Sexier with age

News bulletin! Old people have sex!

You'd think we'd discovered the secret of eternal youth for all the fuss being made lately over the fact that, gasp, people over the age of 50 are still enjoying a healthy sex life.

The makers of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis just released a survey stating that close to half of the aged 50+ respondents said their sexual inhibitions have decreased since they turned 50, more than a quarter said their sex lives had improved and almost half said they were sexually satisfied.

The makers of the IntimateRider (www.intimaterider.com), a contraption designed to help people with arthritis or any ailment that causes pain or limits motion range (like say a knee or hip replacement) engage in more comfortable sex, recently sent me stats that claim that "people ages 57 to 85 think of sexuality as an important part of life and that the frequency of sexual activity declines only slightly from the 50s to the early 70s."

And recently, a five-year study by Ottawa psychologist and sex therapist Peggy Kleinplatz and her colleagues found that older couples are having some of the best sex in the country.

Obviously the makers of Cialis and products like the Intimate Rider have a vested interest in old people having more sex and are cashing in on a growing market.

Adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s -- the baby boom generation -- will soon become the largest generation of elders in history. By 2020, approximately 20% of Canadians will be over 65.

And given that this is the generation that grew up with the sexual revolution, free love, the birth of the Pill, women's lib and gay and liberation movements, I suspect they will be one of the horniest bunch of old people we've ever seen.

Add to this the fact that, as we age, we lose some of the hang-ups about sex we had when we were younger, like worrying so much about having the perfect body, for example.

And, if you've been with the same partner for a long time there's a level of comfort and intimacy that comes with maturity. I also imagine your definition of sex expands. Despite the heavy marketing of products like Viagra and Cialis, I'm sure for couples that deal with erectile dysfunction, rather than reach for a pharmaceutical solution, they've discovered a whole new world of non-intercourse focused sexual activities.

Plus, there are no kids to walk in on you.

So yes, old people are having lots of sex. Big whoop. It's really only surprising because our culture insists on associating sexuality with youth and conventional ideas of beauty.

But heck, it seems like a shame to spend your whole life figuring out your sexuality only to kick it to the curb when you've finally got the time on your hands to enjoy it.