Une verte vieillesse : l'Europe et la Chine face à la sexualité des personnes âgées*

Old age is supposed to mark the end of one's body's full enjoyment, a natural deprivation according to some people. The contrast between Europe and ancient China, who recognised sexuality as a blooming factor, reveals the weight of society, of its beliefs and taboos, of its organisation and of the place it leaves to the elders. If growing old is a natural transformation, society makes old age a tearing by refusing the right to a free self-determination.