Research Institute for Social Sciences

Sue’s academic and professional interests cohere around ageing, gender and sexuality, approached from a critical feminist perspective. She has multidisciplinary qualifications including in gerontology, gender and sexuality, and law, and is about to complete a PhD in Law at Keele University. Sue’s thesis explores LGB ageing in a regulatory context, from a feminist socio-legal perspective. Sue is co-investigator, with colleagues at Surrey University, Nottingham University, the University of Oxford University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on an ESRC Seminar Series funded project, 'Older LGBT People: Minding the Knowledge Gaps' (2012-15).

Sue has expertise in the field of dementia, having previously researched and managed dementia and end-of-life services. She has assisted on several research projects including on the experiences of carers of people with dementia.

Sue was a Visiting Scholar, at the invitation of Professor Martha Fineman, at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, in 2011. She was Chair and Convener of two LGBT ageing symposia at the British Society of Gerontology's 2012 annual conference, held at Keele University, and Chair of the roundtable ‘Gender and Sexuality as Magnifiers of Older Age Concerns’ at the British Society of Gerontology's 2013 annual conference, held at the University of Oxford. Sue is a member of the Law and Society Association (LSA), the Socio-Legal Studies Association, and the British Society of Gerontology.  She is on the Executive Committee of the ‘Aging, Law & Society’ Collaborative Research Network (CRN) of the LSA, and is Chair of the CRN’s outreach committee. Sue is also a Global Affiliate of the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, Emory University.

Sue’s PhD thesis is entitled ‘Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) Ageing – Equality in Later Life’. The project explores the regulatory frameworks surrounding lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people as they age, and how age, gender and sexuality intersect to produce both equality and inequality in older age. The project explores gaps in regulation, through the lens of temporality and spatiality, and how those gaps impact LGB people in later life. It also considers whether there is an emerging social movement about ageing sexualities from a rights-based perspective. The project will conclude by making social policy recommendations and identifying areas for further research.

Sue is supervised by Dr Ruth Fletcher (Queen Mary’s, University of London), Dr Rosie Harding (Birmingham University) and Dr Marie-Andree Jacob (Keele University).

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

• Westwood, S. (under construction) ‘Older Lesbians who Want Women-/Lesbian- only Care Provision: Social Policy Implications’, Special Issue, Journal of Lesbian Studies

• Westwood, S. and Robinson, P. (under construction) ‘The Intersection of Material and Social Resources in the Lives of Older Gay Men’, Sexualities

• Westwood, S. (under construction) ‘Anticipating the End of the Rainbow: Older Lesbians and Gay Men with Plans to End Their Lives – Pragmatism, Resistance and/or Despair?’ Medical Law Review.

• Westwood, S. (2013) "‘My Friends are my Family’: an argument about the limitations of contemporary law's recognition of relationships in later life." Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, advance: 1-17.

• Westwood, S. (2013) ‘Researching Older Lesbian: Problems and Partial Solutions’, Journal of Lesbian Studies, 17(3-4): 380-392.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘“I May Be Older, But I Ain’t No ‘Elder”: A Critique of “Elder Law”’, Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review, 21(2): 485-510.

Edited Volume

• Peel, E. Harding, R. and Westwood, S. (eds) (under construction) Ageing and Sexualities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Surrey: Ashgate

Book chapters

• Westwood, S, King, Andy, Almack, Kathy and Suen, Yiu-Tung (in press) ‘Good Practice in Health and Social Care Provision for Older LGBT people’, J. Fish and Kate Karban (eds) Social Work and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Health Inequalities: International Perspectives The Policy Press.

• Westwood, S. (2013) ‘“We are Older Women Too”: Under-Recognition of Older Lesbians in Research, Social Policy and Provision’, in S. Bamford and J. Watson (eds) Ageing and Women: Has the sisterhood forgotten older women?  pp 118-20, London: International Longevity Centre.

Case Notes, Commentaries, Book Reviews and Encyclopaedia Entries

• Westwood, S. (in press) ‘MS.10217 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Aging’, International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences XX: XXX-XXX.

• Westwood, S. (2012) Sex for Life: From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout  Our Lives, by Laura M. Carpenter and John DeLamater (eds), Ageing and Society, 32: 1451-1452.

• Westwood, S. (2011) ‘FLT Archive: A Rich Resource for Feminist and Socio-legal Research’, Feminism and Legal Theory Project, Summer, 1-8.

Presentations

• Westwood, S. (2013) ‘Bathed in (Heteronormative) Light: Older Lesbians in Residential and Nursing Care.’ British Society of Gerontology’s annual conference 2013.

• Westwood, S. (2013) ‘Bathed in (Heteronormative) Light: Older Lesbians in Residential and Nursing Care.’ Revaluing Care Workshop 2: Caring about Social Interconnection, University of Adelaide, Australia, 1-2 September 2013.

• Westwood, S. and Almack, K. (2012) ‘Older LGBT Issues in the UK’, Q&A panel following showing of GenSilent, part of ‘LGB History Month’, February 2013, Coventry University, UK.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘Suicide among Older Lesbians and Gay Men’, ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ panel on suicide, part of ‘Kicking the Bucket: A Festival of Living and Dying’, October 2012, Oxford, UK.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘Imagining Care Among Older Lesbians and Gay Men’, 'Resourcing Care' workshop, 19-20 September 2012, Keele University, UK.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘Services for Older LGBT people’, Keynote speech at LGBT conference, Warwickshire County Council. Don’t Assume…..Services for LGBT People’ at Northgate House Conference Centre, Warwick, UK, 5th September 2012.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘Gender, Sexuality and Law: The Added Dimension of Age’, Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘LGBT Ageing in the UK’: Rainbow Health, Ontario, Canada, 17th October 2012.

• Westwood, S. (2012) ‘LGBT Ageing in the UK,’ LGBT Aging Project, Boston, MA, USA, October 2012.

• Westwood, S. (2011) ‘Older people with LGB identities: a feminist social-legal perspective’, Sexuality and Legal Transformation, PECANS conference, Westminster University, London, UK, 7th-8th April 2011.

• Westwood, S. (2011) ‘Connecting Social Gerontology and Feminist Socio-Legal Studies: The Marginalisation of Older People with LGB Identities’, Social Science PGR Conference, Keele University, UK, 18th March 2011.

• Westwood, S. (2011) ‘The Ideal Woman is not Old’, The Ideal Woman, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland, 11th – 12th March, 2011.

• Westwood, S. (2011) ‘Older people with LGB identities: a feminist social-legal perspective’, Feminism and Legal Theory Project: Feminism and Aging Workshop, Emory University School of Law, USA, 21st – 22nd January, 2011

Sue is also a freelance trainer, researcher and consultant.