Sexual Orientation in older people: Categories, desires and realities.

Abstract

Sexual diversity tends to be considered as an issue that mainly affects young people, so studies focusing on the experience of a minority sexual orientation in older people are very scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse the degree of coincidence between the self-defined sexual orientation, the object of desire and the people with whom one has had sexual relations. A total of 244 people (47.5% men and 52.5% women) between the ages of 55 and 80 participated in this study, belonging to different groups of socioeconomic level, academic degree and employment situation. All of them completed a questionnaire on sexual orientation and aspects such as religion or sexual activity. The results show that 13 per cent of older people (8.6 per cent men, 16.4 per cent women) are not attracted exclusively to the opposite sex, and 6 per cent acknowledge having maintained homoerotic practices (3.5 per cent men, 7.9 per cent women). In men the coincidence between self-definition and object of desire is greater than in women. It discusses the need for future qualitative studies that make it possible to know which variables, related to the sexual history and life trajectory of individuals, influence the exploration and/or acceptance of non-majority sexual options.