Sex Education as a Noble Vocation

By MCauch
SageHealth Network

Shortly after my commentary on seniors and sexually transmitted infections was printed in the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/247081), many older adults expressed their views to me in very supportive and approving ways. Many told me they were very pleased by shedding light on the subject. One comment was especially meaningful to me. It came from a 70 year old man from India who told me after reading the article, “what you’re doing is very noble work.”

I was flattered that my message about sexual education for seniors crossed a cultural divide and was seen by both this gentleman and his wife as a worthy cause. If noble work is to raise a warning flag to danger and facilitate access to information that prevents illness and saves lives, so be it.

However, this aspect of raising awareness of sexually transmitted infections among older adults is only one small piece of a much larger picture. It’s all part of a larger, invisible and ignored area of older adulthood--- advocacy for seniors’ sexuality and sexual rights.

Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine released a new study on seniors and sexuality confirming once again that older adults are indeed sexually active.


The latest findings:
• 73% reported being sexually active
• 2/3 had sex at least twice a month
• More than half had sex at least twice a month into their 80s
• People in good physical health were 2x as likely to be sexually active than those in poor or fair health.
• 50% of men and a quarter of the women reported that they engage in self pleasuring
• More than half of those aged 57 to 75 and 1/3 or 75-85 year olds said they gave or received oral sex

People are always so shocked at the thought of seniors having sex. Seniors having sex? This doesn’t happen. They’re too old for such nonsense. They can’t possibly have sex at THAT age! Every time a story comes out reporting the sexuality of seniors, shock and disgust are usually the first reactions that welcome the news. There has been, and will continue to be negativity towards senior sexuality.

The good news is that we won’t have to wait too long for a change in our disbelieving, youth-skewed psyches. In the somewhat near future, seniors and sex will become a practically commonplace notion. The clout of the aging baby boomers will slowly but surely begin to change societal perspectives on everything from architectural design to sex. The boomers will have such a profound influence on aging and sex that the only reaction to greet the subject will be run of the mill, “so-what” shrugs.

But why do we need to wait that long to begin to change societal attitudes? We need to advocate for senior sexuality now. Intimacy, physical connection, the ability to feel emotion, these are all part of being human. Why should these rewards be regarded as the domain of the young? Senior sexuality should be celebrated as a life force of physical and emotional expression. An energy that keeps us healthy, vibrant, and content.

Time will turn the tide of perceptions of senior sexuality but we still need to advocate for senior sexuality. We need to talk about it and bring it out of the shadow of being shameful or taboo.

The New England Journal of Medicine put senior sexuality back in the spotlight. Hopefully, it will stay there for a little while longer before it fades from public consciousness again.