Women on Women

Stonewall are conducting a major new research into how gay people feel about, and experience, getting older. Their ongoing work has highlighted that Gay people aged 55+ are often overlooked both by decision makers and service providers. The survey is open to lesbian, gay and bisexual people living in Britain aged 55 or over. If you’d like to participate, please follow this link to take the survey
https://survey.yougov.com/vzmpDYkZ8st6wG
If you know someone else who meets the requirements, please pass this info on to them.

Theres an interesting discussion, and shared experiences of being older LGBT and living in residential care or sheltered housing. Please send us your comments and thoughts, we’re trying to get a befriending group started in Norfolk, and will be working with AGE UK and the Norfolk LGBT Project to do this. We also will be adding the OLDER LGBT situation to the agenda and taking part in the current consultation with the government, in relation to the upcoming spending cuts, and putting our voices to the fore-we need these services improved to meet our needs. thankyou.
Here’s the IPlayer link
it will be online from 15th Oct 2010 for a week.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t1xdy/Its_My_Story_Glad_to_be_Grey/

contact us at wownorwich@hotmail.com

Lorraine investigates the surge in women over thirty becoming lesbian

Research by Gary Gates of the UCLA Williams Institute has found analyses based on women who are part of a co-habiting same-sex relationship. These women in same-sex couples have identified themselves as either spouses or unmarried partners (so they are not roommates, siblings, or any other type of relationship) – and the statistics are as follows:

* On average 30% of women in same-sex couples say that they have been previously married.

* 40 to 60% of these women had NO awareness of their potential for same sex attraction prior to marrying.

* 52% of them had little or no awareness of lesbians prior to their attraction

Craig Doyle explores the topic further, meeting a lesbian couple Heather and Helen. Dr Ellie Rigby, a clinical psychologist, talks about her experience as a late bloomer and the research she is doing to help other women and their families go through this transition.

You can contact Dr Ellie Rigby at ellierigbyphd@aol.com if you feel effected by the issues in this investiation.

Here’s the link to the program-let us know what you think? And please write to us if you’d like to talk about it. wownorwich@hotmail.com

http://www.itv.com/lorraine/lorraineinvestigates/latebloominglesbians/