MGordon_MD
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Nov 29, 2007, 10:11 AM
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By Dr. Michael Gordon
Everyone is interested in stories about sex. Magazines, books, movies and newspapers are replete with articles about sex.
From time immemorial, the human species has been fascinated, titillated, satisfied and disappointed about things sexual in nature, whether they affect us or are related to another person.
The Bible is replete with sexual references, as are the classics and modern novels. As has happened with so many of the greats, the biblical King David’s success was focused too heavily on material gains, and it corrupted him. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and, in his later years age, took the beautiful Abishag into his bed for “health” reasons – it is said – “but the king knew her not.”
Helen of Troy’s abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War, about which Homer wrote his two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Nothing has changed in contemporary times; many of the stories that enthral us are related to romantic and sexual relationships – those that are illicit, those that are doomed and those that are successful.
In general, the main focus of sexuality has been the younger or, perhaps from time to time, the middle-aged population. Scan the cover of Cosmopolitan, whose pages virtually explode with articles about sex. Many articles in the magazine are quite explicit and detailed, and generally directed to younger adults. Every now and then, when an older, especially famous person, usually male (the late singer Luciano Pavarotti and the artist Pablo Picasso, for example), is involved sexually with a younger person, often female, the public either lauds the prowess of the elder partner or questions the motivation of the younger.
Sexually active individuals who are not the subject of novels and movies are rarely in the media spotlight. From time to time, though, a newspaper headline comments with some astonishment that “older people do it.” It was therefore with great satisfaction to those in the eldercare professions to read an article in the Aug. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine titled A Study of Sexuality and Health Among Older Adults in the United States. Many American studies resonate with Canadian realities – so this article was relevant to Canadians.
There were good-news messages in the publication of the article and in the article itself. First, an important aging issue was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world. Secondly, although sexual activity declined with age for various reasons including health concerns, 53 per cent of those between 65 and 74 and 26 per cent of those between 75 and 85 reported some sexual activity. Older women were less likely to be sexually active, partially due to the absence of a spouse or other intimate relationship.
Some of the barriers to sexual activity were medical problems for which there are treatments, but there was a reluctance noted in discussing the concerns with one’s physician. Some problems, such as erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness in woman, are treatable.
As has been noted in previous studies, the main barrier to satisfactory and fulfilling sexual activities is not lack of desire or interest – but rather the decreased options for partners, a greater problem for older women than men.
Children of aging parents shouldn’t be surprised or shocked if their parents express sexual interests. Such interests are normal and healthy and, if possible, should be encouraged and supported.
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Dr. Michael Gordon is Medical Program Director, Palliative Care Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System in Toronto, Canada and Professor of Medicine, at the University of Toronto. He is co-author with Bart Mindszenthy of Parenting Your Parents.
Parenting Your Parents is available in bookstores and online at: Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is available in a US edition: Parenting Your Parents: Support Strategies for Meeting the Challenge of Aging in America.
For bulk orders email info@dundurn.com. Call: 416-214-5544 or Fax: 416-214-5556
(This post was edited by StephenWinbaum on Nov 29, 2007, 11:51 AM)
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