Ageing Sexualities Through a Critical Lens: Bringing Social Psychology, Sociology, and Intersectionality into Dialogue

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the contribution of critical social psychology and sociology to understandings of the sexualities of older adults. Historically, psychological research on ageing has focused on decline and loss, while psychological research on sexuality has tended to exclude older adults. But new directions are being made, and a growing body of research in social psychology, influenced by insights from sociology, has applied a critical lens to explore the intersections of older age with gender, sexual identity, and other social categories. Such research has demonstrated the diversity of midlife and beyond and enabled the voices of older adults to be heard: voices which challenge the narrative of older age as decline and loss. We draw on our research in the area of older adults and their gendered experiences of ageing, sexual practices, and sexual identities to demonstrate the understandings that critical theorising can bring.