In this book, Johnston argues that affirmation is not only encouragement or support, but also the primary mechanism we use to form our identities and create safe spaces. Using the work of feminist care ethics and the thinking of French philosopher Henri Bergson to examine responses to school bullying and abuses faced by LGBT older adults, he provides the theoretical analysis and practical tools LGBT people and their allies need to make all spaces, public and private, spaces in which we can live openly as members of the LGBT community.

With its combination of philosophical theory and on-the-ground activist experience, this text will be useful to anyone interested in philosophy, women’s and gender studies, psychology, aging, geriatrics, and LGBT activism.