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Forget gentle games of bridge over cups of Earl Grey tea, the “silver set” are a lot more sexually active than they’re given credit for.
That it’s such a shock to many proves that “ageism” is alive and well, because, well, why shouldn’t our grandparents be getting it on, and with such vigour?
The only problem with the lustiness of pensioners is the alarming rise of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with evidence that rates of STIs among older adults are rising all around the world.
Facing the problem head-on is a UK Government agency, that have included safe sex preparation in their health guidelines for Britons (more than a quarter of cruise passengers are over the age of 60) embarking on a cruise holiday. The advice included for the pensioners to pack “indate, good quality condoms.”
It’s advice that needs to be given out more frequently. As The New York Times reported in its account of the climb in STIs in older Americans, there needs to be “safe sex campaigns” aimed not just at high school and university students, but the nursing home set who can no longer get pregnant, but who lived before the time of sex education and don’t consider protection relevant to them.
The rise in STIs in senior citizens has several reasons behind it. As The Conversation pointed out earlier in the year, the number of single older adults has grown because of divorce and widowhood, and a large number of them are now using online dating to meet new partners. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities it seems, are not too dissimilar to university dorms when it comes to the ‘hook-up culture’. Plus, we’re living longer than ever, leaving more time and opportunity to “fraternise”.
As The Conversation pointed out, a lack of sexual health policy for older Australians is a form of ageism. Older Australians are having sex, and an awful lot of it. This should be celebrated – swung from the chandeliers perhaps – but it’s time to reiterate that the old sex ed slogan, “no glove, no love,” – is applicable to everybody, no matter what their age.
