Aging and sexuality
Age-related decline in sexual activity is characteristic of a person, but it very much depends on the socio-cultural context in which elderly people manifest their sexuality.
Biosocial aspects of the relationship of human sexuality with ageHumans age more slowly than great apes, which in turn age more slowly than other more primitive primates.
African chimpanzees practically do not live to be 50 years old. Representatives of hunter-gatherer and agricultural tribes living in the Kalahari, Tanzania, Paraguay and Bolivia live longer, but they have a certain arsenal of technologies and knowledge, so it is unclear to what extent we can extrapolate modern mortality data to our ancestors.
As a result of a comprehensive analysis of archaeological and paleontological samples, experts came to the conclusion that the slowing down of the physiological aging of the Homo species occurred at some stage during the last 2 million years. At the same time, according to a more specific scientific assumption, life expectancy began to include a post–productive period only in modern humans - about 200,000 years ago.
Serious disputes have flared up over the fact that the life expectancy of women far exceeds their reproductive period. Some experts explain this phenomenon by the fact that caring for grandchildren indirectly contributes to the transfer of genes to the next generations, while others consider caring for grandchildren to be a side effect of a long life expectancy that has increased for some other reasons.
Studies have shown that a long post-productive period of female life is not unique to humans. Observations of captive populations of animals of various species, from mice to gorillas, have shown that the slowing down of the processes of physiological aging in them is in many ways similar to human. The result of this is an increase in the duration of the post-productive period, during which, among other things, you can have sex.
Although women are more often the object of research devoted to the study of human reproductive aging, the physiological aging of the male body can also be considered from an evolutionary point of view. The study of the age-related fertility of men from hunter-gatherer tribes showed that in all populations it does not differ from the female. For the most part, this is due to the fact that reproduction in these tribes usually occurs within the framework of long-term relationships that form the overall fertility of the couple.
The fact that human sexual and reproductive behavior is usually limited to long-term relationships (with a slight bias towards polygamy) deserves attention, since in this it differs from the great apes. Apparently, this social feature is the result of the last two million years of evolution of the Homo species. However, male individuals in both humans and monkeys retain fertility longer than female individuals. This can be partly explained by the fact that men are more likely to marry (and, accordingly, have children) at a later age than women. Moreover, they are more likely than women to have children after a divorce or termination of a relationship. However, male reproductive potential also decreases with age.
For humans, as for most other mammalian species, sexual differences in the nature of physiological aging are characteristic, the reason for which lies in selection by gender. Numerous studies of mammalian and avian populations conducted in natural habitats have shown that early mortality is characteristic of males of polygamous species, whereas the mortality profiles of females and males of monogamous species are comparable. As for humans, women on average live longer than men, but the severity of this pattern is much less than in populations of orangutans and gorillas.
The peak of female fertility occurs at 25-35 years, after which it declines and disappears during menopause. As the ovaries age, the ability to produce eggs suitable for fertilization and release sex hormones decreases, which weakens sexual reactions. An age-related decrease in the level of estrogen, especially during menopause, negatively affects the moistening of the vagina and the elasticity of its vessels, and can also reduce sexual desire. The decrease in oxytocin production, which is correlated with a decrease in estrogen levels, can affect a woman's emotional participation in existing socio-sexual relationships.
In the male body, testosterone levels begin to decline after the age of 30, although the nature of this decline varies in different populations. The decrease in male libido and erectile function becomes more noticeable after the age of 60, which, in part, can be explained by an age-related decrease in testosterone levels. All these changes underlie age-related changes in sexual behavior. For example, in the post-menopausal period, women's behavioral priorities clearly shift towards investing in their growing grandchildren.
Aging and sexual behavior in the United StatesStudies conducted in the USA in recent decades have shown that the frequency of sexual contacts is inversely proportional to age; the average values decrease from 78 sexual contacts per year at the age of 18-30 to 23 at 60-69 years.
The age-related decline in the proportion of sexually active men and women in all age categories is more pronounced in women.
As for sexual practices, the vast majority of elderly people practice vaginal sex. For example, 87% of women and 91% of men aged 57-64 claimed that they usually practice this type of sexual contact. At the same time, the frequency of oral sex and masturbation decreases sharply with age. According to the respondents, 53% of women and 62% of men aged 57-64 years, 35% of women and 28% of men aged 75-84 years have had oral sex in the last 12 months. As for masturbation, the figures fell from 32% for women aged 57-64 to 22% in 65-74 years and to 16% in 75-84 years. In men, these figures were 63%, 53% and 28%. A decrease in the frequency of masturbation, which, unlike oral or vaginal sex, does not depend on the consent of the partner, indicates that the age shift in sexual behavior is significantly influenced by a decrease in sexual desire.
There are several approaches to the interpretation of sex differences in age-related models of sexuality. According to one of them, they can be an indicator of sexual differences in the severity of sexual desire that persists in old age. This interpretation may be more sensitive given the sex differences in the frequency of masturbation. Another important reason for the described trends is the change in the sex ratio as the sample ages. Men are more likely to be older than their spouses and die at an earlier age than women, who, in turn, are less likely to remarry than men. All this, as the same group of people ages, shifts the demographic situation towards an increase in the number of single women, i.e. older women are simply much less likely to continue having sex than men. As a result, in the age group of 75-84, 78% of men and only 40% of women note the presence of marital or other intimate relationships. Poor self-esteem of health is also associated with a decrease in sexual activity of both sexes, while medications taken to treat age-related pathologies may have side effects manifested in a decrease in sexual desire and sexual function.
As a result of the National Survey on Sexual Health and Behavior conducted in the USA in 2010, despite a wider age range of respondents (14-94 years) and other methods of collecting information (via the Internet), generally similar models of age-related changes in sexual behavior were obtained.
The results of the work devoted to the study of the influence of menopause on sexual behavior are also interesting. According to the data obtained, the menopausal transition period has a stable effect on sexual behavior due to a decrease in estrogen levels, which may be accompanied by pain during sexual intercourse and a decrease in sexual desire.
Aging and sexual behavior in different culturesIn a study by Laumann et al.
(2006) 27,500 sexually active women and men aged 40 to 80 from 29 countries, including South Africa, Japan, Australia and Mexico, took part. Important conclusions from the results of this international study are that satisfaction with sex life and relationships with a partner are closely interrelated (which is not surprising, given the importance of long-term relationships in human culture), as well as the fact that there may be significant variations in levels of satisfaction with sex life and relationships with a partner among age populations.
The worst results were shown by the Japanese and Thais, about 60% of whom noted satisfaction with sexual life; at the same time, about only 15% of Japanese and 20% of Thais were satisfied with their relationship with a partner. At the same time, Australians had levels of satisfaction with sex life and relationships with a partner of about 90% and 70%, respectively.
In order to conduct a systematic analysis of aging and sexuality in small communities, such as hunter-gatherer tribes, pastoralists and farmers, Winn and Newton (1982) processed the information contained in the Human Relations Area Files. They found that elderly men remain sexually active in 20 out of 28 communities, information about which is available in the file, and elderly women – in 22 out of 26.
One of the mechanisms supporting the sexual activity of older men is the marriage with young women, including in the framework of polygamous marriages. One of the reasons for the creation of such unions is the desire to have more children, which is typical for Kuwaiti Bedouins and Chukchis. However, the obstacle in this way, at least in five communities, is the physical unattractiveness of old men. In other communities, the idea that an elderly man and woman continue to have sex is considered disgusting just because they already have grandchildren. In such cases, it is implied that "grandparents" should sacrifice their sexual life in favor of the younger generation.
One of the noteworthy models of female sexuality registered in 18 out of 22 communities is sexual relations in which a man is much younger than a woman. As a rule, such couples of different ages are formed not because young men find older women more attractive, but because of the inaccessibility of other partners for them. In some communities, young people use older women as "sex instructors". Another variant of a relationship with an older woman is levirate – the forced marriage of a younger brother with the wife of a deceased older brother, practiced in some cultures.
In some regions of India, it is believed that a couple should stop sexual relations after the marriage of the eldest son, which clearly indicates a shift in family priorities. In the Oneida religious community, which existed in the middle of the XIX century in New England (USA), young men cohabited with women in the post-menopausal period. This made it possible to avoid pregnancies and occupied young men, which opened up to (older) political leaders sexual access to young women. In some tribes of South Africa, elderly women are allowed not to hide extramarital relationships with young men, since their husbands are often absent for a long time and, perhaps, are less jealous than in their youth.
A remarkable model of female sexuality in a number of primitive cultures is also sexual emancipation in the post-menopausal period. Women begin to make obscene jokes and show increased sexual aggressiveness. Interestingly, aging men do not experience such a feeling of liberation from prohibitions and restrictions. On the other hand, in some communities, aging women often separate from their husband and live with the family of an adult son in order to avoid the opportunity to vent their sexuality.
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An analysis of the results of all studies devoted to the study of the relationship between aging and sexual behavior revealed the existence of a number of fundamental models. One of them is that the frequency and diversity of sexual contacts decrease with age, which corresponds to assumptions based on evolutionary theory and age-related changes in the mechanisms underlying sexual reactions. According to another model, sexual behavior usually manifests itself within the framework of long-term relationships, which indicates their importance in terms of a recently formulated evolutionary approach, as well as regarding demographic and cultural aspects of partner availability. Finally, the specifics of the relationship between aging and sexual behavior largely depend on the social context.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the article by Peter B. Gray and Justin R. Garcia
Aging and Human Sexual Behavior: Biocultural Perspectives – A Mini-Review (Gerontology, 2012).
26.11.2012