Don’t hide your pride

The City will host an information session tomorrow for LGBTI people aged over 55 to discuss ideas to increase social inclusion for the older LGBTI community.

Mr Carey said anyone was welcome to come to the session, but preference would be given to Vincent residents.

‘Our info sessions are educational but also informal and the presenters generally hang around after the session to allow participants the opportunity to share stories and to ask any questions that they may have on the particular topic,’ he said.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Rights in Ageing Inc (GRAI) chairwoman June Lowe approached the City of Vincent to hold the information session and said the community needed to understand that not all gay people were young and not all old people were straight.

‘There is an assumption that older people are asexual or heterosexual. People don’t want to think about the sexuality of older people,’ she said.

Ms Lowe said isolation was a challenge many older LGBTI people faced.

‘In the past they were criminalised, institutionalised and demonised,’ she said.

‘The law has changed but it will be a long time before attitudes change too.

‘Come to the information session and share ways that we can be more inclusive.’

Finch Whitehead is from Prime Timers ” a men’s group for gay men that meets every month.

Mr Whitehead, who will also be involved in the information session, said enormous progress had been made in LGBTI rights and inclusion in WA over the past few decades.

‘Stigmatisation has decreased,’ he said.

‘I think equal marriage rights will be sooner than people think, which would be a step in the right direction.’

The City of Vincent was the first WA council to establish a relationship declaration register for heterosexual and same-sex couples to recognise their relationship in January, 2013.

Pridefest, which showcases the contribution of the WA LGBTI community through arts and culture events in the CBD, will run from November 14 to 23.