Sex/uality Artifacts

Hey class, my name is Tiffany Payne and I presented my artifact on the reading “An Affair to Remember.” It was a very interesting read because as society, we do not like to think that the older generations are sexually active. It makes us uncomfortable just thinking about it. We even joke a lot about it because we do not want to think that it is true. As uncomfortable as many of us feel about this topic, it is important to realize that it is true, the elderly people are still sexually active and we need to figure out ways to educate them about safe sex. According to an article posted on ABC News website on March 16, 2000, 87% of married men and 89% of married women in the 60-64 range are sexually active. 29% of men and 25% of women over the age of 80 are still sexually active. Although these are small percentages, it is clear that older people are still sexually active. I talked a little bit about my experiences in class from my work at an assisted living home, about how I have witnessed older residents feeling each other up, kissing, holding hands, going on dates and even sitting on each others laps. It was uncomfortable to me at first, but I took a step back and thought for a moment…these residents are just like us but older. They still have feelings, they still have needs and it is important for them to do whatever makes them happy just like we do whatever makes us happy. Maybe instead of joking about it, we can extend sexual education to the older generations and even integrate some classes in assisted living homes, because times are changing and it is important that everyone is thoroughly educated about safe sex. Below is the video that I showed in class. It is an episode from Parks and Recreation. It is a funny video clip, and I think that it represents our society today very well.