Aging

Who Are Contemporary Trans Elders?

This entry considers the age of entrance into the elder population to be 65 years. The Administration on Aging states that the U.S. population of persons 65 years or older numbered 39.6 million in 2009 (the latest year for which data are available). By 2030, it is projected that there will be about 72.1 million older persons in the United States. The National Institute on Aging global projections for the 65-years-or-older cohort are 524 million in 2010, with this number expected to increase to 1.5 billion in 2050.

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate for the number of trans elders in the United States. There are many reasons for the absence of reliable population data on the trans elder community, including difficulties in identifying members of the population, trans people’s hesitancy to self-identify as such, and trans erasure in many data-gathering instruments. As a result, identification of the trans population is challenging. Indeed, the trans-identified population is itself dynamic; in the past three decades, with the advent of more reliable surgical and hormonal interventions, more people are making the decision to transition from their birth sex or gender to an identity more consistent with who [Page 23]they see themselves to be. Moreover, since 2000, some older adults, even into their 70s or later, are increasingly choosing to align their genital sex with their gender self-perception. Thus, even within the current cohort of trans elders, there is a diversity of life experience. This diversity will continue to broaden and grow as younger members of this community emerge and pioneer new labels. It is, however, possible to make some general population estimates.

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