|
July 21, 2011
Eye View
Kamloops' gay and lesbian senior citizens have come a long way in the last five
decades. And they still have a way to go as they move into retirement homes.
It's been a long struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT)
Canadians. As youths, homosexuals were told they had a disease, or that being
gay or lesbian was a fad; something like bell-bottomed jeans that they would
grow out of. They were ridiculed and humiliated for acting naturally. Bisexuals
were regarded as sinners and transsexuals as freaks. No wonder LGBT youths were
reluctant about coming out of the closet.
But come out of the closet they did. Canadians eventually realized that being
LGBT was not an affliction but part of the rainbow of human sexuality.
There are an estimated twelve hundred LGBT senior citizens in Kamloops, assuming
national statistics. Seven to ten per cent of Canadians are LGBT and fifteen per
cent of those are seniors over sixty-five.
Hundreds of LGBT Kamloopsians could be forced back into the closet if retirement
homes aren't made more welcoming. Fortunately for Kamloops' senior's facilities,
a plan exists.
"Shoshana" dreads going into a retirement centre. At about age seven she
realized that a terrible mistake had been made: she had been born into a man's
body. Shoshana (Hebrew for rose) had spent decades coming to terms with the
conflict of her gender and sex. She told CBC radio of one horror story she had
heard of where an aging transgendered woman who had recently moved into a
retirement home suffered a humiliating experience when insensitive nurses
flocked in bemusement to view her penis.
|
The City of Toronto has mapped out a plan, a first for North America. LGBT
seniors don't have to live a lie again. The first step is recognition that
LGBT seniors exist. One manager of a Kamloops' facility told me that as far
as he knew: "there are no gays or lesbians in our centre." It sounds so
fifties; back when today's LGBT seniors were tormented teenagers, hiding in
the closet and invisible to society.
In order for LGBT seniors to feel at home, sensitivity training for staff
and volunteers is a good start. That's just the beginning the process
outlined in Toronto's pamphlet. Others include a welcoming environment
created by posters that illustrate same-sex couples, the rainbow flag,
brochures and newsletters about events in the LGBT community.
The pamphlet further explains how non-discrimination policies should be
clearly displayed and verbally explained during tours of the facility.
Written forms should not assume heterosexuality as the norm; the term
partner used rather than husband/wife; broad definitions of family made to
include "family of choice."
All residents, not just staff and volunteers of senior's homes should be
encouraged to make LGBT residents at ease. This can be done informally or
through "gay-straight alliances." It will take leadership from the straight
community.
And LGBT communities are not monolithic. Contrary to the impressions left by
gay-pride parades, not all flaunt their sexuality. Some feel comfortable
enough to be "fully out" while others prefer privacy.
The frailty of aging complicates the lives of LGBT seniors. They need
assurance that they won't face the victimization and misinformation of
earlier decades. It will take more than good intentions. LGBT seniors are
more likely to be victimized than their straight peers, even as straight
seniors are at greater risk than others.
B.C. needs political leadership like that provided in Ontario. "We have to
make sure that if you go into a long-term care facility you're not forced
back into the closet…" declared Ontario's Minister of Health George
Smitherman.
David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at
dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca
|
