Imagined communities: initiatives around LGBTQ ageing in Italy

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Abstract


LGBTQ ageing is an under-researched but vital issue, given the cultural invisibility of older LGBTQ individuals and Italy’s ageing population. This article explores initiatives around LGBTQ ageing, considered in relation to the hypothesis that LGBTQ populations may develop effective strategies for ‘successful ageing’, by establishing queer cultural spaces and support networks. After a brief contextualisation of key issues the author focuses on a case study of a lesbian community in Bari which is planning a residential arrangement for ‘older lesbians’. Drawing on interviews conducted in January 2011, the coping strategies or forms of ‘resilience’ developed by this community are identified and analysed. It is argued that while plans for a residential facility remain unrealised, this community demonstrates a degree of ‘resilience across the life course’, through reciprocal support, and socio-cultural and political innovation. However, interviews also reveal the difficulties of progressing from an ‘imagined community’ to its concrete realisation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)449-464
Number of pages16
JournalModern Italy
Volume17
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2012

Bibliographical note

Edited by Chiara Bertone, Isabel Crowhurst and Giovanni Porfido

Keywords

  • Italy
  • lesbians
  • ageing
  • resilience
  • community
  • networks

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