‘No, My Husband Isn’t Dead, [But] One Has to Re-Invent Sexuality’: Reading Erica Jong for the Future of Aging

Abstract

New biomedicalized forms of longevity, anti-aging ideals, and the focus on successful aging have permeated the current sociocultural and political climate, and will affect the future of aging. This article examines changing attitudes towards sexual practices and the perception of sexuality in later years, as exemplified in Erica Jong's middle and late life works and interviews. Instead of succumbing to anti-aging culture and biomedicalization of sex in old age, Jong reveals alternative ways of exploring sexual practices in older age, and challenges a pharmaceutical market that promotes the consumption of medication to enhance the idea of virility and 'sexual fitness' in older men. Jong's work undoes the narrative of decline that portrays older individuals as sexually inactive and frail, and, at the same time, shows that the interest in sexual intercourse and the erect phallus gradually becomes less important as people grow older. This qualitative narrative analysis opens the discussion for reconsideration of late-life sexuality beyond biomedical understandings of late-life sex and old age. The study also reveals how a literary approach can provide alterative and more realistic perspectives towards sexual experiences in later stages of life that can have significant implications for healthcare policy and the future of aging.

On the Hunt for Noble Savages: Romance Tourism and Ageing Femininities

“…It has argued that ageing women, especially the representatives of the baby-boom generation, often turn to romance tourism to recreate their sexual subjectivity, reconnect with their youthful selves, and enhance a sense of self-worth and self-confidence that cannot be often found at home. By reversing age-, race-, class-and gender-related notions that otherwise would be more complicated to challenge in their home spaces, older women undo the narrative of decline and the double standard of ageing, as they show that asexuality and age are not correlated [7,32,[34][35][36]53,55]. Although a variety of travel media, advertising and the model of successful ageing promote sex and active engagement with life as beneficial to both physical and emotional wellbeing, they overlook the fact that the convergence of leisure travel and sex is closely wedded to a higher vulnerability to STDs, sex-related risks, and emotional damage when the holiday fantasy is over.…”

“…In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that older adults themselves tend to normalise sexual diversity and alternative meanings of sex in later years [7,18,[34][35][36][53][54][55]. According to Berdychevsky and Nimrod, as people grow older, emotional intimacy, touching and compliments gain more importance, and are regarded as "'nourishment for the soul' and as a context for companionship and a loving relationship" [7] (p. 232).…”

“…According to Berdychevsky and Nimrod, as people grow older, emotional intimacy, touching and compliments gain more importance, and are regarded as "'nourishment for the soul' and as a context for companionship and a loving relationship" [7] (p. 232). In later years, penetrative sex becomes less significant, while the need for intimacy, emotional bonding, affectionate expressions and a sense of closeness increase as people grow older [7,18,[34][35][36][53][54][55]. However, these notions "are missing from the perceptions and definitions of sexual practices in current successful ageing discourse, in which late-life sex is defined in terms of sexual fitness and endorsed under the healthy ageing paradigm" [53] (p. 6).…”

“…In later years, penetrative sex becomes less significant, while the need for intimacy, emotional bonding, affectionate expressions and a sense of closeness increase as people grow older [7,18,[34][35][36][53][54][55]. However, these notions "are missing from the perceptions and definitions of sexual practices in current successful ageing discourse, in which late-life sex is defined in terms of sexual fitness and endorsed under the healthy ageing paradigm" [53] (p. 6). Hence, critically addressing the growing focus on sex in older age as beneficial to one's physical and psychological health, and redesigning sexual health and ageing policies, may help reduce the risk of STDs, and the peer and social pressure to engage in penetrative sexual activity.…”

“…Hence, critically addressing the growing focus on sex in older age as beneficial to one's physical and psychological health, and redesigning sexual health and ageing policies, may help reduce the risk of STDs, and the peer and social pressure to engage in penetrative sexual activity. Sex-educators and healthcare practitioners should also encourage dialogue in order to overcome the difficulty of discussing sex-related issues and offer alternative narratives of sexuality, that are still seen as a taboo topic among many older individuals [24,53,54].…”