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Often they don’t have children: Aging can be difficult for queer people. Now an association wants to counteract this.
What is the problem? Many older people struggle with loneliness. But social isolation is a big challenge, especially for queer people. This is because queer seniors often have no children. «Hiking, Jass, chatting with like-minded people. That’s why it’s very important to maintain social contacts,” says Marianne Dahinden from the lesbian organization Wybernet.
I want my friends to be able to visit me without being looked at obliquely.
What are other difficulties? In addition to loneliness, queer people struggle with social acceptance, which is not the same in all old-age institutions. Gays and lesbians sometimes have to come out a second time in retirement homes. This can be a huge burden for those affected. It’s difficult when you have to keep explaining and justifying yourself, says Max Krieg of the Haab Queer Bern organization. “I want my friends to be able to visit me without being looked at askance.”
Legend:
Social exchange is central for senior citizens. But queer people often feel lonely because they don’t have children.
Shutterstock/ belushi
What are possible solutions? In Bern, Basel and Zurich, the LGBTQIA+ community is promoting old people’s housing especially for queer people. A building for this group of people is planned in the Espenhof in Zurich. Up to 26 apartments plus 23 care places are planned for the four-storey “Queer House”. The first residents are expected to move in in 2026. In Bern, the “Queerbett” project is intended to create living space for queer people, especially for older people. This in the planned large-scale development on the Viererfeld.
Why is that important? Max Krieg puts it this way: “It’s about creating a living environment that makes it possible to be who you are even in old age. And lived all life.” That’s why it’s important to be admitted to a retirement or care facility where you’re accepted. Many queer people are afraid to come out in retirement homes.
Legend:
Queer people should live the way they want, even in old age.
iStock/ monkeybusinessimages
What do skeptical voices say? When it comes to apartments for the elderly, there is no consensus in the LGBTQIA+ community, according to Barbara Bosshard, who is involved in the queer house and the “Queer Altern” association in Zurich. Even queer people have expressed doubts about whether they want to live in a “queer ghetto”. “Sure, such a residential community is not for everyone,” she says in one Report by Queeramnesty. “But when you’re in a straight home with other residents and they show you the photo album with pictures of their grandchildren, what do you do? Your photos show you topless in a leather outfit from the last Pride? We just have our own biography,” says Bosshard.