I used to tease my college freshman writing students that they didn't invent sex. Their parents didn't invent sex. It was their grandparents who invented sex. That always squigged them out, much to my delight.
A doctor at a seminar I attended on this very topic said that adult children of nursing home residents tend to have an "Eww factor" when it comes to the idea of their parents having sensual (and consensual) relationships. Or they fear they'll lose their inheritance, should their parent remarry. This can result in a resident being banned from spending time with their honey, which is demeaning and cruel.
Sex is one part of the overall picture. If two people really like each other, are open with each other and want to be intimate, there's no reason why they can't continue to enjoy one another sexually. It's one of a number of activities that older lovers can share.
Yes indeed, Don! On the one hand, the media (reflecting the ageist culture) continually portrays olders as sexless. On the other hand are those scary articles about rampant STIs in nursing homes. BOTH of those things cannot be true. Thank you for connecting the dots.
And by the way... my upcoming book, "Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance," will guide those so inclined from choosing a premise for a late life love story all the way to successful marketing. Creativity: the fun revolution!
I used to tease my college freshman writing students that they didn't invent sex. Their parents didn't invent sex. It was their grandparents who invented sex. That always squigged them out, much to my delight.
I laughed out loud at “from the generation that invented sex”—as every generation thinks it is, but especially us Boomers!
Oh - you didn't know?
A doctor at a seminar I attended on this very topic said that adult children of nursing home residents tend to have an "Eww factor" when it comes to the idea of their parents having sensual (and consensual) relationships. Or they fear they'll lose their inheritance, should their parent remarry. This can result in a resident being banned from spending time with their honey, which is demeaning and cruel.
Sad but true.
Sex is one part of the overall picture. If two people really like each other, are open with each other and want to be intimate, there's no reason why they can't continue to enjoy one another sexually. It's one of a number of activities that older lovers can share.
Well said. Maybe those other activities would make a good future column.
Yours or mine? Maybe both.
Yes indeed, Don! On the one hand, the media (reflecting the ageist culture) continually portrays olders as sexless. On the other hand are those scary articles about rampant STIs in nursing homes. BOTH of those things cannot be true. Thank you for connecting the dots.
And by the way... my upcoming book, "Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance," will guide those so inclined from choosing a premise for a late life love story all the way to successful marketing. Creativity: the fun revolution!
Thanks, Stella. Give me a heads-up when the book launches.
Will do - Thanks Don! ARCs just dropped. Let me know if you'd like one.