LGBTQ Nation asked our elder readers to tell us how life has changed for LGBTQ+ people in the past decades, and we got a lot of responses! Here’s one of them.

Reader Davina explains how much has changed in the U.K. in her lifetime for transgender people.

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“When I was younger, I stayed silent and carried shame,” she told LGBTQ Nation. “‘Transvestites’ were the butt of jokes, and transgender people lived on the margins. If you were found out, you could lose your job, your home, even your relationships.”

Section 28, she said, made things worse: “It told teachers they couldn’t even mention people like me.” Section 28 was part of the Local Government Act 1988, which made it illegal in the U.K. to “promote homosexuality” in schools. What it really did was make teachers afraid to come out or even to intervene if an LGBTQ+ kid was getting bullied, lest that count as “promoting homosexuality.” LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. have spent the decades since that law was in effect speaking out against its harms.

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As LGBTQ+ law in the U.K. changed over time, Davina said things improved in very real ways. Section 28 was repealed in 2003. The Gender Recognition Act in 2004 (which created a path for trans people to change gender markers on official documents) and the Equality Act in 2010 (which banned anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in a number of areas) “gave us recognition I never thought possible.” Additionally, marriage was legalized for same-sex couples in the U.K. in 2013.

That progress hasn’t been consistent, though. Davina acknowledged that LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. are currently experiencing “a backlash,” in part due to the anti-trans rhetoric of people like author J.K. Rowling. Trans people, Davina said have gone from being portrayed as “jokes” to being called “predators, sexual deviants, and cheats in sport.”

Getting healthcare in the U.K. is challenging because there is a waiting list of approximately 42,000 people, according to The Independent.

“The world has turned harsher,” Davina said. “Social media, especially, is toxic. People feel free to harass trans people, misgender them, and throw those same accusations of predator, deviant, or cheat. For my own mental health, I stay away from X.”

Davina has a message for younger LGBTQ+ people: “Change is real, but it’s never secure. Progress can be rolled back. Don’t take it for granted, and don’t give up when things get hard.”

“Hiding might feel safe, but it shrinks your life. Living openly, when you can, gives others hope and builds community. You don’t have to carry the weight alone — find your people, hold onto them, and remember your life is part of a much bigger story, one that you help to write.”

“Diversity brings a richness of experience — different lives and voices adding depth to the world we share. Inclusion brings people into the fold so that no one is left outside looking in. By being visible, and by standing together, we show that our communities are stronger, kinder, and more alive when everyone belongs.”

If you’re an LGBTQ+ elder and you want to share your story with us, please use this form.

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