Concepções e vivências da sexualidade e seus efeitos nas vidas de mulheres idosas

Abstract

Despite being seen as asexual, older women can and should enjoy an active sex life. It is essential to understand how they perceive and experience their sexuality, as well as what factors potentiate or repress it. The aim of this study was to discover the concepts and perceptions of sexuality of older women and the impacts on their lives. To this end, an exploratory-descriptive qualitative study was conducted, with the participation of eleven old women registered in a Health Unit. The data were achieved through semi-structured authorial interviews, and the analysis of these was performed following thematic content analysis: realizing sexuality as a sexual act in its essential, understanding the search for health care in the context of sexuality, the family dynamics influencing the experience of sexuality and relating sexuality to self-esteem. It is concluded that the majority of the old women relate sexuality to sexual intercourse and, consequently, depend on their partner. Some aspects influence the positive existence or not of sexuality in the life of the old woman, such as the family and self-esteem, these factors are also defining the search for health care.