Intergenerational Exchanges in LGBTQ+ communities

Intergenerational disconnection is a problem across society. However, through CRAG members’ study on intersectional life course inequalities, it has been discovered that this is particularly the case among LGBTQ+ people, whose ‘families of choice’ are often peer-group-based, without descendants and less likely to include members from their ‘family of origin’.  

When people from different generations have insufficient opportunity to communicate and understand each other’s perspectives and experiences, research has found that this can lead to: divisive stereotyping and misunderstanding about other generations; ageism and fear of one’s own ageing; insufficient transmission of cultural memory and cultural understanding of shared histories; and less connected communities. 

In this project funded by the University of Surrey’s Economic and Social Research Council ‘Impact Acceleration Account’, the team of academics collaborated with LGBTQ+ charitable organisations that specialise in supporting local LGBTQ+ communities: Tonic, Metro, Stonewall Housing, and Opening Doors. This group worked together to establish how best to facilitate interventions that bring different generations of LGBTQ+ people together, using a ‘queer generations’ framework. 

The team co-designed and piloted a set of intergenerational workshops. These workshops brought together older residents of Bank House (Vauxhall, London; the UK’s first LGTBQ+-affirmative retirement community for those 55+, founded by housing organisation Tonic), and service users of Metro charity for young people (aged 18-25). 

At the workshops, attendees were invited to “draw the story of your life in the shape of a river”, and then discussed the resultant drawings, first in same-age groups and then in intergenerational groups. 

The workshops were meaningful for both the older and younger attendees. They appreciated the chance to narrate and reflect on their lives and generational identity, and also – through the intergenerational conversations – to see these aspects from different and unexpected perspectives.

For one younger attendee, the highlight was “writing down personal life events for the first time”, and another found the “rivers of experience diagrams very interesting and reflective”. An older attendee commented that “finding shared experiences and common ground was really affirming”, as was “seeing crossover between younger and older generation”.  The workshop improved mutual understanding and trust between these groups.

Building on this, the team then co-produced “Intergenerational Exchange in LGTBQ+ Communities”, a guide for facilitators creating intergenerational workshops for LGBTQ+ groups. That toolkit is available for download on this webpage.

Our Intergenerational LGBTQ+ Toolkit offers evidence-based recommendations for running intergenerational workshops with LGBTQ+ staff, members, volunteers and/or service users of your organisations. 

Details of how to setup the workshops are presented in the toolkit as well as guidance for activities, recommended timings, additional resources, and further tips for how you can adapt aspects of the workshops to fit your organisation’s needs/constraints.

How to access the toolkit

The Intergenerational Exchanges in LGBTQ+ Communities Toolkit is free to use, but we ask you to have regard for the following conditions of its use:

Do not distribute this document to anyone else outside of your organisation – if anyone asks for a copy, please direct them to this web page so they can download it.

If you use this document or any part of it, we would be grateful if you would please:

 Acknowledge the authorship team

• Send us any comments/suggestions that you feel might improve the document so that your experience can be incorporated into subsequent updates. These can be sent to Professor Andrew King (andrew.king@surrey.ac.uk).

Download the toolkit