THEGAYUK

Tag: Old Gay Timer

  • COMMENT | Does the gay community have an issue with ageism?

    COMMENT | Does the gay community have an issue with ageism?

    We’ll have a gay old timer…

    stevepb / Pixabay

    So here is some background to the idea for these articles… I’m over 50 and no longer feel part of a community like I used to in my 20s or 30s. On the rare occasion, I venture into the Manchester Gay Village or Soho in London, it doesn’t feel right as if I don’t belong anymore as if there’s nothing in those communities for me.

    Next time you’re out and about, take a look around at the bars and clubs on offer, who are they aimed at? Check out their clientele – you have my permission to do that and please, take your time. That cute blonde? Under 30. That red head? Under 40. Where are the LGBTQ people in their 50s or 60s and over?

    Where do we go if you simply want a drink, a dance or a hook-up?  It used to be so easy – find a bar, flirt… job done! After around 40, suddenly, you’re a “daddy” like it or not. There seems to be little else on offer.

    I know, I know, I’m generalising but you get my drift. The majority of venues cater for a younger client group and simply mirror something I’ve been feeling for a while about our inclusive LGBTQ community.

    We’re ageist, like it or not, we are.  I think it could be tracked back to a wider, societal issue.

    We don’t embrace older people and tend to forget that we all age, even the ones who use pig placenta nightly or plump and primp for days. We all age and at some point, we reach that point where we don’t fit into our younger lives, we change but does the community we were once an active part of change with us?  Is it them or us that needs to alter our perceptions and attitudes?

    So, my aim is to write about some of those issues we face as we age, from a gay point of view. Really serious issues like; Can you wear super skinny jeans after 50? Velcro shoes – friend or foe?

    Sorry, couldn’t resist! I mean things like where do you find love after 50?  The complete head f**k of dressing too young and what does age appropriate mean?  The whole thing can be a minefield but we’re here to help or irritate… or both.

    I’ve gotten together a group of t’interweb friends to help by giving the benefit of their advice and experience and who are also willing for me to pester them for straw polls and ideas of what bothers them.

    Watch this space for my first piece, based around finding love after a certain age…

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • OPINION | The Hairy Grey Gay

    So, here’s the deal…..you’re ageing, bits aren’t working the way they used to and then nature plays the cruellest of jokes on you – you go bald on top only to have hair grow “elsewhere”!

    As your thatch thins, your ears suddenly become playgrounds for what can only be described as industrial strength pubic hair! As if that wasn’t bad enough, you start to notice the odd (very odd) hair on your shoulder, sprouting on your neck well below your beard line, even on your ear lobe! Ok, that last one may be just me but you get the picture. I can’t be the only one with feet like an ageing Hobbit?

    So why is it we grow bald in some places and still grow hair in others? And how much does it affect our confidence as we age – already a dodgy area even if you’re not gay!

    The whole area of us growing hair is a strange subject – we’re born with some, it can change colour as we grow, it appears in places during puberty that we never had it before, it then disappears from some areas as we age and also changes colour again! Talk about keeping us entertained!

    I did a quick straw poll amongst my twitter lovelies and it appears that the majority of us “folic-ally challenged” individuals are FINE with being somewhat thin on top. Luckily fashions change and we are no longer seen as thugs or skinheads if we shave our heads.

    One of my favourite signs in Manchester of recent times offered scalp pigmentation as an option to losing your hair. This reminds me of the old “hair in a can” stuff that used to be available – and maybe still is?

    It sounds like someone comes along with a can of whatever colour your remaining hair is and either sprays your head or slaps some paint on it! It smacks of desperation, but that’s my own opinion, maybe I’d feel differently if I wasn’t happy with the bald look!

    Recent fashions have encouraged beards, moustaches, shaved heads, the most severe partings possible (even shaving them in) so it seems anything goes and for all ages too. No need to feel left out of the fashion loop if you’re 39 and 12 months…..however, maybe ask Santa for one of those lovely nasal hair trimmers – they work wonders and can take care of those tricky little buggers growing in your ears, nose or elsewhere…

     

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.