Navigating cultural change together in an LGBTQ+ intergenerational community in Chicago

Over the past several decades, the social, cultural, and political landscape framing the possibilities for LGBTQ+ lives has changed significantly in the United States. These shifts have produced distinct generations of LGBTQ+ people. In 2019, we developed The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project to bring together LGBTQ+ generations for dialogue, storytelling, artmaking, and shared meals. Each year, 15 youth (ages 18–30) and 15 elders (60+) meet for 3-hour biweekly sessions across 9 months. In this article, we explore how generations of LGBTQ+ people navigate cultural change within the context of our LGBTQ+ intergenerational community. We present ethnographic vignettes that richly describe moments of harmony and tension as cultural change is collectively negotiated. The vignettes are grouped into three sections: changes in how language is used to describe LGBTQ+ lives and experiences, changes in identity possibilities with an emphasis on expanding genders, and changes in the target and forms of activism. These vignettes make visible the need for LGBTQ+ communities to embrace the future while holding onto aspects of the past, as new LGBTQ+ possibilities are co-constructed in dynamic intergenerational spaces. We conclude by offering lessons learned to community-engaged scholars and practitioners who wish to harness the potential of LGBTQ+ intergenerational connection.