Much like society in general, the gay community is stratified along age lines. Gay men are living longer than ever and some older folks feel disconnected to the younger generations that have not had the same experiences they’ve had.
On the other hand, young people seem to be forging their way forward in this world without the benefit of mentorship from older gay people. Is this a sign of progress in gay rights or are younger people blind to older people’s experiences? How do we find the common ground for conversation and camaraderie among people of different ages?
On today’s special edition of Feast of Fun, we’re teaming up with Project Crysp to bring you a podcast forum taped in front of a live audience at the Center on Halsted in Chicago, Illinois.
We have a THINK PINK TANK- a multi-generational panel of experts on how to break down the barriers when it comes to age differences: Bill Rydewells, a founder of TPAN (Test Positive Aware Network) and a member of SAGE, the Center on Halsted’s Advocate and Service group for GLBT Seniors; Tony Alvarado Rivera, a coordinator at the Broadway Youth Center’s LGBT Mentor Program, which aims to build healthy relationships between generations in our community; and Chris Bartlett, the director of the Greater Philadelphia LGBT Leadership Initiative.
Listen as we take you on a deep discussion on what it means to age as a gay man and how we can bridge the gap to become a happier, healthier and more connected society.
Plus questions from the audience live! You don’t want to miss it.
Be sure to check out:
Jason Smith’s gallery of photos from the event & his video montage of the show.
Feast of Fun photos gallery.
Check out today’s sponsor:
How Are You Healthy? Find out at Lifelube.org
A blog on sex, drugs, physical, mental and
emotional health, spirituality and more.
Featured Music:
Tom Goss – Back to Love…: iTunes
RSS FEED | SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
SUBSCRIBE ON: GOOGLE
Special Edition FOF: Taking Pleasure Back – 11.24.09
M-Network, Take 1
FOF #784 – Mind the Gap – 06.20.08
Rough Cut of a Scene From WHEN I`M ALONE!
3 Comments
Comments
Generation You podcast is great discussion on bridging the age gap. I think you'll discover how much we need people of different ages in our lives to have a more meaningful life.
You may be wondering why it's not numbered like the regular FOF shows and instead labeled “special edition” – we did this because it's rather atypical of our regular programming and we wanted to clarify the nature of the program for the newbies.
Thank you to Lifelube.org and Project Crysp for involving us in these special projects. We really enjoyed being a part of these important discussions.
Our next forum will be August 17th and will deal with LGBT sexual health issues as part of the LGBTI Health Summit. Hope to see you there!
Wow! What a great show!
I worked with an inter-generational program at the LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, where we matched young volunteers with older LGBT individuals who where home bound or in nursing homes. The volunteers would visit the seniors and they would have a lovely time talking about the past and their commonalities. It is a great program, but when it came to putting together a programs where younger and older LGBT people could meet up and just be social, we had a hard time because there is such a divide between the generations in the gay community. Our older men’s groups were popular and the younger men’s groups were popular, but we couldn’t get the two groups together… it was such a shame because there is so much to be learned from someone of a different generation.
Great show! One problem that no one brought up which I know exists is that LOTS of early-twenty-something, rexy, hipster fags do not think they will age and they truly think that 99% of people over 30 are ugly. Therefore, they are embarrassed to be seen talking to an older man in public. How do we get the kids to stop being so superficial?
The panelists also seem to have forgotten that until Starbucks took over by the mid-90s, Chicago had lots of amazing coffee houses that were sometimes open all night. Boy’s Town had Scenes, Pergolesse (sp?), and there was that one in the Victorian house on Belmont next to what is now Spin. People would hang out for hours, meet and TALK!
great show!! you guys brought up a lot of interesting points that I thought were quite true!
Great work, guys. Kudos.
So, did anyone else find it totally distracting how much audience member George sounded like David Sedaris? I mean, DEAD RINGER!