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Older
adult sexuality: Myth vs. Fact
| Myth:
Most older adults are not interested in or able to have
enjoyable sex. |
Fact:
Most older adults are interested in sex, and many
lead active sex lives and enjoy sexual activity. This
claim is supported by the following results from a survey
of over 10,000 people (42% responding) [2].
| |
Aged
50-59 |
Aged
60-69 |
Aged
70 and older |
|
Sexually Active * |
|
|
|
| Women |
93% |
81% |
65% |
| Men |
98% |
91% |
79% |
| Sexually
Active, reporting sexual activity at
least once a week * |
|
|
|
| Women |
73% |
63% |
50% |
| Men |
90% |
73% |
58% |
| Sexually
Active, reporting a high level of sexual
enjoyment * |
|
|
|
| Women |
71% |
65% |
61% |
| Men |
90% |
86% |
75% |
|
|
*
Includes sex with a partner or alone (masturbation) |
| Myth:
Older adults are unattractive and not sexually desirable. |
| Fact:
How attractive someone is depends on whom you ask.
If the US cultural ideal of attractiveness (like that
conveyed in the popular media) is taken as a measuring
stick, then hardly any of us could consider ourselves
attractive. The fact is, our society has unrealistic ideals
as far as attractiveness goes. Older adults seem to realize
this, and to recognize truly attractive characteristics
in other older adults. |
| Myth:
Older adults do not have to worry about contracting sexually
transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS. |
| Fact:
Older adults who are having sex with people other
than life partners have to worry about STDs just as much
as younger adults in the same situation, and they should
be practicing safer sex by using either a male or a female
condom. There are about 75,000 individuals in the US who
are over the age of 50 and diagnosed with HIV/AIDS [5].
This is approximately 10% of the total number of cases
in the US [5].
Unfortunately this statistic is also on the rise [5].
To find out more, check out the NIA's older
people and HIV/AIDS page. |
| Myth:
Older gay and lesbian individuals have trouble dealing
with aging because they can no longer find acceptable
partners who are willing to have sex with them. |
| Fact:
Like heterosexual people, gay men and lesbian women
are likely to have satisfying sex lives with age-appropriate
partners through their old age [1].
It has even been postulated that gay men and lesbian women
are better equipped to defy negative stereotypes about
sex and aging, because they are used to dealing with negative
stereotypes about their sexuality [1].
One study found that, of 100 lesbian women surveyed, 66
were still sexually active, and most of those who were
not sexually active said it was not by choice [6].
|
| Myth:
Older women are even less interested in sex than older
men. |
| Fact:
It is likely that the disparity between sexual activity
with a partner found in older men versus that in older
women is not due mainly to any difference in sex drive,
but rather to the fact that women typically outlive men
[4]. Additionally,
although it is relatively acceptable for a man to date
and marry a woman many years his younger, the same cannot
be said for older women [4].
Because of this, older men generally still have sexual
partners, whereas most older widowed women do not. In
1992, more than 48% of all women over the age of 65 were
widowed, while only 15% of men over 65 fell into this
same category [3]. |
References
| 1. |
Berger,
R., & Kelly, J. (1992). The older gay many. In B.
Berzon (Ed.), Positively Gay. Berkeley, CA: Celestial
Arts. |
| 2. |
Brecher,
E. (1984). Love, Sex, and Aging. Boston: Little,
Brown/Consumer Reports. |
| 3. |
Butler,
R., & Lewis, M. (1993). Love and sex after 60.
New York: Ballantine. |
| 4. |
Byer,
C., Shainberg, L., & Galliano, G. (1999). Dimensions
of Human Sexuality. Boston: McGraw-Hill College. |
| 5. |
HIV,
AIDS, and Older People - Age Page - Health Information.
http://www.nih.gov/nia/health/agepages/aids.htm
(December 6, 2000). |
| 6. |
Kehoe,
M. (1989). Lesbians over 60 speak for themselves. Journal
of Homosexuality 16 (3-4). |
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