JW is a 50-year-old gay man from Scotland. That number climbed only three percent, to 28%, among only people who have retired. The survey also found one in four gay and bisexual men lie about their age on dating profiles. Of these, almost 60% of respondents said dating apps are ‘totally’ ageist. ‘ probably developed 2,000 years ago.’ LGBTI people and dating appsĪccording to our survey, 40% of survey respondents are on dating apps. It’s not an app, just a very old fashioned website,’ he joked. He said the app is for ‘older gentlemen and their younger admirers’. Ian Rutter, 56, met his partner on Caffmos. It’s specifically for older men looking for younger partners. One popular site for older gay, bisexual and trans men is Caffmos. ‘It surprised me that my sexual opportunities in my 50s are just as high as ever before,’ he said. In fact, he said: ‘I find as I get older, there are even more men interested in me. John, from London, is 51 years old and said he hasn’t suffered a reduction in sex at all. Many people we interviewed similarly said they’ve gotten more interest from younger people as they’ve gotten older. He explained: ‘I find I get a lot of offers from guys 18-21 years old who are looking for a daddy – it feels like it is more to satisfy their fantasy than a genuine interest in me.’ Photo: Nathan Rupert / Flickr Mark uses dating apps Grindr, GROWLr and Scruff, but noted: ‘The profile of the guys who come on to me has changed.’ He said: ‘I have met several guys and had loads of offers since turning 50.’ Mark Flood, 55, is a single gay man and lives in Tenerife, Spain. The most popular responses were ‘Travel’ (69%), then ‘Have more sex’ (43%) and ‘Spend more time with friends’ (40%). Then, when given a list of options, people were asked: ‘What would you like to do with your retirement?’ (They could choose multiple options). The most popular response, with 38% of the vote, was: ‘I want more sex’. Gay Star News asked survey respondents: ‘What do you think about sex and getting older?’ While this is true for some, our survey actually found over a third of LGBTI people want more sex as they get older. Over a third of LGBTI people want more sex as they get olderĪ common misconception about older LGBTI people is a dwindling sex and romantic life. There are also sites like Meetup, where you can focus on a social activity like a gay pump class, museum tour or LGBTI tennis lessons. Nicholas said: ‘They organize social events rather than dick pics.’ He said he also tried a site called Outdoor Lads, which is a group of ‘gay, bisexual and trans men who get together to enjoy adventures and activities.’ Photo: Nathan Rupert / Flickrįor the short time he was single after coming out and ending his almost 20-year-long marriage with his wife, he said dating, for him, was all about finding activities that didn’t necessarily centre around sex. They met up and they hit it off, eventually marrying just over four years ago. Nicholas joked: ‘I looked at him and I just wanted to shag him.’ He noticed one particular guy who caught his eye. He always encourages people to embrace the internet, when it comes to finding friends, love or sex. He said single older LGBTI people ‘may as well not exist’ without the internet.
Nicholas continued: ‘One of the questions I ask them is if they have access to the internet and sometimes they say no.’ ‘One of the main questions I get asked by a lot of older people over the age of 50 is that they feel very socially isolated,’ he said. He said he has first-hand experience of this isolation and loneliness from the myriad of calls he receives from older LGBTI people. Nicholas McInerny, 57, volunteers for an LGBTI helpline called Switchboard. Around 55% of survey respondents feared getting lonely as they got older. Jim added: ‘Happily ever after.’ Loneliness is a top concern for older LGBTI peopleīut not everyone is as lucky in love as Jim and Matthew.Īccording to a new survey from Gay Star News and Barclays, after money and health, loneliness and isolation are top concerns for LGBTI people as they get older. They moved in with each other and five years later, tied the knot. Jim and Matthew Croxford on their wedding day, December 2016. ‘The rest, as they say, is history,’ Jim said. Matthew then followed him back and they exchanged tweets and DMs for a few months. ‘I then noticed Matthew was funnier than the guy I was following so I followed him,’ he said. I thought it was very funny so I butted in.
‘We were both following someone else and I happened to notice one of their conversation threads. ‘I met my now-husband Matthew on Twitter when I was 50,’ Jim Croxford told Gay Star News.