The Cartoon
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/516365913499639700/
Overview of the Message in the Cartoon
It would be easy to guess that the cartoon above has neither been drawn by an elderly person nor is it meant to be read by older people. Instead, it seems like satire against older people that seeks to depict them as being incapable of having sex for a variety of reasons. For a start, the two individuals are shown to be extremely old and physically infirm, a fact that is capable of affecting their sexuality. Further, old age has adversely affected how they look, with their faces being disheveled, the woman needing support to walk and the man’s teeth in a glass next to the bed. Their emotional and romantic connection is also been made fun of, the man has ostensibly requested for sex by asking the woman to “be on top”. Instead, the woman tramples over the hapless man, definitely injuring him. The totality of the message in the cartoon is that old people most probably do not want to have sex and even when they do, they are incapable of doing it anyway.
Analysis of the Depictions of the Cartoon
Emotional Competence Issues Raised
The cartoon depicts old people as lacking emotional competence for sex. It has been said that old people call their spouses roommates, meaning that their relationship has been reduced to the extent that the bedroom is the only thing that they share. Available research shows that emotions are closely related to mental capacity. Mental capacity, on the other hand, is closely associated with age, hence emotional capacity also varies with age. For example, a small child only has a limited mental capacity hence its emotions are either unstable or unable to relate to the circumstances for which they are reacting to. As people grow older, they also gradually lose their mental acumen (Ryff et al., 2016). The totality of the above leads to the hypothesis that as people get older, they lose their emotional faculties just as they continually lose their mental capacities.
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Humans, unlike other animals, correlate sexual activity and emotional connection, thus human sex is not simply limited to coitus. Emotional connection for sex might also rise above the two lovers into secondary issues such as reproduction. People may desire to have sex with one another, not because they are emotionally attracted but based on the basic human need for procreation (Kalra, Subramanyam & Pinto, 2011). With the elderly, more so women, the ability to procreate no longer exists hence its emotional inclination will also not exist. In the absence of strong emotional inclinations among the old, it is believed that they do not have sex, not just because they physically or psychologically cannot but because they are emotionally incompetent for it.
Physical Competence Issues Implied
The cartoon also canvasses the physiological weakness of the parties which affect their ability to have sex. Coitus requires physical exertion at several levels even when done in a very docile manner. The man will need to be able to have an erection while physical arousal on the part of the woman is necessary. Further, several muscles in the body will need to be involved for the coitus to happen. Conversely, positive physical looks are considered as motivation for sex. Aging has an adverse effect on all the above physical attributes. As people get older, muscles will loosen up even as bones become weaker. The ability of the body to get physically aroused is also limited. For example, arousal in both men and women require a large supply of blood to the pubic area, an activity that might be difficult for the elderly. Getting ready even when they want to have sex might be a challenge. Further, old age will change physical looks, more so on the most intimate areas such as the face, teeth, and breasts. With the body requiring a lot of motivation due to physical weakness, yet what the eyes can see or the hands can touch is not as motivating as it used to be, sex is considered to be hard for the elderly (Kalra, Subramanyam & Pinto, 2011). Finally, there might be the inability to actually do it due to physical weakness or the fear of physical injury or pain due to the frail nature of the elderly. It is thus no surprise that it is culturally believed that even if the elderly would want to have sex, they might not actually be able to do it. They might either not be able to get physically aroused or they might be too weak to actively engage in coitus or even just too afraid of injury to risk having sex.
The Social and Biopsychology Issues Implied
The elderly may also lack the social and biopsychology advantages when it comes to sexuality, a fact that is also passively reflected by the cartoon. Normally, coitus will only happen if two consenting people are together under convenient circumstances. Once the two people are together, they will then need the psychological capacity to make sex happen between them (Rieger et al., 2015). The social aspect is a hindrance to sex among the elderly due to broken romantic relations s they grow older, either due to death or other factors. Most elderly people in the developed world find themselves living alone, living with younger family members or living in a care home alongside other elderly people. All the above make it harder for the elderly to have social connections that lead to sex. In the event the elderly find themselves in a situation where sex is possible, the biopsychology issues become yet another hindrance. Even when the gonads are physically healthy, they still need to be stimulated so that sex becomes possible, a process that might become a challenge for the elderly (Rieger et al., 2015). Sexual stimulation combines chemical processes involving hormone and also neurological processes. Old age affects all biopsychology processes thus making sexual arousal harder for the elderly. The fear of not being able to get psychologically ready for sex can also hinder the elderly from having sex. Among men, psychological issues can lead to the inability to have or maintain an erection or premature ejaculation while in women, it may lead to pain or discomfort during sex (Rieger et al., 2015). The actual inability to have sex combined with both the fear of failure and absence of social connections with a sexual partner is thus considered as another hindrance for older people to have sex.
Conclusion
The totality of the above analyses the cartoon as creating the perception that old people do not have sex, are not capable of having sex, or fear to have sex. This does not rule out the fact that old people actually do have sex. However, it is understandable that most people think that they do not. For a start, the strong emotional connection that makes people want to have sex may not exist in old age as it does in younger age. The emotional issue is exacerbated by the fact that the elderly may not even have people around with whom to develop the emotional connection with. Over and above the emotional and social barrier is the physiological and psychological barriers. For example, the men may not be able to get an erection while women may not be able to get aroused. Over and above the actual failures above lies the fear of failure that might be more debilitating than the actual physical and psychological limitations. Finally, the conservative view of sex, based on it being a tool for procreation does not apply to the elderly. It is on this basis that when issues relating to sexuality and sex are canvassed, the elderly are normally left out just like children.
References
Kalra, G., Subramanyam, A., & Pinto, C. (2011). Sexuality: Desire, activity and intimacy in the elderly. Indian Journal of Psychiatry , 53 (4), 300-306. doi : 10.4103/0019-5545.91902
Rieger, G., Cash, B. M., Merrill, S. M., Jones-Rounds, J., Dharmavaram, S. M., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2015). Sexual arousal: The correspondence of eyes and genitals. Biological Psychology , 104 , 56-64
Ryff, C. D., Heller, A. S., Schaefer, S. M., Van Reekum, C., & Davidson, R. J. (2016). Purposeful engagement, healthy aging, and the brain. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports , 3 (4), 318-327
