Black Sexualities: Probing Powers, Passions, Practices, and Policies

20 Black Senior Women and Sexuality

423 20 Black Senior Women and Sexuality BETTE J. DICKERSON AND NICOLE ROUSSEAU The growth of the elderly population—that is, sixty-five years and older—in the United States is expected to reach dramatic proportions over the next decade. The number of people aged sixty-five and older is projected to double and those aged eighty-five and older is expected to triple. Although the older population is predominantly non-Hispanic White, it is becoming increasingly more diverse. In 200, race/ethnic minorities comprised 18.1 percent of the total older population—8.2 percent Blacks, 6.0 percent Hispanic origin (who may be of any race), 2.9 percent Asian or Pacific Islanders, and less than 1 percent American Indian or Native Alaskan. One percent reported two or more ethnicities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). According to census interim population projections, the increasing diversity is projected to continue, with the proportion of older Whites projected to decrease 61 percent by 2050. The percentage of the older population that is Black is projected to increase from 8.2 percent to 12 percent of the total older population by 2050 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005). However, sexuality is an element of the life course that is often ignored at late life. With the graying of society and increased longevity and better health, understanding sexuality for the older population becomes vitally important. Despite the above figures, little is known about the sexual decision making and challenges among Black senior women. The Aging U.S. Population According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging (2006), in 200 over 36.3 million Americans were aged sixty-five and over and three in five were women; the number of Americans aged forty-five to sixty-four who will reach sixty-five over the next two decades increased by 39 percent during this decade; since 1900, the percentage of Americans sixty-five or older has tripled from .1 percent in 1900 to 12. percent, and the number 424 BETTE J. DICKERSON AND NICOLE ROUSSEAU has increased almost twelve times from 3.1 million to 36.3 million; and about one in every eight, or 12. percent, of the U.S. population is an older American. In addition to substantial growth among Black elderly, older Asians and Hispanics are growing more than all other race/ethnic groups. The proportion of older Asians is projected to increase to nearly 8 percent in 2050, and older Hispanics will account for nearly 18 percent of the older population—becoming the largest race/ethnic minority in the sixty-five and older age group (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005). These demographic changes raise new questions about the older population , including those related to sexuality, a neglected topic until recently. In 1999, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and its magazine, Modern Maturity, commissioned the first nationwide inquiry into the sexual attitudes and practices of American adults forty-five and older—the first major study to span midlife to old age. According to the AARP/Modern Maturity Sexuality Study (AARP, 2002; Jacoby, 1999), 8 percent of women sixty to seventy-four years old and 61 percent of men sixty to seventy-four years old believe that a satisfying sexual relationship is important to their quality of life; over 53 percent of women sixty to seventy-four years old and over 75 percent of men sixty to seventy-four years old have a sexual partner; and about 50 percent of forty- five- to fifty-nine-year olds have sex at least once a week. Furthermore, among sixty- to seventy-four-year-olds, the proportion drops to 30 percent for men and 2 percent for women. Although frequency drops with age, more than 70 percent of senior men and women who had regular partners were sexually active enough to have intercourse at least once or twice a month. Additional inquiries are needed concerning matters of sexuality among the elderly, particularly based on the unique experiences of Black senior females. Defining Sexuality “Sexuality [is] a broadly encompassing term used to refer to all aspects of being and feeling sexual” (Masters, Johnson & Kolodny, 1995, p. 5). It consists of both behavior and desire (Schwartz & Rutter, 1998). Sexuality is the “lustful desire, emotional investment, and fantasy, as enacted in a variety of long- and shortterm intimate relationships. Homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality are used when referring to sexuality” (Lorber, 2005a, p...