Family Encyclopedia >> Family

The sexuality of seniors:why is it taboo? What changes with aging

The sexuality of seniors:why is it taboo? What changes with aging

It is well known, love has no age. And yet, talking about seniors' sexuality still remains a taboo in our society as older people live longer and healthier lives. Seniors, despite bodily and physiological changes due to age and, if they accept them, continue to experience a fulfilling sexuality for the vast majority of them. The generation of grandpa-boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), who have experienced sexual liberation, will certainly contribute to talking more openly about the sexuality of seniors in the years to come

Senior sexuality still taboo

Talking about senior sexuality is still a taboo . The Judeo-Christian origin of our society is largely the reason for this unsaid:the sexuality of the elderly no longer has to do with reproduction and, as a result, it becomes doubtful, abnormal, even perverse. On the other hand, in the common image, seniors are still individuals who acquire wisdom with age, who must therefore renounce the pleasures of the flesh and no longer feel strong emotions linked to love.

Sexuality is also associated with youth, with being desirable. A stereotype which still has a hard life in our society and which prevents the youngest from imagining that their parents and their grandparents can still feel attraction for a person of the opposite sex (or not) and therefore does not allow not the older ones to continue to speak freely about their sexuality as when they were younger.

The taboo of seniors' sexuality is even more present in the specialized establishments where many of them reside. Few retirement homes offer living spaces where the privacy of the elderly is preserved.

Sexuality changes with age

More than age, it is the health of seniors (fatigue, heart risks, dementia, pain, etc.) which is the most decisive factor in continuing to live well with one's sexuality. There are also physiological changes, normal with age, in sexual performance that you need to know to better accept them and be able to adapt your sexuality accordingly. In the same way, seniors must learn to accept their new physical appearance as well as the different functioning of their body, especially for sexual intercourse, in order to continue to live a normal sexuality.

Science has made a lot of progress over the past ten years that helps seniors, and in particular men, by marketing molecules that have revolutionized the treatment of erectile dysfunction, problems very often encountered after a certain age. . These advances now allow a large number of seniors to regain a fulfilling sex life.