Richard Renaldi (ΗΠΑ)
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I began this series of photographs of older gay and lesbians because I wanted to create beautiful and dignified portraits of this segment of America. Our culture is so consumed by its worship of youth that often we fail to see anything else. Just as gay and lesbian people have long felt invisible by the larger culture, so too are elderly gay men and women often ignored by younger members of the community.
In part this ageism is obviously the product of a market-driven economy for which youth is so heavily commodified. Fear of progressive decay and eventual death is also a natural reaction to getting older. Whatever the cause, in our success obsessed culture the family has been fractured to such an extent that the bond between younger generations and their parents and grandparents is weaker now than ever before.
In my own life I wish I had more relationships with older people. I think it is useful to have people in our lives who have lived a fuller arc of life, and I know that many older people appreciate what we have to say too. When I asked my subjects if they had experienced age discrimination in their lives, the answer was most often no. But when I asked if they had relationships with younger people, most of them again said no.
I think this missing bond with younger people is another manifestation of ageism. Rosalee Regal, a 64 year-old retired telephone worker and member of the New York City group Senior Action in a Gay Environment, told me, "We cannot recognize ageism until we recognize it in ourselves." She believes that many old people have internalized negative feelings about being old and rejects euphemisms like elderly and seniors. She also asks, "Does the community reflect who we are?"
I hope that by showing these images I am helping to broaden the scope of gay and lesbian society and that, like any society, it can include a full spectrum of life.
I began this series of photographs of older gay and lesbians because I wanted to create beautiful and dignified portraits of this segment of America. Our culture is so consumed by its worship of youth that often we fail to see anything else. Just as gay and lesbian people have long felt invisible by the larger culture, so too are elderly gay men and women often ignored by younger members of the community.
In part this ageism is obviously the product of a market-driven economy for which youth is so heavily commodified. Fear of progressive decay and eventual death is also a natural reaction to getting older. Whatever the cause, in our success obsessed culture the family has been fractured to such an extent that the bond between younger generations and their parents and grandparents is weaker now than ever before.
In my own life I wish I had more relationships with older people. I think it is useful to have people in our lives who have lived a fuller arc of life, and I know that many older people appreciate what we have to say too. When I asked my subjects if they had experienced age discrimination in their lives, the answer was most often no. But when I asked if they had relationships with younger people, most of them again said no.
I think this missing bond with younger people is another manifestation of ageism. Rosalee Regal, a 64 year-old retired telephone worker and member of the New York City group Senior Action in a Gay Environment, told me, "We cannot recognize ageism until we recognize it in ourselves." She believes that many old people have internalized negative feelings about being old and rejects euphemisms like elderly and seniors. She also asks, "Does the community reflect who we are?"
I hope that by showing these images I am helping to broaden the scope of gay and lesbian society and that, like any society, it can include a full spectrum of life.
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