Sex defies the years: Why you don't have to lose access to intimacy as you age

Movies and TV shows would have us believe that passion is for the young — or at least for the under-40s. But a satisfying, even exciting, sex life can be enjoyed from midlife onwards, once you make some adjustments,

Closeup portrait of a mature couple lying in bed at home

Only young, ‘attractive’ people are allowed to be sexual. Once you reach [insert arbitrary age here], you should stop, because old people plus sex equals yuck. Anyway, oldies no longer have the drive to have sex, and by ‘old’ we are talking people over 50.

The idea that you are no longer a sexual being because you have reached a random number on a calendar is as ridiculous as it sounds. Yet thanks to cultural conditioning, being sexually active beyond middle age and into old age — or even talking about it — remains largely taboo.