About
How do lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people imagine their future and older age?
Imagining Queer Aging Futures (IQAF) is a research project exploring the thoughts, dreams, fantasies, fears, worries, and hopes about the future — as well as the everyday practices — of LGBTQ+ people aged 50 and above.
Youth are often framed as “the promise of the future,” while older people are rarely asked about their visions of what lies ahead. This project thus asks the vital question: How do people beyond midlife reflect on the future and imagine aging?
Since cultural narratives about aging and growing old are predominantly cis- and heteronormative, IQAF seeks to specifically explore queer imaginings of aging futures.
In the project, LGBTQ+ individuals over the age of 50 — from different backgrounds and generations — were invited to participate in creative workshops, individual interviews, and to produce artworks or other creative expressions envisioning their aging futures. The outcomes of these workshops are presented in an online exhibition on this website. Academic articles, popular publications, and presentations connected to the project will also be made available here.
The project is conducted in three national contexts within the Baltic Sea region: Sweden, Poland, and Estonia. While most existing research on LGBTQ+ aging comes from Anglo-American contexts, this project aims to highlight the specific social, cultural, and political conditions of these three countries.
Sweden, Poland, and Estonia differ, for instance, in terms of welfare provision and the legal and social rights afforded to LGBTQ+ citizens — factors that shape how people imagine and experience their futures. The Baltic Sea region is also one of the fastest-aging populations in Europe, making this research particularly timely. The aging of sexual and gender minorities — communities that have historically faced, and often continue to face, discrimination, intolerance, and stigma — remains especially overlooked. Imagining Queer Aging Futures addresses this gap.
The project runs 2023–2026 is made possible thanks to funding from the Baltic Sea Foundation.
Contact
For inquiries, contact the following e-mail: linn.sandberg@sh.se
Researchers
Linn Sandberg
Associate professor in Gender Studies and senior lecturer at the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University, Sweden, and the Principal Investigator of IQAF. Linn’s research focuses on the intersection of gender, sexuality ageing and later life and she has published extensively on these topics, including her article Queering aging future together with Barbara L Marshall. Linn is the Editor in Chief of International Journal of Ageing and Later life the commissioning editor of the series Dementia in Critical Dialogue, published by Routledge.
Joanna Mizielińska
An Associate Professor at the Institute of Sociology, Civitas Universiy. Her interests concentrate on queer theory, queer kinship, and the sociology of gender, sexuality and families. She is an author of books and articles on gender, sexuality, queer kinship, including the recent book titled Queer Kinship at the Edge? Families of Choice in Poland published by Routledge (available in open access). For more information see orcid.org
Agata Stasińska
An Assistant Professor at Civitas University, Poland. She holds a PhD in social sciences from the University of Warsaw. She co-authored Families of Choice in Poland and authored Sociology of the Couple. Her work on queer kinship and intimacy has appeared in Gender, Place and Culture, Sexualities, and more. For more information see orcid.org or civitas.academia.edu
Rebeka Põldsam
A gender studies scholar and art historian. Her scholarly work has focused on representations of non-normative sex-gender subjects in Estonian society from the 1920s until present. She has curated contemporary art exhibitions and recetly also created exhibits for history exhibitions. In addition to research, she is a co-editor of gender studies journal Ariadne Lõng and a visiting lecturer at Estonian Academy of Arts.
Collaborators
Sam Hultin
An artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. Their work is based on their interest in queer history, identity and community and explores connections between personal experiences and political and social structures. Through city walks, sing-alongs and anniversaries Sam often invites queer communities to activate parts of a queer history together with them.
Monika Mizielińska
An art educator specialising in visual arts and crafts education. She holds a Master’s degree in sociocultural animation and art therapy from Warsaw University and has over thirty years of experience in teaching art. Passionate about fostering creativity and practical skills, she integrates traditional artistic techniques with modern approaches, encouraging students to explore their individuality through various artistic media. Apart from teaching, she is an active member of her local community, organising art exhibitions and creative workshops for children and adults alike.
Alana Proosa
A photographer and a punk musician, partly active in performance art. As a photographer, she has photographed portraits for magazines, fashion, urban landscapes, and a lot of theatrical photography. She has worked on depicting transgender lives in Thai and Estonia for over a decade. In this project she participated in Estonian group interviews and photographed the symbolic objects of the research participants.
