Imagine a country like Mexico or Japan whose population has been replaced entirely by a demographic consisting of nothing but people 45 or older. That is what the United States looks like today. Nearly 135 million people – roughly 43 percent – of America consists of people getting older. And their ranks are swelling. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Between 2000 and 2010, the population under the age of 18 grew at a rate of 2.6 percent. The growth rate was even slower for those aged 18 to 44 (0.6 percent). This contrasts with the substantially faster growth rates seen at older ages. The population aged 45 to 64 grew at a rate of 31.5 percent. The large growth in this age group is primarily due to the aging of the baby boom population.”
This swell in an older demographic will shape LGBTQ public policy for years to come as the needs of the community demand to be met. Health services, physical and mental health specifically, will be in great demand and given the LGBTQ’s unique stresses, vitally important to the health and well-being of our community.
And as the LGBTQ community matures, the issues of housing discrimination in long-term care settings, aging alone, our sex lives and other issues that might seem like a normal part of aging for our straight allies is mired, at least for now, in land mines. The best part? The total and resolute conviction that we will successfully address the challenges ahead as successfully as we have met those challenges in the past as bends the arc of history.
And to honor the strides being made in this area, The San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF), a foundation created by its owners, and in perpetuity, to help support causes that benefit the LGBTQ community and the San Diego LGBT Community Center (The Center) are hosting the fifth annual Reunion on the BaySaturday, Aug. 6, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the Bay View Lawn at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina at 1380 Harbor Island Drive in San Diego. The event features a silent auction, an opportunity drawing, full hosted premium bar, gourmet food and live entertainment, including an onstage performance by special guest star actress and comedian, Judy Tenuta, who will perform hilarious selections from her standup comedy and musical acts.
San Diego LGBT Weekly caught up with Tenuta and John Brown, SDHDF’s executive director, to find out more about what to expect.
San Diego LGBT Weekly: Why did you agree to perform for the fifth annual San Diego Human Dignity Foundation Reunion Party? Was it the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation’s commitment to the 50+ LGBTQ community?
Judy Tenuta: I agreed to perform for the Reunion Party because I love San Diego, human dignity and reunion parties! And I love the LGBT community and they love me! Also, they offered the Goddess throngs of worshippers and buckets of “Bucks,” and by “Bucks” I mean hot, horny studcicles! So how could I turn that down? Let’s face it, the 50+ LGBT community needs the support of an ageless Goddess because their unemployed millennial college grad kids are moving back home for mom and dad to feed, clothe and shelter them!
Talk about the material you expect to perform.
My material? No! No! It’s not material! I am the Love Goddess. Judy and I have my own religion “Judyism!” And the Goddess preaches marriage equality, love advice and guarantees a party in your pants!
What is it about aging that speaks to you? What makes it funny?
Aging? In the world of Judyism, we attack aging with laughter and botox! And then there’s short term memory loss … wait, what was I talking about?
What are your connections to San Diego? My first time here, I watched this PSA produced by the city that warned of the evils of cooking meth at home in a residential neighborhood because – and it did – a house might blow up. Is that your San Diego?
No, that is not my San Diego. I never cook anything! Especially meth. Cuz all of my followers cook it for me! I love La Jolla and Dr. Seuss, the beautiful San Diego coastline with all of the iconic ships full of my armed forces – studcicles and subvirgins who serve and protect us in hot uniforms!
Who’s funny to you? Who should we be watching now?
What’s funny to me? The Pope doing a rockin’ out in his Pope mobile, Janet Jackson at age 60 puffed up to pop out a pup and mail order brides!
What’s the worst part of not being 40?
There is no bad part of not being or being 40! Every age is a gift to be embraced and danced to! So suck it up in Spanx and let’s eat cake, bitches!
You’ve been cast to model for the cover of a new line of Harlequin romances under the “Mountbatten Grey” label. Who would you demand be your co-model?
How did you know? Yes, the Goddess will be on the cover of a new line of Harlequin Romances with the hot hunky new Tarzan, Alexander Skarsgard! That Beefy Burrito can swing me through the jungle anytime!
John Brown, what makes the fifth Reunion Party unique?
John Brown: Reaching 20 years of service is such a significant event for us. The Reunion Party is the perfect opportunity to start the celebration with our friends and supporters on the bayside lawn at the Sheraton Harbor Island. This event benefits our LGBT seniors and many of our original supporters from 20 years ago are facing some of the same challenges because let’s face it none of us are getting any younger.
What was the vision when the Foundation was created?
The vision for the creation of the Foundation as I understand it was to create an opportunity for LGBT donors to support the San Diego LGBT community in perpetuity to meet the changing and unforeseeable needs of the future. While we can’t be sure what the future holds we can be sure it will be up to the LGBT community to support the LGBT community.
Had Judy declined, who else was on your short list? What qualities did you put a premium on – besides star attraction – that made your selection the right fit for the occasion?
Judy is the perfect celebrity performer for the Reunion Party. She is funny and entertaining but also accessible just like our artists from past years like Hal Sparks and Leslie Jordan. We had been in talks with Wilson Cruz who was honored at The Aston Brooks Gala last year but we just weren’t able to work out the details. Then lucky for us Judy was available and we moved quickly to secure her.
What are some of the biggest obstacles facing an aging LGBTQ population? What are some strategies that benefit us?
Our LGBT seniors have survived a generation where it was often necessary to live either fully or partially in the closet because of real issues of discrimination and hostility. They are less likely to access government services because of an institutionalized sense of distrust. They have often cut ties with their biological family for decades and rely on self-defined families for support. Our Aging with Dignity Initiative has two strategies first to support the wonderful services for LGBT seniors offered by The Center and secondly to work with our Trailblazer support group to finish our comprehensive health need survey for LGBT seniors in San Diego County and to use the results to make a case for more funding for LGBT seniors.
What is the political landscape looking like under a Clinton administration for this demographic, should she win?
I believe that the landscape would improve under a Clinton administration because she has demonstrated a strong concern for the LGBT community and she has the expertise to make something happen.
What can you point to as a symbol of success in the SDHDF’s outreach to an aging LGBTQ population?
First and foremost, the continued good work of The Center’s LGBT Senior Resource Programs and the general raised awareness of the special needs of LGBT seniors throughout the community. We certainly are all very excited about the groundbreaking on San Diego’s first LGBT friendly senior housing development.
Fifth annual Reunion on the Bay
Saturday, Aug. 6, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Bay View Lawn at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina at 1380 Harbor Island Drive in San Diego
Tickets are available at sdhdf.org or by calling 619-291-3383.
The funds raised will benefit SDHDF’s Aging with Dignity Initiative and The Center’s Senior Services program.
