Let’s Talk About Sex — After 60

Older adults account for an increasing proportion of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, in the United States. Notwithstanding, sex after sixty continues to remain shrouded in silence and stigma. In this post, doctoral student Christina Pierpaoli Parker discusses the reasons for and consequences of the scantiness of late life sexual health conversations, concluding with recommendations for increasing their visibility.

Is Poking Fun at Birthdays a Harmless Way to Celebrate Them?

Have you ever noticed that the tone of birthday cards for children is upbeat with messages like, “way to go, you’re another year older”? Whereas that is rarely the theme in cards for adults older than 21, at least in the United States. Birthday cards and gifts that poke fun of older adulthood are communicating negative ageist stereotypes found in society…

Why We Should Celebrate Senior Citizens Everyday

Have you heard of National Senior Citizens Day? If not, you aren’t alone. This holiday is not often listed on most, if any, calendars. There are usually no headlines or special sales or promotions that accompany this holiday. Why is National Senior Citizens Day virtually forgotten? Probably for the same reasons that led to its establishment in 1988 by President Reagan. Older adulthood is not universally celebrated and valued.

Transparent Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman

Invisibility Squared: The Challenges of Living as a Transgender Older Adult

By Tarynn Witten, PhD, LCSW (Member, APA Division 44*) & Brian Carpenter, PhD (Member, APA Committee on Aging) The award-winning Amazon Studios series, Transparent, highlights one of the most invisible of invisible groups – transgender older adults. The lead character, Maura Pfefferman (born Mort Pfefferman), has lived most of her life as a man and […]

If You’re Ageist and You Know It, Raise Your Hand

By Kimberly Hiroto, PhD (Member, APA Committee on Aging) We’re bombarded these days with information about how to prevent aging. Since when did aging become our enemy? Like any part of one’s demographics, age has its upsides and downsides, but somehow it’s permissible to explicitly state our dislike of getting older while similar statements about […]