LOS ANGELES — LGBT seniors in the U.S. face unique challenges, such as higher rates of isolation and fewer familial support systems compared to non-LGBT elders, multiple studies say. However, a new generation of LGBT elders is challenging the statistics.

"A lot of people's impression of seniors is that we're gray hair with a cane and we sort of walk around as seniors," said 60-year-old Alejandro Ramirez while attending a cardio soul dance class at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. "I represent a new generation of seniors… We love to participate. We love to keep young."

Ramirez and others were joined by members of "RuPaul's Drag Race," including season 16's Hershii, who said it was a pleasure to enrich the lives of the community's older residents.

"I know I'm a daddy of two. Not a lot of people, not a lot of our elders, unfortunately, got that opportunity to be a parent or to live beyond the HIV epidemic, any of that," Hershii said. "And we get to give back and show them that, you know, because they survived, we're surviving."

In 2022, there were more than 2.4 million LGBT adults over age 50 in the U.S. — a number expected to double by 2030 to more than 5 million, according to the Movement Advancement Project.