The anxieties of growing old when you're LGBTQ [View all]
Who would bring you chicken soup if you were sick? For most people of a certain age, that’s easy — a spouse or an adult child would step up.
For many LGBTQ people, however, it’s not a simple question at all.
“Many [would] have to think really hard about this,” said Imani Woody, an academic and community advocate who retired from AARP to start an organization serving LGBTQ seniors. She said chicken soup is a stand-in for having a social support system, which many of us need.
“Build your village right now,” Woody said.
A few years ago, I would have said that my then-husband would be my primary caregiver if I became ill or disabled. I’d have done the same for him. Now I’m 65 and divorced, and this issue — who can I call on? — is top of mind for me.
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