Growing old as a gay man

Today's gay men over 50 were the first to go out in public to demonstrate in favour of equality. This gay generation is now getting visibly older in the truest sense of the word.

What it means to grow old as a gay man

The last time you danced the night away may have been a while ago. But was your last visit to the doctor only last week? Let's not kid ourselves: Not everything is easy when you get older.

Bette Davis once said that "ageing is not for cowards". Nevertheless, there are good reasons to face the challenges of ageing openly and with a self-confident "I stand by myself".

HIV & Age

You can grow old with HIV today. For today's 50-plus generation, this has not been a matter of course for so long. They had to experience the emergence of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s: Many friends died and successful treatment options did not yet exist. Our role model Guido shows what it's like to grow old as a gay HIV-positive man.

But you can't just grow old with HIV. You can also become infected with the virus in old age. This is because it is wrong to assume that you can no longer have sex at the age of 50 and that there is no risk situation.

"I was tested HIV-positive in 1998"

In this clip, he explains what the test result meant for Guido, how his partner reacted and how he is coping with the infection today. And there's more: Guido has some good tips on growing older as a gay man - regardless of whether you are HIV-positive or not.

You can find a detailed interview with Guido in our blog.

"Stand up for yourself!" - Growing into old age with confidence

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Further offers

We offer various counselling services. Whether online, by phone or in a live chat: experienced and trained counsellors are available to answer all your questions about HIV, STIs, chemsex and mental well-being. You can seek help from the anti-discrimination centre if you have experienced discrimination due to your HIV infection.