Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

This research is part of the field of Anthropology of Life Course and analyzes in particular the discourses, public policies, and social and institutional initiatives related to the aging and old age of people who identify themselves or are identified as LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer). In recent years, the theme and problem of old age and the “LGBTIQ elders” have spread significantly beyond North America (its formative context) to several contexts, like European, and South American countries. In a first stage this research develops a multi-situated ethnography with field research, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, bibliographical review, and documentary research in some institutions and non-governmental organizations focused on the old age management of LGBTIQ individuals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, as well as in New York City. The overall objective of this paper is to present a preliminary analysis of how public discourses, practices, and public policies about the “problem” of LGBTIQ elders have “traveled” beyond North America and have been incorporated, modified, or transformed into other contexts, as in the Brazilian case.