LGBT* People in Later Life: The State of Research and Opportunities for Empirical Quantitative Analysis with Secondary Data in Germany

Increasing population ageing and demographic change are accompanied by greater diversity among later age cohorts. This phenomenon is evident with regard to the specific aspect of sexual and gender diversity. In recent decades, an increasing number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBT*) people who have lived through periods with different levels of social acceptance and legal equality have been entering later life.

However, little is known about the life situations of older LGBT* people in Germany, and this raises questions about how sexual orientation and gender identity affect life situations in old age in our society. Based on the life course approach and the concept of structural stigma, we first theoretically derive the consequences of historical persecution and stigmatisation for life in old age. We then analyse the current state of research on LGBT* people in later life. Due to the lack of quantitative studies on older German LGBT* people, this article mainly summarises the international state of research on differences between LGBT* and cis-heterosexual people, as well as on the ways that LGBT* people differ according to minority status and age cohort.

Building on this, we provide an overview of available quantitative secondary datasets that can be used to analyse the life situations of older LGBT* people in Germany. In doing so, we discuss the potential of the study selection for analysing the relevant topics, and we conclude by discussing its limitations together with improvements that could be made to gain better knowledge about this field of research.

doi: 10.1007/s11577-025-01031-y ISSN: 0023-2653