Abstract
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) older adults are an understudied and underserved population. However, subgroup differences are often overlooked including the lives of older bisexual women who experience significant disparities in health. The historical and sociocultural context around bisexuality of older adults is one unexamined factor that may influence the ability of older bisexuals to achieve equitable health outcomes. To address this gap, this study applied a life course perspective and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis method to analyze how bisexual women (N = 13) age 60 and older construct their bisexual identities and subjectivity through language use and by drawing on or creating broader discourses within their particular historical context. Findings indicate a tension between constructing bisexual identities as freedom, potential, or possibility versus the negative effect this identity has had on participants’ social, personal, and political resources over the life course. This tension is evident in participant’s narratives, as some describe bisexuality as a source of pride while others report a deep sense of ambivalence toward their bisexual identity. Both of these constructions are informed by the historical context in which participants’ recognized their attractions to women and experienced the coming out process. These tensions and differences in experience have implications for the ability of researchers to interpret how identity-related factors are relevant to and influence the health and wellbeing of older bisexual women as well as for practitioners who seek to provide culturally competent services to older bisexual women.