“I came on down because I, as a person who’s aging, really wanted to plug into and honour the community that I know exists out there, of elders of lesbian and gay and transgender and queer elders.” So says Ginger Mason, who attended a seniors’ social event in Vancouver’s West End community, timed with Pride Week. Mason and others are quoted in a report by CBC’s Rafferty Baker.
Of the group assembled, several commented on how the world has shifted in their lifetimes, with activism leading to social change and improvements for the lives of gays and lesbians.
One such person is Martin Boyce, who once took part in the famous Stonewall riots in New York in 1969, when members of the LGBT community fought back against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn. The riots are generally regarded as a turning point on the struggle for LGBT rights.
“Everybody wanted their rights, but we just didn’t think we could have them, that’s why we rioted, and out of that we achieved them, which was strange in a way.”
Boyce told the elderly crowd at the Aging with Pride event that he was “used to hanging out with queers, but not with his peers.”
“I’m sure each one of them has a story that’s very, very important,” he said.
BC Care Providers has held discussions affecting LGBTQ seniors, including a Care to Chat panel discussion on ways to support LGBTQ seniors in care.
For more, see Baker’s report on the CBC website here.
