Popular Societal Perceptions On Sexuality and Aging
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Popular Societal Perceptions of Sexuality and Aging
Introduction
Human sexuality is a broad and delicate subject that often encompasses diverse aspects of humanity. Understanding the subject of human sexuality often leads to the development of a strong conceptual base that entails individual values, decision making, wellness, sexual knowledge, wellness, and sexual health (Gatling, Mills, & Lindsay, 2017). Sexuality is an essential facet in life that plays a significant role in human existence owing to the interrelationship of psychological, biological, and sociocultural dimensions.
Cartoon Analysis
This is a sex-themed cartoon that conveys the aspect of sexuality amongst older adults. While most cartoons and adverts often show young people in an intimate and sensual manner, this advert portrays two adults from a cheerful and casual perspective in line with societal expectations. It illustrates sexual expression amongst the elderly in a manner that is rather acceptable and abides by societal norms. Analyzing it, one can depict an elderly couple that is enjoying their time outdoors while dancing and appreciating the beauty of nature. One can tell that the couple is having a good time through mannerisms that are socially recognized and accepted such as laughing without appearing too intimate and sexual.
Physiological, Psychological, or Social Aspects of Sexual Development
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, every human being must satisfy their sexual needs in order to achieve maximum potential and overall well-being. Sexual characteristics in humans often begin at adolescence and proceed through to adulthood (Mou & Shin, 2018). During these physiologic changes, an individual’s ovulatory and reproductive organs often change significantly affecting one’s sexual abilities.
Physiologically, the bodies of human beings often change as they age. For instance, men may experience erectile dysfunction (ED) issues while women often experience a reduction in their vaginal lubrication (Kowalewska & Grodzki, 2019). Although the picture does not provide details on the sexual experiences of the couple, it shows an array of physical changes. As it is evident in the image, the couple has lost their muscular strength and are thus using a walking aid. The man has a walker which is an indication of greater complications while the woman is using a walking stick. From their appearances, the couple appears happy and sexually enthusiastic. However, by the fact that they have lost their muscular strength, it is evident that the couple would experience struggles engaging in sexual activities which can be attributed to diseases and physiological changes at old age. Another noticeable aspect of age is the fact that the man’s hair is decreasing such that only three hair strands are visible while the lady has thinned out and turned grey. The use of walking aid and baldness is an indication of the physiological changes that reveal a lot about their sexual development. These physiological aspects at old age that are mostly characterized by decreased vision, sleep alterations, and diminished hearing often affects their sexuality (Gewirtz-Meydan, Hafford-Letchfield, Benyamini, Phelan, Jackson, & Ayalon, 2018). Taking this into perspective, one can realize that the sexuality of old people from a broad perspective affects their ability to achieve the highest degree of sexuality.
Psychologically, there are various principles and beliefs in relation to sexuality that often shape attitude and the manner in which an individual thinks in relation to sexuality and gender identity. According to Træen et al. (2017), gender identity refers to an individual’s psychological perception of being male or female which is slightly consistent with individual perceptions of sexuality. The people around an individual often influence their behavior, identity, and romantic desires as well as the psychological perceptions about sexual developments which tend to affect how one feels about themselves and the people close to them. Although most people do not appreciate aging, the picture shows a positive attitude of the couple towards aging. As indicated in the image, the couple’s excitement and the sexual expression indicates happiness and the aspect of being carefree. Although the picture does not reveal the aspect of touch and intimacy, these sexual needs are achieved by spending time with each other. The image highlights the aspect of a healthy and positive outlook on the psychological development of the elderly and the attitude towards their sex life.
Society is an influential learning environment that can drive success or inhibitions depending on the learned myths or flawed attitudes. Society has a strong influence on the aspects that are acceptable and non-acceptable. For instance, the elderly are expected to express sexual maturity, principles, and beliefs due to the fact that society does not harbor a pleasant sexual expression about the elderly.
Conclusion
Sexuality is an essential facet in life that plays a significant role in human existence owing to the interrelationship of psychological, biological, and sociocultural dimensions. The picture showcases sexual expression in a manner that has attained societal standards and expresses the physiological and psychological aspects of sexuality and age. Unlike other pictures where couples appear intimate, this picture portrays a rather casual relationship where the participants are enjoying themselves without showing any intimacy or unacceptable sexuality among the elderly such as kissing or touching.
References
Gatling, M., Mills, J., & Lindsay, D. (2017). Sex after 60? You’ve got to be joking! Senior sexuality in comedy film. Journal of Aging Studies, 40, 23-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2016.12.004
Gewirtz-Meydan, A., Hafford-Letchfield, T., Benyamini, Y., Phelan, A., Jackson, J., & Ayalon, L. (2018). Ageism and sexuality. In Contemporary perspectives on ageism (pp. 149-162). Springer, Cham.
Kowalewska, K., & Grodzki, E. (2019). The representation of mature adults in TV commercials: A cross-cultural content analysis of portrayals in Poland and in the US. Annales. Etyka w życiu gospodarczym, 22(1), 103-118. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=783225
Mou, J., & Shin, D. (2018). Effects of social popularity and time scarcity on online consumer behavior regarding smart healthcare products: An eye-tracking approach. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 74-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.049
Træen, B., Carvalheira, A., Kvalem, I. L., Štulhofer, A., Janssen, E., Graham, C. A., … & Enzlin, P. (2017). Sexuality in older adults (65+)—An overview of the recent literature, part 2: Body image and sexual satisfaction. International Journal of Sexual Health, 29(1), 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2016.1227012