Living in rural British communities does not always provide an idyllic setting for older gay and lesbian citizens, according to a three-year study at Bournemouth University as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing programme. Identity and disclosure (or not) of sexuality influences the ways in which these individuals connect with their wider community.
Biographies, site visits and focus groups contributed to the project’s main output, the award-winning film Rufus Stone. The film is currently rolling out to community settings with screenings during Bournemouth’s Festival of Learning at the Lighthouse in Poole and the Rex in Wareham. Directed by Josh Appignanesi (The Infidel), the story was written by the research project’s lead, Dr Kip Jones.
The men in the study came of age during a period when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain—key to understanding their life trajectories. Although the laws changed in 1967, men whose sexual identity developed before that were profoundly marked by growing up when homosexuality was illegal and punishable by imprisonment.
Prejudice is still reported against gay and lesbian citizens in the countryside. A pervasive attitude of “We don’t like to mention it“—a rural version of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. These citizens need to be extremely cautious about to whom and when they “come out”, if at all. Negotiation with service providers also is often fraught with difficulties.
