ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the spatial inequality implications of older lesbians’ and gay men’s concerns about their future care needs. Drawing upon the work of social geographers and feminist care ethicists, it analyses a subset of data derived from interviews with older lesbians and gay men, taken from a wider research project on ageing, gender and sexuality, and later-life equality (Westwood 2015a, 2016). There is a growing body of literature documenting older lesbians’ and gay men’s concerns about the provision of housing, health and social care for older people (Westwood 2015b; King and Cronin 2016), perceived to be ‘heteronormative at best and homophobic at worst’ (Westwood 2015c, p1). So far the literature, while recognising there are major inequality issues involved, has not yet explored how they are constituted. In my analysis of these data, I propose that older lesbians’ and gay men’s concerns about future care needs are spatial concerns, based on the anticipated occupation of older-age care spaces (domiciliary care, residential and nursing home care) perceived to be sites of inequality framed by the social reproduction of heteronormativity and heterosexism.
