Although the intersection between aging studies and queer theory allows for multiple interdisciplinary connections, literary and cinematic representations of Spanish queer aging protagonists are infrequent (Medina 2017). This panel hopes to establish a holistic perspective of the lived experiences of this population through analyses of queer aging in Spain. By focusing both on causes for concern and celebration, we will document and increase visibility of the experiences of queer aging Spaniards.
Traditionally, queer studies have not prioritized aging individuals as a demographic sector, focusing instead on the young (Goltz 2014), the process of coming out of the closet, and the bildungsroman experience (Edelman 2004). Existing studies about Hispanic queer aging have overwhelmingly been sociological, like Ramirez-Valles’ 2006 investigation about “Gayby boomers” in the United States. In the field of Hispanic queer theory, many investigations focus on the relationship between Hispanic culture and sexual identity (Richmond Ellis 2000), but the need to develop queer theories that connect Hispanic cultures and aging persists (William Foster 2013). This panel seeks to bring queer studies, Spanish literature and film, and aging studies into conversation.
Chris Carter will begin the panel with a cinematic comparison of representations of queer aging men in the films Capullito de Alhelí (1986) and El último viaje de Robert Rylands (1996), in order to contextualize the discursive silence that has historically encompassed the Spanish queer community. The ability of aging gay protagonists in the films to age “successfully” according to society is conditioned by the degree to which they adapt their sexual identity to a heteronormative model. Rather than a positive representation of queer aging men, these films portray the negotiations required for queer aging men to merely be rendered visible.
Garbiñe Vidal Torreira’s presentation will focus on aging lesbians in Isabel Franc’s Elogio del Happy End. While representations of aging lesbian relationships in Spanish literature are scarce and often negative, Franc’s novel describes a community of lesbian friends who help two octogenarian lesbians avoid the threat of moving into a nursing home or living with family members, given that both options would require a return to the closet. Franc’s aging characters create an intergenerational family of lesbian friends who support one another, establishing a fabric of friendship that operates on empathy and demonstrating the potential for positive queer community building.
In the third presentation, Isaias Fanlo will follow the traces of a generation lost to AIDS, represented in Aimar Pérez Galí’s The Touching Community, a transversal and transdisciplinary piece of contact improvisation that addresses the importance of caring, and of creating an intergenerational bond between elder and younger queers. The presentation will address the effects of placing the body of an elder survivor of the AIDS pandemic in the center of the stage and performing affect that includes physical touch with them. It will also tackle the efforts to honor the queer elders who were never allowed to be, and the importance of generating an archive of the invisible through art.
The panel will end with Heather Jerónimo’s analysis of Lluís Maria Todó’s short story collection Doce fábulas. The presentation will focus on how the city of Barcelona itself becomes a queer aging protagonist in the text, changing over time to accommodate a queer aging community. Doce fábulas addresses many of the challenges of the queer aging community while providing cause for hope and celebration through an examination of how this queer aging population has been able to adapt and thrive in the queer spaces they have carved out for themselves in Barcelona.
While we recognize that four presentations in one panel is ambitious, panelists will keep to a strict 12-minute limit to present their papers. The papers will be shared with the presider beforehand to allow for the elimination of any repetitive information. All panelists believe in the importance of leaving time for discussion, so time limits will be strictly respected.