Have you seen a documentary called “Gen Silent“? It tells the story of a man who is gay and becomes the caregiver of a transgender woman. The woman is terminally ill, but nevertheless her family isn’t there to support her. This movie is one of the reasons why we have decided to write about different LGBT caregiver perspectives.
We have already written an article about LGBT caregiving and how to recognize the right agency. However, this time we would like pay more attention to the fact that 9% of all caregivers declare themselves as LGBT. They often face unexpected problems and discrimination – thus we decided to present several stories. In this article, there are only two, but many more are waiting to be heard.
Source: http://jacksonville.com/
Several LGBT Caregiver Perspectives
Diego Sanchez
According to the US News, the founder of PFLAG, Diego Sanchez, was shocked to find out his mother was badly treated at a nursing facility just because her son was transgender. Nurses were neglecting her so he arranged a meeting with the manager. During the meeting, they told him she should’ve made him better. Eventually, he moved her to another facility.
Vega and Mala
Furthermore, the US News tells the story of a married couple – Vega and Mala. These two woman were taking care of Mala’s mother, although her father never accepted the fact that they were lesbians. Mala’s mother was severely sick and her health was deteriorating even more, so they decided to take care of her. Even though her mother didn’t have any problems with her daughter’s sexual orientation, her father would still refuse to introduce Vega as Mala’s wife.
“She’s my wife,” she would correct him every time.
These are only a few LGBT caregiver perspectives. If you know more similar stories, contact us or write in the comments section. We would be pleased to publish them all.
Featured Image Source: https://www.aclu.org/
