There are plenty of dirty old women out there, and they’re making whoopee.
A National Poll on Aging, conducted by the University of Michigan, found that 40% of people between the ages of 65 and 80 are still playing around under the sheets. And two-thirds of respondents, including those without partners, say they are still interested in sex.
Joan Price is author of three books about sex after sixty and is a powerful advocate for the needs of this highly-experienced cohort. “Yes, it exists. Yes, it’s wonderful. No, it’s not like younger age sex but it is fabulous in its own right,” she says, ticking off the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Of the 1,002 people surveyed, 73% report a satisfying sex life. “We need to go on a journey of exploration to find out how we can have hot, spicy sex,” Price suggests, and is quick to remind that for many in this group, widowed, divorced or abandoned, satisfaction doesn’t always involve a partner.
Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t going to let a study like this go by without closer examination, hitting the streets to find senior citizens with opinions. “The truth is, of course we love men, and we want to be in bed with men,” exclaims one excited elderly woman. “I still enjoy hearing about sex, and all of that,” chimes in another. “To this day I have a very romantic husband, kissing me, fondling me, constantly not leaving me alone,” giggles another.
“We used to be very hormonally driven and goal oriented, and now when we don’t have the hormones or the goals, we find we can really expand our notion of what good sex is, and what sex is. It can be other ways of being aroused or satisfied,” says Price.
18% of men and 3% of elderly women say they use medications to improve their sex lives.