Horny old broads, dirty old men. These commonly used terms speak volumes about how society views older people who are interested in sex. Experts say such derogatory labels reflect a deep level of discomfort in our youth-oriented culture with the idea that seniors are sexually active. Sex is identified with reproduction, youthful attractiveness, and power -- and most young and even middle-aged people do not want to confront the inevitability of growing old. So sexual intimacy among older Americans is a subject that people don't talk about much.

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While the frequency of sex often declines with age, many older adults—of course—can and do have sex. In fact, roughly 40 percent of men and women ages 65 to 80 are sexually active, according to a survey, and women in their 70s often express more satisfaction with sex than women in their 40s. Although sexual activity is considered an important measure of the quality of life for the majority of older adults, there are a number of problems that can arise with age. While treatments have improved for conditions such as erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness , incontinence, and uterine prolapse in women, people may not bring these concerns to their doctor's attention. Understanding more about what sex in older age can be like, what else may be affecting your sex life and how to address it, and ways to maintain or even jumpstart this kind of intimacy can go a long way in you being able to continue to enjoy this part of your life. Until recently, there have been relatively few studies and surveys that have looked into how often older adults are having sex, and the results have been surprising to some. A National Poll on Healthy Aging conducted in association with the University of Michigan confirmed what some earlier studies have found with regard to sexual activity in older adults:.
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Is sex for older adults just as common , and just as satisfying, as it is for younger adults? In the past, not much research in this area existed. People assumed that, as people got older, sex became a thing of the past. Now, we know that people aged 70 and beyond are reporting having active, fulfilling sex lives. Since , researchers in Sweden have been surveying people over the age of 70 about their sex lives.
Gerontophilia is the primary sexual attraction to the elderly. A person with such a sexual preference is a gerontophile. The word gerontophilia was coined in by psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. The prevalence of gerontophilia is unknown. There are other possible motivations for these offenses, such as rage or sadism, or the increased vulnerability of elderly as a social group, [5] which are factors that may not involve a sexual preference for the elderly.