In popular culture – from advertising to movies and television – the message is clear: the elderly are not sexually active or intimate, says Hong Kong sex therapist and relationship counsellor Cynthia Ho. “Whenever the media expresses the need for, or enjoyment of sex, they mostly use healthy models that represent youth and beauty,” says Ho, of the Neo Health consultancy in the city’s Central district. “Anyone outside this category rarely matters. “People start to think that those who are not young, beautiful or healthy, do not – or should not – enjoy sex.”
To change attitudes, Ho says education is key. “It’s not just a lack of sex education for students at Hong Kong schools,” says Ho. “More public education is needed about the importance of sexual health so people understand it’s not only about sexual intercourse – it is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well being related to sexuality as a whole. “This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to be intimate with a partner and to be able to communicate explicitly their sexual needs and desires – even for seniors.”
There is very little new research out of Hong Kong on the subject of sex and intimacy in later life. Take your sex life to another level with these experts’ tips A 1999 study by non-profit Christian Family Service Centre on elderly peoples’ attitudes towards sex and sexual behaviours found about two-thirds of the respondents considered sex in later life as unnecessary. In 2004, a study of Chinese men aged 65 and over’s knowledge of sex, attitude towards sex and sexual behaviour, published in The Hong Kong Practitioner, found 40 per cent of the 528 surveyed considered sexual intercourse to be harmful to health when you are old. In July this year, a survey by lifestyle brand We-Vibe, of 14,500 participants from 17 countries, found that 36 per cent of Hong Kong people believe sexual desire decreases with age. The results inspired a We-Vibe campaign, Silver Sex, to debunk myths surrounding sex in old age.
