ABSTRACT
As a group, older lesbian and gay people are best described as diverse (Kimmel, 1978). The most common unifying elements for this group are the facts that today’s older gay and lesbian people have all developed some type of homosexual identity and all grew up in a particular socio-historical period. The popular image of older lesbian and gay people is extremely negative. Older gay men are frequently depicted as lonely, depressed, oversexed, and living a life without the traditional support of family and friends (Kelly, 1977). Older lesbian women are often described as unattractive, unemotional, and lonely (Berger, 1982a). This common negative image conflicts, however, with the descriptions of older gay and lesbian adults from the research literature.
