Review of the Literature on Older Lesbians

Abstract

This article reviews the academic literature from 1997 to 2010 on older lesbians (n = 28) and provides implications for education, practice, and research. While there is an ongoing lack of research focused solely on older lesbians, we found a growing interest in this population. Importantly, there was an increase in empirical studies and, in particular, those using qualitative methods: 9 articles reported results of interviews with a total of 159 older lesbians. Overall, the research reviewed here indicates that older lesbians evidence a great deal of adaptive capacity to deal with the challenges they face, including societal marginalization and discrimination. There remains a great need for research focused solely on older lesbians, especially studies that are more inclusive in terms of diversity in age, race, and ethnicity.