Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ageing Sexualities Through a Critical Lens: Bringing Social Psychology, Sociology, and Intersectionality into Dialogue

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Psychologies of Ageing

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the contribution of critical social psychology and sociology to understandings of the sexualities of older adults. Historically, psychological research on ageing has focused on decline and loss, while psychological research on sexuality has tended to exclude older adults. But new directions are being made, and a growing body of research in social psychology, influenced by insights from sociology, has applied a critical lens to explore the intersections of older age with gender, sexual identity, and other social categories. Such research has demonstrated the diversity of midlife and beyond and enabled the voices of older adults to be heard: voices which challenge the narrative of older age as decline and loss. We draw on our research in the area of older adults and their gendered experiences of ageing, sexual practices, and sexual identities to demonstrate the understandings that critical theorising can bring.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The narratives discussed in this chapter were collected as part of research conducted by Andrew King (in collaboration with Ann Cronin) into the lives and experiences of older LGBT people living and working in a large British city. More details about the sample can be found in King, A. 2016a. Older Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults: Identities, Intersections and Institutions. London: Routledge.

References

  • Age Platform Europe. (n.d.). Join WHO Global Platform Against Ageism. https://www.age-platform.eu/policy-work/news/join-who-global-campaign-against-ageism. Accessed 09 May 2017.

  • Age UK. (2011). A Snapshot of Ageism in the UK and Across Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/en-GB/ID10180%20Snapshot%20of%20Ageism%20in%20Europe.pdf?dtrk=true. Accessed 09 May 2017.

  • Asencio, M., Blank, T. O., Descartes, L., et al. (2009). The Prospect of Prostate Cancer: A Challenge for Gay Men’s Sexualities as They Age. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 6(4), 38–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, C., & Hinchliff, S. (2018). Addressing the Sexual Rights of Older People: Theory, Policy and Practice. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayer, K. (2005). Cosmetic Surgery and Cosmetics: Redefining the Appearance of Age. Generations, 29(3), 13–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, I. V., Steiner, J. F., & Havranek, E. P. (2011). Unconscious (Implicit) Bias and Health Disparities: Where Do We Go from Here? The Permanente Journal, 15(2), 71.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Calasanti, T. (2009). Theorizing Feminist Gerontology and Sexuality: An Intersectional Approach. In V. L. Bengtson, M. Silverstein, N. M. Putney, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Theories of Ageing (pp. 471–486). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, L. F., & Buchanan, D. (2016). Successful Aging: Considering Non-Biomedical Constructs. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 11, 1623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, A.-D., & Jensen, S. Q. (2012). Doing Intersectional Analysis: Methodological Implications for Qualitative Research. NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 20(2), 109–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. (1993). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence Against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries, B. (2014). LG(BT) Persons in the Second Half of Life: The Intersectional Influences of Stigma and Cohort. LGBT Health, 1(1), 18–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health Ireland. (2013). The National Positive Ageing Strategy. Retrieved from: http://health.gov.ie/healthy-ireland/national-positive-ageing-strategy/. Accessed 28 June 2017.

  • Emlet, C. A. (2006). ‘You’re Awfully Old to Have This Disease’: Experiences of Stigma and Ageism in Adults 50 Years and Older Living with HIV/AIDS. Gerontologist, 46(6), 781–790.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fish, J. (2008). Navigating Queer Street: Researching the Intersections of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Identities in Health Research. Sociological Research Online, 13(1). Retrieved from: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/11/12.html. Accessed 21 Nov 08.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. (2008). Culture and Subjectivity in Neoliberal and Postfeminist Times. Subjectivity, 25(1), 432–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gott, M. (2005). Sexuality, Sexual Health and Ageing. Berkshire: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gott, M., & Hinchliff, S. (2003a). Barriers to Seeking Treatment for Sexual Problems in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study with Older People. Family Practice, 20(6), 690–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gott, M., & Hinchliff, S. (2003b). How Important Is Sex in Later Life? The Views of Older People. Social Science and Medicine, 56(8), 1617–1628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, B. (Ed.). (2017). The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gough, B., & McFadden, M. (2001). Critical Social Psychology: An Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government Office for Science. (2016). Future of an Ageing Population. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-an-ageing-population. Accessed 09 May 2017

  • Hill-Collins, P. (2000). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinchliff, S. (2014). Sexing Up the Midlife Woman: Cultural Representations of Ageing, Femininity and the Sexy Body. In I. Whelehan & J. Gwynne (Eds.), Ageing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (pp. 63–77). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinchliff, S., & Gott, M. (2008). Challenging Social Myths and Stereotypes of Women and Aging: Heterosexual Women Talk About Sex. Journal of Women & Aging, 20(1–2), 65–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinchliff, S., & Gott, M. (2016). Ageing and Sexuality in Western Societies: Changing Perspectives on Sexual Activity, Sexual Expression, and the Sexy Older Body. In E. Peel & R. Harding (Eds.), Ageing and Sexualities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 11–31). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. (2006). Interchanges: Gender, Sexuality and Heterosexuality: The Complexity (and Limits) of Heteronormativity. Feminist Theory, 7(1), 105–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J., & Pugh, S. (2005). Ageing Gay Men: Lessons from the Sociology of Embodiment. Men and Masculinities, 7(3), 248–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, S. (2001). Growing Older Without Aging? Positive Aging, Anti-Ageism, and Anti-Aging. Generations, 25(4), 27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, S., & Marshall, B. (2003). New Sex for Old: Lifestyles, Consumerism and the Ethics of Aging Well. Journal of Aging Studies, 17(1), 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, A. (2016a). Older Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults: Identities, Intersections and Institutions. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • King, A. (2016b). Queer Categories: Queer(y)ing the Identification ‘Older Lesbian, Gay and/or Bisexual (LGB) Adults’ and Its Implications for Organizational Research, Policy and Practice. Gender, Work and Organization, 23(1), 7–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, A. (2016c). Troubling Identities? Examining Older Lesbian, Gay and/or Bisexual People’s Membership Categorisation Work and Its Significance. In E. Peel & R. Harding (Eds.), Ageing and Sexualities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 163–182). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, A., & Cronin, A. (2010). Queer Methods and Queer Practices: Re-Examining the Identities of Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (OLGB) Adults. In K. Browne & C. Nash (Eds.), Queer Methods and Methodologies (pp. 85–96). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knauer, N. J. (2011). Gay and Lesbian Elders: History, Law and Identity Politics in the United States. Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krekula, C. (2007). The Intersection of Age and Gender: Reworking Gender Theory and Social Gerontology. Current Sociology, 55(2), 155–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D. M., Vanhoutte, B., Nazroo, J., & Pendleton, N. (2016). Sexual Health and Positive Subjective Well-Being in Partnered Older Men and Women. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 71(4), 698–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, B. R. (2003). Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Ageing Self-Stereotypes. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58B(4), 203–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, B. R., & Banaji, M. R. (2002). Implicit Ageism. In T. D. Nelson (Ed.), Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons (pp. 49–75). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludvig, A. (2006). Differences Between Women? Intersecting Voices in a Female Narrative. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 13(3), 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, B. (2010). Science, Medicine and Virility Surveillance: ‘Sexy Seniors’ in the Pharmaceutical Imagination. Sociology of Health & Illness, 32(2), 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCall, L. (2009). The Complexity of Intersectionality. In E. Grabham, D. Cooper, J. Krishnadas, et al. (Eds.), Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location (pp. 49–74). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, A. (1999). Twentieth Century Sexuality: A History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepschen, P., Duyvendak, J. W., & Tonkens, E. H. (2010). Sexual Politics, Orientalism and Multicultural Citizenship in the Netherlands. Sociology, 44(5), 962–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Social Development. (2001). New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy. New Zealand Government. Retrieved from: http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/planning-strategy/positive-ageing/. Accessed 09 May 2017.

  • Murray, M. (Ed.). (2014). Critical Health Psychology. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolson, P. (1993). Public Values and Private Beliefs: Why Do Women Refer Themselves for Sex Therapy? In J. M. Ussher & C. D. Baker (Eds.), Psychological Perspectives on Sexual Problems: New Directions for Theory and Practice (pp. 56–76). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2012). An Inconvenienced Youth? Ageism and Its Potential Intergenerational Roots. Psychological Bulletin, 138(5), 982–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peel, E., & Harding, R. (Eds.). (2016). Ageing and Sexualities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 163–182). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prins, B. (2006). Narrative Accounts of Origins: A Blind Spot in the Intersectional Approach? European Journal of Women’s Studies, 13(3), 277–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reber, A. S., & Reber, E. R. (2001). The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (3rd ed.). London: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuben, D. R. (1970). Everything you Ever Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask. London: W.H. Allen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Revera & the International Federation on Ageing. (2012). The Revera Report on Ageism. Retrieved from: https://www.ifa-fiv.org/publication/demographics/revera-report-on-ageism/. Accessed 09 May 2017.

  • Richardson, D. (2007). Patterned Fluidities: (Re)Imagining the Relationship Between Gender and Sexuality. Sociology, 41(3), 457–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2006). A Social Psychological Perspective on the Stigmatization of Older Adults. In L. L. Carstensen & C. R. Hartel (Eds.), When I’m 64: National Research Council (US) Committee on Aging Frontiers in Social Psychology, Personality, and Adult Developmental Psychology. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • River, L. (2011). Appropriate Treatment: Older Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People’s Experience of General Practice. London: Age of Diversity/Polari. Retrieved from: http://www.ageofdiversity.org.uk/sites/default/files/AppropriateTreatment.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2012.

  • Rubinstein, R. L., & de Medeiros, K. (2015). ‘Successful Aging,’ Gerontological Theory and Neoliberalism: A Qualitative Critique. The Gerontologist, 55(1), 34–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, P. (2013). Alienation, Ambivalence, Agency: Middle-Aged Gay Men and Ageism in Manchester’s Gay Village. Sexualities, 16(3–4), 283–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skeggs, B. (1997). Formations of Class and Gender: Becoming Respectable. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder Bulik, B. (2015). Will Marketing Make the Difference in Approval of Sprout’s ‘Pink Pill’ for Women? Fierce Pharma. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercepharma.com/regulatory/will-marketing-make-difference-approval-of-sprout-s-pink-pill-for-women. Accessed 12 Oct 2017.

  • Suen, Y.-T. (2015). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ageing. In J. Twigg & W. Martin (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology (pp. 226–233). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, Y. (2008). ‘That’s Not Really My Scene’: Working-Class Lesbians In (and Out of) Place. Sexualities, 11(5), 523–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, Y. (2009). Complexities and Complications: Intersections of Class and Sexuality. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 13(2), 189–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, Y., Hines, S., & Casey, M. E. (2010). Theorizing Intersectionality and Sexuality. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Traies, J. (2012). ‘Women Like That’: Older Lesbians in the UK. In R. Ward, I. Rivers, & M. Sutherland (Eds.), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ageing: Biographical Approaches for Inclusive Care and Support (pp. 67–82). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Traies, J. (2016). The Lives of Older Lesbians: Sexuality, Identity & the Life Course. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Twigg, J., & Martin, W. (2014). The Challenge of Cultural Gerontology. The Gerontologist, 55(3), 353–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ussher, J. M. (2006). Managing the Monstrous Feminine: Regulating the Reproductive Body. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vares, T. (2009). Reading the ‘Sexy Oldie’: Gender, Age(ing) and Embodiment. Sexualities, 12(4), 503–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woloski-Wruble, A. C., Oliel, Y., Leefsma, M., & Hochner-Celnikier, D. (2010). Sexual Activities, Sexual and Life Satisfaction, and Successful Aging in Women. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7(7), 2401–2410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2015). World Report on Ageing and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/world-report-2015/en/. Accessed 29 Dec 2016.

  • World Health Organization. (2016a). Global Health Observatory: Life Expectancy. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/gho/mortality_burden_disease/life_tables/situation_trends/en/. Accessed 29 Dec 2016.

  • World Health Organization. (2016b). Discrimination and Negative Attitudes About Ageing Are Bad for Your Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/discrimination-ageing-youth/en/. Accessed 29 Dec 2016.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Sharron Hinchliff

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

    Andrew King

Authors
  1. Sharron Hinchliff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sharron Hinchliff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Elizabeth Peel

  2. School of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

    Carol Holland

  3. School of Psychology, Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK

    Michael Murray

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hinchliff, S., King, A. (2018). Ageing Sexualities Through a Critical Lens: Bringing Social Psychology, Sociology, and Intersectionality into Dialogue. In: Peel, E., Holland, C., Murray, M. (eds) Psychologies of Ageing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97034-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation