ABSTRACT
Older women’s embodied experiences of sexuality are considerably under-explored in
existing research. This can be attributed, in part, to the association between ageing and
asexuality. In Western cultures, older individuals are often seen as sexually undesirable
or as not desiring sexual activity (Dixon, 2012; Drummond et al., 2013; Hinchliff & Gott,
2008; Hurd Clarke & Korotchenko, 2011; Sandberg, 2013a). A considerable body of
research has discredited this popular assumption. It is well established that many individ-
uals desire sexual intimacy and continue to engage in various forms of sexual activity
throughout their later years (Gray & Garcia, 2012; Hinchliff, Gott, & Ingelton, 2010;
Hurd Clarke & Korotchenko, 2011; Kleinplatz, Menard, Paradis, Campbell, & Dalgleish, 2013; Lindau et al., 2007; Minichiello, Plummer, & Loxton, 2004; Schick et al., 2010).
