Imagining Queer Aging Futures : a study of LGBTQ aging in Estonia, Poland and Sweden

The populations of the Baltic Sea region are among the fastest aging in Europe and there is an overall need for more research in this area.

The aging of sexual and gender minorities, which have faced and continue to face considerable discrimination, intolerance, and stigma, are particularly overlooked.

Previous research, mainly from Anglo-American contexts, has shown how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people are often vulnerable as they age.

However, the vulnerability is highly linked to context; the countries in the region vary significantly for example in terms of provision of state-funded eldercare and civil rights and attitudes towards minorities.

Consequently, the aim of this project is to explore how LGBTQ people in Poland, Estonia and Sweden, aged 50 and older, imagine their aging futures, what they understand as liveable later lives and how they adapt to aging through their everyday practices. The project is a qualitative mixed-methods study conducted through three case studies in the respective countries.

The material is collected through focus groups, individual interviews, and a creative method where participants are asked to visualize how they imagine their aging futures in a format of their choice (e.g. poetry, filmmaking, photography).

The project will provide unique insights into the needs and wishes of aging LGBTQ-people in the Baltic Sea region and may be of significant value to help improve the health and well-being of this group.