Ageing and bisexuality: Case studies from the Looking Both Ways project

This report presents case studies from a research study about ageing and bisexuality. The case studies are freely

available for use by others. They could be used:

• To generate discussion when training health and social care staff working with older people

• To illustrate and personalise issues in report-writing and policy development

• To create awareness about the needs of older people in relation to sexuality and care

• As a resource for teachers and other educators

• To prompt discussions about the impact of people’s earlier life course experiences in later life

• To increase the visibility of bisexual people in later life

• To increase the representation of older people in bisexuality visibility work

• To increase the representation of bisexual people in general LGBT training

Case studies describing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences as they grow older

are often used in training, educational and policy work. They can help bring issues to life by providing real

life examples, and can also help people understand experiences that may be very different from their own.

However, existing resources focus on the experiences of lesbians and gay men as they grow older. When

bisexual people are included, it is often only in relation to their same-sex experiences, not their experiences of

being bisexual as they grow older.

Looking Both Ways was a research project exploring the experiences of people with bisexual identities or

bisexual relationship histories as they grow older. Twelve people (aged 51 to 83) living in England took part

in interviews between 2013 and 2015. Half of them identified as bisexual and half did not but had bisexual

relationship histories. From these interviews we developed case studies which set out life stories, concerns and

support needs in later life. This report provides the case studies and explains the context in which they were

created. Details of other, more academic, outputs from the project can be obtained from the authors. For more

information about bisexuality or about LGBT ageing in general, see the resources list at the end of this report.