The "gay generation" is getting on in years. The over-60s are confidently taking advantage of what the gay scene has to offer - as long as their health plays along. A mood report from Hamburg.
"I'm not going to do that scene to myself when I'm 70," Karl-Heinz realises. He no longer wants to wait in a bar for his prince charming. "You just have to realise that: For the scene is You feel old, even if you have a completely different impression," explains the retired vocational school teacher. "If you look at yourself in the mirror every day, you don't realise how you're ageing."
Avoiding bars is easy for the single man. He prefers to look for sex outdoors, for example in the city park. "I enjoy the chase," says Karl-Heinz and laughs. "The guys I get there wouldn't look at my arse in a bar."
Cruising can also be very sociable. Almost 20 years ago, Karl-Heinz met a man almost 20 years his junior while cruising the dunes of Ibiza. They didn't have sex, but when they met again in the beach supermarket, they arranged to meet for dinner. This is how Karl-Heinz met a gay trekking group. Since then, he has hiked with them at least once a year through the low mountain ranges and knows the Harz Mountains almost by heart.
Karl-Heinz no longer goes to gay bars - but is still well connected with other gays. Together with a fellow volunteer from the gay information shop, he is currently organising Hein & Fiete a "Gay History Tour" through St Pauli. Like Karl-Heinz, many older men are present in the community - they are used to it. "There is a lot of interest in specific counselling and leisure activities for gay and bisexual men over 50," says Heiko Gerlach. Together with Christian Szillat, the qualified nurse surveyed gay men in Hamburg and analysed the answers on behalf of the AIDS-Hilfe Hamburg analysed. "Männerliebende Männer 50 plus in Hamburg" is the name of her study, which she published on Radio Pink Channel have introduced themselves. A special generation, according to the two experts: they were the first to live their homosexuality relatively openly. It is not surprising that they are now openly demanding that their circumstances be taken into account in old age.
So as long as the body keeps up, gay life continues happily beyond the age of fifty. Eckhard also used to go to the sauna regularly a few years ago. He still knows what's on offer: Partner discount on Fridays, wellness on Sundays and "40up" on Wednesdays with a discount for over-40s. "She could do a '70up' day for me," says Eckhard and smiles. In recent years, the trained electrician has spent more time in hospital than in the sauna. Following a heart operation, Eckhard moved into a retirement home in St. Georg in 2013, in the "Regenbogen" ward. "That doesn't mean anything," says Eckhard, "I'm the only gay person here for miles around."
For a long time, Eckhard could not imagine that he would ever need help. He even put his HIV infection behind him. Eckhard was diagnosed in 1990 and persevered until the first combination therapies were available. "Now I've been below the detection limit for over twelve years," he says proudly. "HIV doesn't cause me any problems - they only came as I got older." In the meantime, a few have come together. Eckhard's table in the 20 square metre room is neatly lined up: a wristband for measuring blood pressure, a device for measuring blood sugar, an insulin syringe. There is also an asthma spray and a cardboard box of cough sweets. "This variety of complaints is driving me crazy," says Karl-Heinz. "It's always in the back of my mind: what's next?"
Jibben also sometimes worries "that his bones aren't cooperating as well". But he doesn't let that get him down. His antidote: do a lot. The 68-year-old manages three websites, including the gay and lesbian portal hamburg.gay-web.info. "I hope that's one reason why I'm still fit upstairs," says the broad-shouldered man with the white goatee, tapping his head. "Philipp is also a reason, of course," adds Jibben gently, "as a young husband, that sometimes keeps you on your toes." Jibben has been together with Philipp (41; seen together in the photo) for 15 years and they got married in 2006. Every year at the Hamburg Pride street festival, the two of them sit in the organisation container, take in lost property and use radios to ensure that every stand has electricity and water. Jibben hasn't had enough of the scene yet. "That's also because I went to a gay bar for the first time when I was 50," Jibben surmises. "In hindsight, I wish I'd started earlier," says Jibben, "because I definitely missed out on a lot."
