Age-graded Sexualities: The Struggles of Our Ageing Body

This article focuses on the relevance of age vis-à-vis the body and sexuality in society. The author discusses how the symbolization of the body by differences of age displays an intertwining of social and sexuality issues. The central idea is that the constructions of age involve different notions of status related to the ageing body that are problematic in our sexuality because they form complex power relationships, creating boundaries, segmenting sexual expressions and committing individuals to spaces, identities and lifestyles. That is to say, as individuals use methods to capitalize on their sexuality, they produce varying meanings and ways of experiencing age. The notion of age-grading, an anthropological category to explain the connection between the notions of ageing body and society, will be discussed with the aim of clarifying how age shapes our sexuality. This paper is meant to encourage further debate, not to provide a finished discussion.