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Abstract
<p class="first" id="P1">Little is known about how lesbians and gay men perceive the
turning points that define
their life trajectories. This study uses qualitative interview data to understand
which experiences lesbian women and gay men age 50 and older identify as turning points
and explore gender differences. In depth, face-to-face qualitative interviews were
conducted with a subset of participants (n=33) from the Caring and Aging with Pride
survey. The most common turning points identified were relationship and occupation
related. Lesbians more frequently identified the break-up of a relationship and occupational
and educational related experiences as turning points. Gay men more commonly indicated
that the beginning of a relationship and HIV/AIDS related experiences were turning
points. The turning points were analyzed according to principles of the life course
theory and narrative analysis.
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