Too sexy, too sleazy, don’t fit the mould? Artwork that makes us think about the sex lives of older adults

During the long month of January in 2022, the NYT published The joys (and challenges) of sex after 70. It was a long article that told the stories of real-life older adults, couples and singles, and documented the changes to their sex lives over time to how their sex lives currently look. The stories were interspersed with nuggets of information from the science of sex, including statistics about sexual frequency and, perhaps more typically, the types of sexual problems people can experience as they get older.

The article was heralded for its searing honesty and down to earth approach on a topic that many find sensitive. Indeed, we learn a lot from the article itself. And it is such an enjoyable read. But it also brought criticism. And that was mainly about the images used as opposed to the focus or content of the article.

The images were taken from a project by New York artist Marilyn Minter called Elder Sex. Marilyn, who is in her 70s, was inspired to create the project to show that older women have sexual desires and needs, and to counteract the contempt for elder sex, she told CNN. 

The photographs show older adults in their underwear. Their flesh is visible, they are caught in an embrace, there is steam to reflect the steaminess of sex. They are also hot! While the images are sexual, they are not overtly sexual in the way that photographs of younger people tend to be. 

Some of the criticisms were that the images looked ‘porn inspired’, were not ‘like the real world’, and resembled ‘the red light district’.

I see what they mean, but I think this is their strength. The images are different. We rarely see visual representations of elder sexiness, and here we are faced with images that provide a juxtaposition of the older body alongside sexy lingerie and steamy sex scenes, certainly items we don’t tend to associate together. In that way the images challenge the viewer to look at sexiness from a completely different angle. 

Elder Sex by Marilyn Minter is available from many bookstores. See more of Marilyn’s fantastic work on marilynminter.net ❤️