Ageing Lesbians: Marginalising Discourses and Social Exclusion in the Aged Care Industry

Abstract

SUMMARY The provision of services for ageing lesbians in Victoria, Australia, appears, at an initial reading, to be equitable and inclusive. Government polities suggest recognition and respect for diversity, with a focus on equitable provision of all social services. The reality, however, turns out to be both problematic and exclusionary. The researchers explored how dominant discourses around aged care facilities fail to take into account the identities and needs of ageing lesbians. The advertising brochures of aged care facilities were subjected to a critical and feminist discourse analysis, which was then compared with the perceived needs of a group of ageing lesbians from the same region as the aged care facilities. The data revealed marginalizing of non-heterosexual identities through the absence of representation in the brochures and their exclusion in the construction of aged care space. Further, a review of aged care policies that underpin the provision of services found that lesbian needs and identities were not included or mentioned in the special need groups. This limits the potential of the aged care industry to provide services that are culturally sensitive, safe, and inclusive.