Paper Example. Sexuality and the Elderly

There have been beliefs that when people reach some point of their life and age, sexuality declines. However, through the use of healthy living and science, this belief is being broken. Despite the breaking of this belief, a cost gets incurred to achieve the desired outcome of sexuality. Most of the individuals forget that being older requires them to be careful and that they can make anything that they want despite their age. Therefore, the elderly, too, have sex, and this does not cease to exist. I choose an advertisement that explains the issue of the elderly and sexuality.Message of the Advertisement

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The advertisement begins with an opening to a stage whereby it contains several older people who are in their late years. These older adults are wholly clothes. This gets confusing, as one cannot understand what is happening at first sight. After a moment, the advertisement shows clearly that older adults are positioning themselves for sexual positions. The advertisement displayed 15 areas that the older people present, and all this happens for 20 seconds. The ad posted words as follows on the screen "In Florida, alone STDs in seniors have risen 71%" (Minichiello et al.2012). This ad clearly did not show condemnation of the older people engaging in sexual activities. Instead, the advertisement encourages them to engage in sex. However, the advertisement wants the seniors to know the risks of safety surrounding the act of sexuality. The ad ends with the following words "Use a condom." This, therefore, shows that the advertisement is teaching the seniors that they can get infected with STD or STIs and that they should be careful with what they do.

Aspects Of Sexual Development Physiological Aspect

Both women and men experience changes in their bodies as they age, which is a physiological aspect of life. In men, they sometimes may experience an inability to rise to the occasion, which means low performance during sexual activities. Some of the men may have erectile dysfunction, which involves a lack of maintenance and achievement of an erection. Other times men may suffer from blocked blood vessels. Viagra was introduced and got approved by the FDA, and this has helped change the perception of older men's performance and those with erectile dysfunction. Before the introduction of Viagra, most of the men would stay away from sexual relationships. Women, on the other hand, just kept quiet and could not speak about what was happening behind the doors.

Women also experience physiological changes. One of the changes that women experience as they age is low vaginal lubrication. Women apply lubrication when engaging in sexual activities, which sometimes is not convenient (Greenberg, Clint, & Sara, 2013). Due to this, doctors have introduced Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), which has gotten used to increase the lubrication of women and prevent vaginal dryness. Without these techniques, some of the women would experience a hard time engaging in sexual activities with their partners.

Psychological Aspect

Both women and men experience psychological changes. Some of these older adults may be in the process of getting into a new relationship years after being alone or with the same person. These people are, however, past the age at which they would get pregnant. Psychological, the older men will, therefore, not think of using the birth control, which in this case, is a condom. Pyschological aspect is one of the most significant moments for women since they are free and have no fear of getting pregnant as they are past the age of child-bearing (Greenberg, Clint & Sara, 2013). Women too have the same thoughts as those of men . they also worry about taking pills in the morning and whether the man put on the condom. As women age, they do not have to worry about bad moods and periods. This is a freedom of liberation for women as they do not need to plan about their periods. The resultant issue is that these older adults do not pay attention to the risks of getting infected with STDs. Recent studies have shown that the number of aging people living with HIV/AIDs has increased over the years (Minichiello et al. 2012). This has gotten attributed to Viagra and MHT.

Social Aspect

Social changes also occur among older women in terms of their sexuality. Socially, sexual relations between older adults are taboo. Talking about one's parent's sexuality is a hard task, but what is more unrealistic is the grandparent's sexuality. Most of the people believe that the purpose of sexual intercourse is to sire children. This, therefore, means that once a woman gets past the age of child-bearing, they are no longer able or supposed to engage in intimate or sexual relations (Greenberg, Clint & Sara, 2013). Sometimes their partner passes away, and the sexual intimacy comes to an end. The partner left if a woman is left with a lot of loneliness and sits all day just knitting. The male widower is left with the chance to play with the grandchildren or attend golfing.

The older adults and friends may have others convinced that engaging in unsafe sexual relations is a good act. This is through words like, there are no chances of getting pregnant. They are old and have already lived their lives. These older adults will not see the importance of using protection since they are already old, and they have always lived with their spouses. In most cases, these older adults experience loneliness in their adult lives for the first time. Therefore, they are looking for comfort and attention.

In conclusion, the increasing chances of STDs and STIs are one of the things that the retirement homes, home aids, doctors, grandchildren, and children of the older adults should pay attention to and address. As both women and men age, they experience psychological, social, and physiological changes in their sexual life. These changes get them to forget that they are at risk of contracting STDs and HIV/AIDs, which may be a bigger problem in their lives. The older adults need to change their minds regarding their sexuality. The global world should also understand that the sexuality of older adults does not improve despite their age.

References

Greenberg, J. S., Bruess, C. E., & Oswalt, S. B. (2014). Exploring the dimensions of human sexuality. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Minichiello, V., Rahman, S., Hawkes, G., & Pitts, M. (n.d.). STI epidemiology in the global older population: emerging challenges - Victor Minichiello, Saifur Rahman, Gail Hawkes, Marian Pitts, 2012. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1757913912445688?journalCode=rshi