Transgender Ageing: Issues And Concerns

Abstract

As the world is aging fast, the numbers of elderly transgender have also been increasing. In order to give cognizance and empathizing the necessities and apprehensions of the elderly transgender population not much consideration has been there.  With the increasing age, they often bear a combination of various risks of stigma and social disconnection which adds more vulnerability during their golden older days. The dual burden of “age” and “gender” intensifies new difficulties and multi-faceted survival threats especially in social, emotional and financial dimensions. In this realm of analysis, this study is centered on the specific objective of exploring the milieu of various problems encountered by the elderly transgender persons of Kashmir. The analysis and outcome of this paper will be analyzed from a sequence of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with MTF (Male to Female) transgender elderly persons who belong to Kashmir. There were nine main areas of concerns which were of foremost significance for the Kashmiri transgender elderly populace (family support, housing, income deprivation/economic uncertainty, legal rights, mental and physical health, religiosity and spirituality, and last of all social networks) as was observed through content analysis of the expressed beliefs, attitudes, and opinions from the participants. The attitudes, concerns, needs, opinions, perceptions, range of issues and shared problems expressed across the focus groups are discussed and recommendations are provided.