Gen Silent: WHY The LGBT Generation Who Fought Hardest To Come Out Are Having To Go Back In The Closet

Remember how hard it was coming out? The fear you felt before you did it and the relief you felt afterwards?  Thankful that now you’ve done it you won’t ever have to do it again?

The sad reality is that last statement might not be as true as you imagine with many LGBT seniors are feeling forced to go back into the closet because of a fear of being discriminated against when they need healthcare and support most.

And this sad truth is what has become the central topic of award winning director and filmmaker, Stu Maddux’s latest project.

Entitled Gen Silent, this film asks six Boston LGBT seniors whether they will hide their lives in order to survive, with their decisions captured via intimate access to their lives over the course of a year. Showing the depth of impact that the oppression they’ve faced pre-Stonewall has had on them, Gen Silent shows the fear that LGBT seniors have about asking for help, something that leaves them lonely, isolated, and often dying prematurely due to their lack of a strong support network.

Bringing these sad issues out into the open for the first time, this documentary acts to show just how far we have moved on, in terms of specially trained carers focused on making LGBT seniors to feel safe, but also how little we have too, showing the discrimination, neglect and abuse they too often suffer – do you really want your caregiver to being trying to religiously convert you whilst at your bedside?

LGBT seniors featured in the film include:

Lawrence -  a gay senior forced to search nursing home after nursing home to find out that he could openly feed his partner and hold hands in

Krysanne a transgender woman estranged from her family now looking for people to care for her as she dies of cancer.

Sheri and Lois - a couple who spent their lives fighting for gay rights, but now in a position where Losi says she would hide her sexuality to protect herself from abuse.

Ralph – a gay man who sees himself as a loner and is now forced to move out of his dream home as there’s not enough people around him to support him.

You can learn more about Gen Silent at the Gen Silent website.