Gay men more sexually active in old age, study reveals

Gay and bisexual men enjoy sex and multiple partners into their 70s, according to new research.

A new survey from the University of East Anglia (UEA), in collaboration with King’s College London and University College London, indicates that gay and bisexual men enjoy active sex lives and multiple sexual partners in old age.

The survey, which was originally intended to measure the spread of Mpox, uncovered data about the sex lives of gay and bisexual men in the UK over the age of 70.

PinkNews reports that researchers spoke to more than 5,000 adults including 1,867 gay or bisexual men recruited via social media during 2022, and found that many gay and bi men over 70 continue to have an active and enjoyable sex life with multiple partners.

Comparatively, 50 per cent of straight men aged 70-plus had had no sexual partners in the last three weeks.

In contrast, 17 per cent of gay or bisexual men over the age of 70 reported more than one sexual partner in the same period, and 25 per cent of gay or bi men aged 70-plus who had been sourced online had concurrent partners. Whereas, only two per cent of straight people over 70 reported multiple partners.

Partner concurrency – which is more than one recent sex partner – was uncommon in the general population, but common among the social media samples. 42 per cent of MSMs recruited on Facebook or Instagram and 52 per cent of Grindr respondents had at least two recent male partners.  

Seventy-seven men who have sex with men, age 70+, answered the survey. 17 per cent of them reported more than one recent partner in the most recent three weeks. 25 per cent of the MSM age 70+ recruited via social media had concurrent partners. 

Organizers of the survey were surprised by the results, having expected sexual activity to taper off in all groups in the over-70 category.

Head researcher Dr Julii Brainard, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said there had been an assumption that older people “stopped being sexually active, or at least stopped having multiple partners. Or there might be an assumption that young people have the most sex.”

The key findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.