Abstract

The Stonewall Generation—gay men who came of age at the height of the gay rights movement—are now aging. In this workshop we hope to explore the key developmental landmarks and history of the men who built a movement, were decimated by HIV/AIDS, and struggled to build a response and maintain a sense of community. As social scientists have shifted their focus toward the adaptive aspects of aging—improved emotion regulation, improved quality of life—gaps have widened in our knowledge of how well gay baby boomers (the Stonewall Generation) are growing older. Recent research has focused on the value and meaning that children and social connections bring to a sense of well-being and improved mental health among elderly persons; these factors are unlikely to occur in the same way in the lives of older gay men. We hope to explore and clarify specific needs and the changing realities that aging gay men currently face, with a specific highlight on the areas most in need of improved research and greater societal response. This paper will also discuss the experience of one of the authors (M.F.) in facilitating a successful group intervention that has been ongoing at the UCSF AIDS Health project for the last two years.