TY - JOUR
T1 - Differentiating the Self: the Kinship Practices of Middle-Aged Gay Men in Manchester
AU - Simpson, Paul
PY - 2013/4/2
Y1 - 2013/4/2
N2 - Middle-aged gay men in Manchester differentiate themselves through accounts of ‘friendship family’ from relating/kinship associated with heterosexuals and younger gay men. Based on interviews with 27 men aged 39–61, I explore narratives of friendship family. This critical space enables development/mobilisation of the resources of ageing - ‘ageing capital’ – needed to reclaim self-worth in the face of homophobia and gay ageism. It helped men develop the emotional and political resources to question heteronormative family and practice non-monogamy. However, in the struggle for dominance over meaning/representation, generational claims to differentiation could reinforce reverse ageism. Young gay men were constructed as threat, insubstantial or vulnerable, obliging a duty of care to avoid exploiting them. The discursive strategies men deployed could limit/thwart use of ageing capital and undermine men’s claims that ageing involves a linear path towards enhanced awareness of self, other and authoritative knowledge of the relations of gay culture.
AB - Middle-aged gay men in Manchester differentiate themselves through accounts of ‘friendship family’ from relating/kinship associated with heterosexuals and younger gay men. Based on interviews with 27 men aged 39–61, I explore narratives of friendship family. This critical space enables development/mobilisation of the resources of ageing - ‘ageing capital’ – needed to reclaim self-worth in the face of homophobia and gay ageism. It helped men develop the emotional and political resources to question heteronormative family and practice non-monogamy. However, in the struggle for dominance over meaning/representation, generational claims to differentiation could reinforce reverse ageism. Young gay men were constructed as threat, insubstantial or vulnerable, obliging a duty of care to avoid exploiting them. The discursive strategies men deployed could limit/thwart use of ageing capital and undermine men’s claims that ageing involves a linear path towards enhanced awareness of self, other and authoritative knowledge of the relations of gay culture.
U2 - 10.1332/204674313X664716
DO - 10.1332/204674313X664716
M3 - Article (journal)
VL - 2
SP - 97
EP - 113
JO - Families, Relationships and Societies
JF - Families, Relationships and Societies
SN - 2046-7435
IS - 1
ER -