Not alone: Family experiences across the life course of single, baby boom sexual‐minority women

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveAs older LGBTQ+ people are less likely to be married than non‐LGBTQ+ peers and historically may have been disconnected from their families of origin, the aim of this study was to understand the family life of single sexual minority women of the baby boom cohort throughout their lives.BackgroundSinglehood, in general, has meant not being in a heterosexual—or legally recognized—relationship; thus women in same‐sex relationships historically were considered single. As women gained more rights, single and lesbian, bisexual, and queer women have gained opportunities to live outside heterosexual marriage, financially and with regard to social acceptability. Women of the baby boom cohort, born between 1946 and 1964, came of age during this societal shift.MethodFramed by feminist and life course perspectives, this study was qualitative, used semistructured interviews, and was guided by a constructivist paradigm and thematic analysis to understand how 13 older sexual minority women perceived family.FindingsThe women noted their connection to family of origin, then romantic relationships and partners, and currently, identify family as including biological, adopted, and chosen kin.ConclusionSingle LBQ women of the baby boom cohort have relational resources through friends as family, biological kin, legal kin, and creating community.ImplicationsMore expansive understandings of family, including chosen family and invisible kin, comprise the support networks of older women who have lived outside heteronormativity.