Intersectionality Of Ageing Issues Essay

This article describes the aging gay and lesbian community. Past research of this community focused more on the gay White man, well-educated, active in the gay community and high socioeconomic backgrounds. This study examines current roles of social work regarding research with older gay men and lesbians and presents recommendations for both practice and research in the years ahead. Not only is this community of sexism, they are also victims of ageism. Future work must strive to be more representative of older lesbians, geographic diversity, and classes because these variables play an important role in shaping the gay aging experience.

Delay of seeing a healthcare provider on the basis of fear increases the development of severe illnesses in older LGBT populations. It exacerbates healthcare costs, can put a strain on mental health, and overall decreases wellbeing (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Kim, 2014). Although there is not a calculated cost to be found within the older LGBT community, the delaying of necessary preventative tests, medical treatment, or mental health can worsen current symptoms. This can increase emergency room visits, an already expensive system, thus increasing healthcare costs (Meyer, 2011). In addition to declining physical wellbeing, these adults lack social support systems as they are “twice as likely to live alone, and more than four times as likely to have no children, as compared to heterosexual adults (Gendron et

Other factors contributing to LGBT health disparity is the lack of access to care. Different states have different laws regarding to LGBT population, and some of the laws make it difficult for LGBT to get insurance through their partners. Without health insurance many of these people only gets medical treatments on emergency basis. Per Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality “ 19 % of LGBT had been refused treatment by a doctor or other provider because of their transgender or gender nonconforming status,”(AHRQ, 2011). Taking into consideration the level of sexually transmitted disease, drug use, suicidal rate, obesity, and their prevalence among LGBT population, healthcare organizations needs to incorporate better strategies, and open the door to better policies that facilitates access to

This decision has affected people’s behavior as individuals and public institutions such as family, young, elderly, disabled, LGTB and those with pre-existing conditions. For example, Kates & Ranji (2014) report that health care access and coverage for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGTB) community in the U.S. face opportunities and challenges when getting access to care. The authors report that LGBT individuals experience some discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, due to ongoing discrimination, access to health care have been limited to these people (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). LGBT individuals not only face discrimination when trying to receive care, but also face difficulties that limit them such as “barriers in obtaining insurance coverage, gaps in coverage, cost-related hurdles, and poor treatment by health care providers” (Kates & Ranji, 2014).

The United States Department of Health has an overarching goal “to eliminate health disparities.” This term has no absolute definition. It is most often defined as “health differences that occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, living in rural localities, or sexual orientation,” or “population specific difference in the presence of disease, health outcomes, or access to care.” Many factors cause health disparities. Older adults face challenges in one or all of these disparities. Depending on their living conditions and life-time health problems, they may be in double or triple jeopardy, increasing their risk for serious illness and need for eldercare.

Police brutality has always been a controversial issue in America. Fortunately, the issue is being brought to light and there have been many protests and speeches done to address the awful acts committed by select police officers in this country. It is enlightening how most of our society is trying to change what is happening and bettering this country and bringing back what America is truly about, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all individuals. In the article, “Anything Can Happen With the Police Around”, Michelle Fine and other authors, discuss the perspective of the urban youth and how they feel towards law enforcement. The authors also touch base on the perspective of females and their encounters with the police. Although the article includes some information on women and sexual harassment committed by police officers, most of the surveys and data collected in this research project were collected from males and their views on police brutality. The broad topic of police brutality needs to be broken down into pieces, a huge piece being the concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality is the interconnected nature social categorizations that include race, class, and gender as they refer to a given individual or group and creates an overlapping system of discrimination and creates disadvantages. In this particular scenario, women being the victims of police brutality is being

This article addresses the effects of heterosexist bias in social welfare policy frameworks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families in the United States. It discusses the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), federal definitions of family and household, and stereotypes about LGBT individuals. It argues that poor LGBT individuals and families lack full citizen rights and access to needed social services as a result of these explicit and implicit biases. Key words: Welfare reform; family

Ageism incorporates prejudice against people based on age rather than due to their personal merits, color of their skin, their religious preference, or their socio-economic status, however it is one of the least contested oppressions in modern society Studies show that the aging population is subject to oppression and inequalities. These may arise in different ways such as; physical oppression; psychological/mental abuse; material/financial oppression; sexual abuse; and neglect (WHO, 2002) Other factors that can trigger inequalities and oppression of the aging population include the differences in socioeconomic statuses, and studies have shown a correlation between the aging population in the lower socioeconomic bracket and higher mortality rates in the old age (Nursing Times, 2015). Capitalism is also seen to relate to inequalities with the aging population, through aspects such as rates of savings, pension rights, unequal incomes, and access to property. Community and societal factors also result in oppression of the aged where they are set aside and denied access to opportunities and resources based on their age.

Intersectionality theory as claimed by Collins examines how gender, racial, class and national contexts “mutually construct one another, or in the words of Black British sociologist Stuart Hall, how they articulate one another” (1998, 63). Instead of analyzing individuals and society through a mono-lense of a particular system, be it a system of gender, nation or any other, intersectionality theory aims at analysing society not only within but also along different contextual frames and “pays attention to interlocking oppressions and privileges across various contexts” (Samuels and Ross-Sheriff 2008, 5). Analysis of hierarchies and systems of oppression as an interwoven structure allows us to get insight into the experiences of individuals and

Intersectionality Theory as a Methodological Tool The field of public health is increasingly becoming aware of the concept of social determinants, and the influence they have on the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and children. Jones et al. (2009) made a critical distinction between social determinants of health and social determinants of equity. Social determinants of health are environmental and social factors beyond the individual that have an impact on health outcomes; social determinants of equity refer to systems of power, that structures opportunities, distributes populations into social contexts, and assigns value based on social interpretations of phenotypes (Jones et al., 2009).

Recreation and leisure activities are integral parts of a person’s day-to-day life. For the purposes of this paper, recreation and leisure will be defined as something that a person chooses to do when they are not working; that contributes positively to their overall quality of life; that contributes positively to the quality of society and the surrounding people; that make a person feel confident and allow those around them to have positive experiences; and that improve ones physical health. Recreation and leisure cannot be measured; it is simply what makes a person feel enriched. This paper will analyze the recreational activities of homosexual elderly people in

The impact of this restriction is demonstrated by researchers McClelland, Flicker, Nepveux, Nixon, Vo, Wilson, and Proudfood (2012). In this study, ten participants with intellectual and learning disabilities who identified on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum engaged in semi-structured interviews and focus groups that attempted to understand their knowledge and experiences related to sexual health, sexual orientation, and gender identity. After coding this information, researchers found two prominent themes: living arrangements and access to sexual spaces. Almost every participant specified others having more control over their lives, with this control often extending to more than individual at a time. This excessive control often caused these individuals

Today’s widespread liberty has brought a life to every individual which was inconceivable in the ages of conservatism. Although the alteration in our life commonly accepted heading in a direction of the better, there are some fields in this better life where people tend to have abusive, violent and endless debates. The most controversial topic connected straight to the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people. While growing amount of sex change surgeries are performed, its public judgement reached extremity due to the disagreement between those, who think it shouldn’t be regulated by the state and advertising these operation doesn’t violate the individual’s liberty and the others, who state its opposite.

Social justice that is face among the LGBT is discrimination. Variations in family structures include single-parent families, step families, blended families, and intergenerational families. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families experience a special risk of discrimination.A major problem gay people face is homophobia—an extreme and irrational fear of lesbian and gay people simply because they are lesbian and gay. LGB people are one of the primary groups at risk of discrimination and oppression (Kirst-Ashman, 2013).

When we think of HIV/AIDS we have certain populations in mind. We hear about its ravages on young men and women; on the gay and transgender populations; on the homeless and the intravenous drug user. We seldom think about HIV/AIDS and senior citizens. What no one talks about is HIV/AIDS and the older adult. It’s no wonder that when you talk to our senior citizens, they may have the perception that HIV/AIDS is not a risk to them. Is HIV/AIDS a risk to older adults? Is HIV/AIDS over 50 a problem? (Cichocki, 2007)