Accelerated aging and male homosexuality: Australian evidence in a continuing debate

The evidence of research looking at accelerated aging among gay men is contradictory. In this study the issue of accelerated aging is addressed by accounting for the duality of the gay man's lifestyle as he interacts in both the homosexual community and the larger society where heterosexuality is the presumed norm. The onset of middle and old age as self-perceived by gay men and as perceived by other gay men in the homosexual subculture is contrasted. The results indicate that existing contradictions and debates about gay men and accelerated aging are largely a function of their referent perceptual worlds.