What do we do when we can or no longer want to look after ourselves and end up in some sort of institutional care? Jackie Marshall-Cyrus argues in this interview for people to be kept out of institutions where possible and cared for in their homes. Many structural factors stand in the way of this, not least the expense to the state of having separate people living in their own separate domestic arrangements. Jackie’s Revolution has gained recognition as a campaign for seniors' rights to autonomy and sexual freedom.
If sexual relations between older people are seen as slightly taboo, then sex between people cared for at home or in institutions is even more difficult. In many ways, we treat our elderly as children and, as a result, allocate to them only restricted rights of autonomy over their own decisions, relationships and desires. Jackie intends to challenge this dynamic and help older people find a way through what can be a nightmarish jungle of rules and regulations.
Naturally, their lives need to be safe, and any activities need to be consensual, but their rights and desires also need to be taken into account when deciding their futures. As we have tried to point out throughout these podcasts, sex doesn’t stop at 60, and neither does the status of old people as fully autonomous sexual beings. The end of our lives should be as joyous as the rest, and sex and sexuality play an important part in that equation.
Episode 11: Sex in Social Care Settings