Senior sex: exploring the sex lives of older adults.Sexuality, Sexual Health, and Ageing. By Merryn Gott. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY: Open University Press, 2005, 149 pages. Paper, $36.95. Increasingly, people in industrial nations are living longer, maintaining their health into ages previously thought unattainable. Due to the rapid increase in aging in the past fifty years, relatively little research has been conducted on sexuality, health, and aging. Sexuality, Sexual Health and Ageing Health and Ageing is a research programme set up by the Geneva Association, also known as the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. The Geneva Association Research Programme on Health and Ageing seeks to bring together facts, figures and analyses is part of the Rethinking Ageing series and was written to address what is known about sexuality and aging, along with the policy and practice implications. Sexuality, Sexual Health and Ageing opens by exploring the contemporary understandings of sexuality and aging. The author, Merryn Gott, argues that both previous thoughts on aging and sexuality and creation of new myths of sexuality and aging can be equally dangerous. Gott sets out to reveal the myths of "asexual asexual /asex·u·al/ (a-sek´shoo-al) having no sex; not sexual; not pertaining to sex. a·sex·u·al adj. 1. Having no evident sex or sex organs; sexless. 2. old age" and the "sexy oldie old·ie n. Something old, especially a song that was once popular. oldie Noun Informal an old song, film, or person Noun 1. ." Perhaps the most significant contribution of this chapter was Gott's insight into the new myth of the "sexy oldie" as a potentially hazardous and confining con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. stereotype stereotype (stĕr`ĕətīp'), plate from which printing is done, made by casting metal in a mold, usually of paper pulp. The process was patented in 1725 by the Scottish inventor William Ged. . Gott argues that the new "sexy oldie" myth is creating an environment in which older men and women feel pressured to pop sexual enhancement pills and maintain perfect bodies in attempts to conform to Verb 1. conform to - satisfy a condition or restriction; "Does this paper meet the requirements for the degree?" fit, meet coordinate - be co-ordinated; "These activities coordinate well" the youthful standard of sex and beauty. Depicting older adults as either asexual or sexy is restrictive; viewing the sex lives of older adults as complicated and multi-dimensional is both more accurate and more freeing. Gott's thoughts are original and progressive compared to other researchers in this field of study. The focus of the middle of the book is older peoples' experiences of sexuality and aging. Gott looks to the literature to discover what we currently know about sexuality and aging across cultures. Gott does a good job highlighting previous researchers' findings by reporting their methods and results in a concise and clear manner. "Sex" is defined widely, and the middle chapters "move away from the narrow, coital-focused understanding of sexuality in order to address issues such as sexual attractiveness and body image" (p. 61) among older adults. The importance of sex to older people is highlighted by referencing Gott's own qualitative interview/focus group study. The quotes from these older adult respondents add a personal dimension to the text, making this section perhaps the most interesting part of the book. Here the reader can put aside the sociological jargon used throughout the rest of the book and observe more directly older adults' opinions regarding their sexuality and the sexuality of their peers. There is a section of the book devoted to diversity in later life, including diversity based on gender, sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. , partnership status, socioeconomic status socioeconomic status, n the position of an individual on a socio-economic scale that measures such factors as education, income, type of occupation, place of residence, and in some populations, ethnicity and religion. , living circumstances, ethnicity, age, and cohort. Although several types of diversity are discussed, this section feels unfinished and deficient. The reader is left wanting more information. The book closes with consideration of sexual health, sexual problems, and aging. Gott examines sexual risk-taking and sexually transmitted infections in later life and health professionals' views on later-life sexuality and sexual health. Encouragement, interventions, and advice are offered to health educators regarding how to inform older adults about STIs/HIV and how particular behaviors may put elders at risk for these aliments ALIMENTS. In the Roman and French law this word signifies the food and other things necessary to the support of life, as clothing and the like. The same name is given to the money allowed for aliments. Dig. 50, 16, 43. 2. . Gott also spends considerable space questioning the concept of sexual "dysfunction" as associated with aging. She questions what "normal" sexual functions are in older adults. Furthermore, she asks, if the individual doesn't perceive a change in his or her sex life (due to aging) to be a problem, is it really a dysfunction? There were only two major weaknesses to the book. Although it is a relatively short book, parts were repetitive and poorly organized. Also, it was unclear for whom Gott wrote. The book was written above the "average" reader from the general public, yet it was not as rigorous as most academic volumes. Still, overall the book was perceptive per·cep·tive adj. 1. Of or relating to perception. 2. Having the ability to perceive. 3. Keenly discerning. per and provided solid information on the sociological issues associated with sexuality and aging. I recommend this book to sociologists or sex researchers/educators interested in sexuality and aging. Reviewed by Rose Hartzell, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Program of Health Science, HPER HPER Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building 308-I, Fayetteville, AR, 72701; e-mail: rosehartzell@hotmail.com. |
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