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Growing older is a natural part of living — every living thing ages. How we view that process — as something worthy of veneration or something that reduces value — has much to do with what drives our culture. In a recent online interaction about singer Steve Grand, identified as the “first openly gay male country singer,” I pointed out that Drake Jensen (who I interviewed back in June) should also be given credit, to which a respondent declared Jensen to be “too old.” We live in a society that focuses on youth and marginalizes the aging, at a time when we are becoming an increasingly aging society. So what does it mean to be gay and growing older — to be “gayging”? Some thoughts on why society thinks about aging the way it does, why ageism and homophobia are linked and how you can rethink your own inevitable aging process.