9 Survival of an older Bangladeshi lesbian experiencing intersectional vulnerability
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Kanamik Kani Khan
Abstract
Living as an older lesbian in a society that stigmatises marginalised communities is challenging. Patriarchy significantly impacts the experience of gender and sexually diverse populations in Bangladesh, especially for lesbians. This chapter explores the experiences of an older lesbian that speak to the intersectional oppression with which she lives. Bangladeshi society is significantly patriarchal, and women continue to experience that patriarchy as oppression. Being an older lesbian brings additional vulnerability, because older people often lack adequate financial support and health and social care. Her experience as an older lesbian is used as a lens to understand what it is like to live an identity that sits outside enforced cultural norms and to get access to health, social care and social relationships. This chapter further investigates the impacts of religion in her life and the implications of mental health support for people with HIV, based on her experiences.
Abstract
Living as an older lesbian in a society that stigmatises marginalised communities is challenging. Patriarchy significantly impacts the experience of gender and sexually diverse populations in Bangladesh, especially for lesbians. This chapter explores the experiences of an older lesbian that speak to the intersectional oppression with which she lives. Bangladeshi society is significantly patriarchal, and women continue to experience that patriarchy as oppression. Being an older lesbian brings additional vulnerability, because older people often lack adequate financial support and health and social care. Her experience as an older lesbian is used as a lens to understand what it is like to live an identity that sits outside enforced cultural norms and to get access to health, social care and social relationships. This chapter further investigates the impacts of religion in her life and the implications of mental health support for people with HIV, based on her experiences.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Series editors’ introduction xi
- Foreword: Dare we hope for the erotic? HIV/AIDS, sexuality and ageing xxi
- Introduction 1
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Women
- The ‘disease of love’: trajectories of women ageing with HIV in Switzerland 11
- Beyond the biomedical: HIV as a barrier to intimacy for older women living with HIV in the United Kingdom 28
- ‘Everyone is on their own and nobody needs us’: women ageing with HIV in Ukraine 46
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Gay and bisexual men
- Chemsex among gay men living with HIV aged over 45 in England and Italy: sociality and pleasure in times of undetectability 67
- Freed from fear: reconstructing older gay male sexuality through PrEP – an account of a generational experience 84
- In the company of men: gay culture and HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand 102
- Growing old with stigma: a case study of four older Chinese gay/bisexual men living with HIV in Hong Kong 114
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Intersectional lives, multiple stigmas
- Out in Africa: facing the HIV other in Nairobi 139
- Survival of an older Bangladeshi lesbian experiencing intersectional vulnerability 159
- Sanjeevani: early ageing and HIV survival in queer Mumbai 174
- Afterword 191
- Index 194
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Series editors’ introduction xi
- Foreword: Dare we hope for the erotic? HIV/AIDS, sexuality and ageing xxi
- Introduction 1
-
Women
- The ‘disease of love’: trajectories of women ageing with HIV in Switzerland 11
- Beyond the biomedical: HIV as a barrier to intimacy for older women living with HIV in the United Kingdom 28
- ‘Everyone is on their own and nobody needs us’: women ageing with HIV in Ukraine 46
-
Gay and bisexual men
- Chemsex among gay men living with HIV aged over 45 in England and Italy: sociality and pleasure in times of undetectability 67
- Freed from fear: reconstructing older gay male sexuality through PrEP – an account of a generational experience 84
- In the company of men: gay culture and HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand 102
- Growing old with stigma: a case study of four older Chinese gay/bisexual men living with HIV in Hong Kong 114
-
Intersectional lives, multiple stigmas
- Out in Africa: facing the HIV other in Nairobi 139
- Survival of an older Bangladeshi lesbian experiencing intersectional vulnerability 159
- Sanjeevani: early ageing and HIV survival in queer Mumbai 174
- Afterword 191
- Index 194
