Politics of the Aging Body: Sexuality and Health in Aging Populations

Niveditha Menon, Pennsylvania State University
Latrica E. Best, Pennsylvania State University

Feminist thinkers assert that the body is reproduced every day by the context in which the physical body is viewed. In keeping with this theme, we examine how the sexual experience fits into the aging process of older individuals by examining two components of the body (physical health and perception of health) in a nationally representative sample. Our primary question is: How does the interaction between physical health and self-perceived health affect the sexual experience of the elderly? To answer this question, we turn to the initial wave (1995-1996) of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Using this dataset, we analyze a series of regression models that examine present sexual experience in the combined context of physical and perceived health indicators. In order to capture differences in sexual experience and health by age, we also evaluate a similar set of models by categorical age cohorts.