something that is unnatural for her.

鈥淵ou may as well say, you know, hippopotamuses turn pink when they get to the age of 70.鈥�

The research project also found that some LGBT people living with dementia lost their capacity to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity as their disease progressed.

It found the fear of inadvertent disclosure was a significant source of anxiety for LGBT people living with dementia.

鈥淎 number of people said that they were worried about disclosing their sexuality or gender identity at a time that was inappropriate,鈥� Barrett said.

Barrett added聽that one of the other important issues that the research highlighted was the feelings of isolation from the queer community felt by those living with dementia.

鈥淢ost of the people that we spoke to lamented the loss of their social connections to the LGBT community,鈥� she said.

鈥淐onnection to LGBT communities is really important for older people, especially if they鈥檝e lived in a hostile world, because they create safe spaces around them with LGBT people.鈥�

The project will be formally launched at the National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Conference on October 26 and 27 in Melbourne.

鈥淎t the conference we鈥檒l talk to LGBT people living with dementia, because we recognise their expertise and we鈥檙e asking LGBT community members to help support an older person to come along to the conference,” Barrett said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real opportunity to honour older people鈥檚 experiences and allow them to tell us their story.鈥�