After losing friends, Dany Turcotte began to question the aging of members of the LGBTQ+ community within our society.
Do they age the same as heterosexuals? What happens to them once they are in residence? First observation: Many LGBTQ+ seniors seem to withdraw when they move into an RPA. Saying that is not a condemnation or a judgement. Older people were marginalized because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Many were cast out by their families and witnessed the carnage of AIDS in the 1980s.
The comedian and moderator reflects on her fate in the touching documentary “The Last Closet – Aging Gay”.
“The older ones have experienced trauma. When they were young, being gay was a mental illness. It sure leaves scars, so these people tend to hide, many have done it all their lives or at different times,” the 58-year-old artist said in an interview with QMI agency.
“Growing old alone can be tamed, I know how to take care of myself and I’m rarely in trouble. But suffering alone is harder and can happen to anyone.
The Émergence Foundation, founded by the late Laurent McCutcheon, reached out to 1,500 senior residences in La Belle province as part of its “So that aging is gay” program. Few have been keen on hosting a guest speaker to educate their clients about diversity, and some even go so far as to claim they only host straight people despite 10% of the population being LGBTQ+. In this regard, Habitat Fullum, east of the Village, in Montreal, is paving the way as a “gay-friendly” dorm where 50% of its residents are homosexual.
“It is certain that if you live in a residence where there is not a very clear opening on the part of the administration, the reflex of the people will be not to say it,” insisted Dany Turcotte.
In his documentary, produced by Marie-France Bazzos Box and directed by Christian Lalumière, he introduces us to survivors. We’re thinking of Mireille, a lesbian from Joliette and her friends, or Carole, a trans woman who was a police chief in her past life. “Carole has a wife, kids, and she’s decided to take care of herself the way she is. It takes extraordinary courage.”
better train nursing staff
His case, like many others, opens the discussion about nursing education initiated by Dr. Réjean Hébert is mentioned in the documentary. “When a 75-year-old trans woman like Carole needs care, staff need to be prepared for that difference. She must not become a circus animal. Even her doctor didn’t understand her reality and wanted to cut her hormones,” the host shared.
Satisfied with his “third career” devoted to documentaries, having excelled on stage and television, notably in “Everybody’s Talking About It” and “La petite séduction,” Dany Turcotte says there’s hope for the young Boomers and the X who follow today’s elders.
“They will claim a lot more and not go back in the closet! They will even organize drag queen nights in RPAs!”
Dany Turcotte aims to continue his momentum by focusing future documentaries on sexual refugees settling in Quebec, as well as young people in secondary schools and CEGEPs pushing in the right direction to change mentalities and take their rightful place .
- The documentary “The Last Closet – Aging Gay” will be broadcast on ICI Télé on Thursday 6 April at 9pm.