LoL: Lust op Leeftijd

<< Background >>Based on our research we know that educators and older adults lack life stage-specific knowledge about sexuality and intimacy in later life. The available knowledge remains limited to restrictive stereotypes about asexual older people or to medically related problems. This leads to sexual age discrimination and stigmatization. Furthermore, older people experience little access to relevant information about sexuality and intimacy in later life and do not feel free to share their perspectives and experiences. The societal imagery about ageing and sexuality in later life does not match a broad scale of experiences of older adults themselves. This leads to the exclusion of older adults' voices on the subject and undermines their right to sexual self-expression and comprehensive sexual education.This project addressed the urgent need of older adults and of educators working with them for life-stage specific, comprehensive and inclusive knowledge about sexuality and intimacy in later life.<< Objectives >>The main objective of this project was to create an educational video series (5 short video’s) by and for older adults on the topic of sexuality and intimacy in later life. We did this in order to: (1) increase knowledge about sexuality and intimacy in later life among older adults, educators and other involved parties, (2) diversify the perception of the subject within Dutch and Belgian society, and (3) break prevailing societal taboos about this topic.<< Implementation >>In Phase 1 - Preparation, we collaborated with a diverse group of older adults in the Netherlands and Belgium to co-create the concept for the video series. This collaboration was based on participatory approach to education. In Phase 2 - Production, we brought this concept to life by producing the video series with these older adults. In Phase 3 - Dissemination, we distributed the video series to a wide audience, including older adults, (future) professionals, younger students, and society at large. In Phase 4 - Evaluation, we measured the impact and reach of the video series that was available so far.<< Results >>The outcome of the project is the educational video series on sexuality and intimacy in later life, called Lust op Leeftijd (in Dutch the acronym LoL has an additional meaning of ‘fun’). It consists of 5 parts that each relate to the main topic:(1)Life-course(2)Diversity(3)Health(4)Taboo(5)Societal ImageryThe series was created in collaboration with and for older adults in order to provide a broad understanding of the subject and to invite spectators to join the conversation about the topic of sexuality and intimacy in later life. The video series promotes adult education and various participative forms of knowledge acquisition by older adults, independent of their background or identity (project goals 1 and 2). Finally, the video series addresses the taboo around this subject (project goal 3).