Baby boomers . . . having fun between the sheets

Contrary to popular belief sex was not invented by the young.

Ita Buttrose, this year's Australian of the Year, says it may come as a shock to Generation Y that their grandparents still enjoy an active sex life.

'Young people have this misguided belief that older people don't think about sex at all,' Ms Buttrose, 71, said.

'I don't know what young people imagine will happen to them when they get older. There is plenty of evidence that older Australians enjoy an active sex life as much as younger ones do, they are just more discerning.'

More than one-third of men aged over 70 are still sexually active, according to research from the Monash Institute of Medical Research.

A separate study published in The Medical Journal of Australia found one-quarter of married women over 76 still had sex.

Ms Buttrose believes attitudes to ageing are changing thanks to the sheer number of baby boomers.

'The baby boomers are now entering the senior demographic and they have always been a group of people who have brought about change,' she said. 'After Fifty Shades of Grey, I think everyone is interested in erotic writing,' she said.

Patricia Weerakoon, a sex educator who gives presentations titled 'Sexy and 60-plus' in retirement villages, said the children of the sexual revolution were much more comfortable with intimacy. 'Today's older people are able to keep active and being sexually active is part of that,' Dr Weerakoon said.

Rob Brooks, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of NSW, said humans were hard-wired to be intimate even without a reproductive imperative.

Author Rachel Browne
The Age newspaper, Melbourne
Monday 25 February 2013