Sexuality & Aging: Provocative New Perspectives

The Winter Generations Journal issue “Sexuality & Aging: Provocative New Perspectives,” may be one of the more actively anti-ageist approaches to a topic we have featured in Generations. Guest Editor Gayle Doll is an incredibly curious, open-minded and...

Imagine this: Your 80-year-old father takes you out on a pond in a paddle boat, stops paddling, turns to you, his 50-something-year-old daughter and says, “Something's wrong with your mom and me. Our sex life isn't what it used to be.” Yes, that was me, the daughter,...

“Sex as an older adult? I don't even have time to have it, much less write about it!” That was my first thought when I sat down to write this piece. I was in the midst of responding to the tidal wave of emails that had flooded in after the U.S. Supreme Court released...

Abstract: Although many older adults today came of age during the sexual revolution, outdated and ageist beliefs persist that sex does not or should not take place between residents in long-term care (LTC) communities. Baby Boomers have enjoyed greater sexual freedom...

Abstract: Sexual consent is a contentious subject, especially for people with cognitive impairment. A recent Delphi study explored the determinants of sexual consent in people with dementia to support safe sexual expression. The study resulted in an evolving...

Abstract: Older people, including those with dementia who those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or intersex (LGBTI), have experienced, and continue to experience stigma, discrimination, and prejudice in long-term care services. While sharing my work...

Abstract: As a sexual identity, bisexuality has historically characterized a contested, unique, and dynamic set of sexual attractions and experiences. Due to recent shifts in cultural understandings of diverse sexual and gender experiences, the bounds of what “bi” can...

Abstract: If stereotypes are known to condition behavior in older adults, could movie portrayals of older adult sexuality demonstrate that intimate relationships are a normal part of growing older? Conversely, are they more likely to reinforce asexuality with age?...

Abstract: Sex education resources aimed at older adults are scarce and difficult to access. Carefully curated adult shops are filling that role by educating their staff and providing educational materials and products chosen with older adults' sexual health and...

Abstract: Conversations about sex and death are hindered by cultural taboos and structural limitations in our healthcare system and our broader society. Sharing stories can help break down these taboos and generate support for institutional change. This article uses...

Abstract: Conversations about sexualities, aging, and death can be difficult in long-term relationships. Sex therapy focusing on new ways of doing partnered relationships can be helpful in rehabilitating sexual health and establishing a more playful and adaptive...

Abstract: Sexuality educator and author Jane Fleishman discusses the need to focus on sexual pleasure instead of sexual dysfunction for older adults. She exhorts her readers to notice the impact of current political and social upheaval, the pandemic, the recent Dobbs...