Well, the secret is out. The New England Journal of Medicine published a report breaking the news that most of us already knew: A healthy sex life is not only possible, it’s very common, well into our golden years. Retiring from your job doesn’t necessarily mean retiring from working your love muscle. Older people tend to enjoy and desire sex just as much as younger people. We just don’t usually work up a sweat anymore when we’re doing it.
Let’s Dispel All Of Those Old Preconceptions.
The hindrances towards maintaining a rewarding sex life past a certain age are generally social and medical ones. Although even these statistics defy the age-old myths and misconceptions about impotence and dysfunction in the elderly. The New England Journal of Medicine’s report showed that only one in two people over the age of 57 admit to suffering from a sex related health problem. (The operative word there being “admit.”) The most common of these are erectile dysfunction, dryness and an inability to achieve an orgasm. (Also known as the trifecta of sexual dysfunction.) Recent developments in medicine and therapy have more than made up for these problems, for the most part. So there’s no reason that they should be a stumbling block anymore. It’s kind of sad when you think how our parent’s generation did not get to enjoy the sexual benefits that we do. Now it’s part of what makes living longer worthwhile.
The social setbacks to people over 60 having a rewarding sex life generally come, regrettably, from such trusted sources as family, doctors and caretakers. They often buy into the myth of the asexual old geezer and are unsupportive of the social and personal needs of people past a certain age who find themselves having grown dependent on those around them. Many doctors tend to jump to the conclusion that their older patients are electively sexually inactive.
Sometimes these professionals are just misinformed, other times; they might be trying to save themselves from a potentially embarrassing conversation. Either way, this tends to put it into the hands of the patient to bring the subject up at the next check- up. Talking with those that help you in your daily life is also imperative, and you shouldn’t be shy to ask family members to introduce you into their own social circles, help you get around to social gatherings or introduce you to other horny old geezers.
Sadly, a major setback in maintaining a healthy sex life is the lack of a partner.
Many people over 60 find themselves widowed with many years of of healthy, active life ahead of them. In this day and age, very few widows and widowers are willingly abstaining from sex to preserve the memory of their wife or husband. That practice probably stopped being commonplace sometime in the old west. However, to the one or two readers out there who are just that old fashioned; The last thing someone wants is for their untimely passing to leave their loved one forever unhappy and unfulfilled, and the only way to truly honor the memory of our dearly departed is to make the most out of the years we have left in our own lifetimes. If the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn’t you want your partner to move on and find satisfaction after you were gone? (If not, you’re a dick.)
Perhaps the media is to blame for the misconception that senior citizens aren’t interested in sex.
In general, the celebrities wearing skimpy bathing suits on the cover of popular magazines are thin, white and in their 20s, and those over 60 are just one of the many groups of people completely ignored by this kind of attitude in the media. However, there are always those older sex symbols that prove otherwise. Sean Connery (God rest his soul) was chosen as People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive when he was 59, George Clooney turns 60 next year, and Harrison Ford is pushing 80 for crying out loud. Jane Seymour is in her late 60s, Helen Mirren is in her 70s, Jane Fonda is in her 80s and they’re all still hotter than a California brush fire! But, for the most part, we’re all made to feel that we can never be as attractive as the ridiculous young bulimia victims gracing the covers of popular magazines.
Most people over the age of 60 don’t need to be told that it’s still possible to be attractive, to feel sexy and to desire a healthy and active sex life, but the very idea of it perpetuates stereotypes in the minds of an overwhelming majority of uninformed people. The important thing is to not let it get to you. Many seniors report that the tendency for society to remain ignorant and inattentive to the sexual needs of those over 60 makes them angry. For some, in response to the endless discouragement provided by popular culture and those who don’t have the facts, they simply give up on maintaining a healthy sex life.
The first step to a rewarding sex life is to acknowledge yourself as an attractive, desirable individual, and an important part of that is disregarding any discouragement that comes your way. If those gossip rags and celebrity magazines make you feel uncomfortable with your own image, just stop reading them. If the people around you find it ridiculous that you would still consider looking for a sex partner at your age, just tell them that it doesn’t matter what they think and they should bugger off! (Assuming their British.)
A healthy sex life is an important part of just about any rewarding lifestyle.
Maintaining a healthy sex life past the age of 60 may seem like an uphill battle, and certainly, society unfairly places some stumbling blocks in the way, but to give up on such an important part of what it means to be human is just wrong. If nothing else, a healthy sex life is a declaration that you’re not nearly finished yet, that some of your best years are still ahead of you, and that you won’t be content to simply sit around for the rest of your life waiting to kick the bucket when you could be playing hide the salami.
