In any cartoon, there is always hidden message than what is visible to many people. Cartoons carry with it some wit that requires a level of wisdom to fully comprehend the information the artist was trying to put across. For instance, in the above piece, it can be thought that the drawings are just but a couple having coffee beside a talk but focusing on the concentration and the composure exhibited in the artwork, it is obviously more than that. The main message being passed through the cartoon is that as people grow older and mature into relationships, responsibilities accrue.
Getting old as portrayed in the artwork insinuates that it always not rosy as expected by many. When young into relationship and marriage, couples are always over each other every moment (Træen et al., 2017). This may last for the time that there are no children in the relationship. However, with the coming of children, more attention shifts from each other to the children. It then calls for the parents to work harder to provide for their family (Træen et al., 2017). As this happens and as illustrated above, the couple still, loves, cherish and honor each other only that their age and responsibilities associated with their lifestyle do not allow them to commit themselves to the three at the sometimes, though deep in the heart, they love, honor and cherish each other.
Sex drive to some extent is taken to be a measure of the intimate feeling towards each other (Hartmans, Comijs, " Jonker, 2015). However, as people grow old, the urge for sex my fade away. The fading away of the sex drive should nonetheless be interpreted to mean the fading away of love between the couple. It may be due to many reasons including the overwhelming responsibilities of the couple giving no time for such moments or the physical incapability of the couples to involve themselves in the act. However, besides all that come with old age, the artwork sends a message that despite all that, there is always love, honor, and cherishing of one another even into the old age.
Examples Aspects of Sexual Development
Physiological
The cartoon conveys a number of examples of aspects of sexual development. Regarding the physiological aspect of sexual life, it is a fact proven with science that as people get older, their body cells die and the rate of producing new body cells decreases with increase in age. As one celebrates more birthday in their lives, the human body anatomy gets weaker, and this worsens with the aged (Hartmans, Comijs, " Jonker, 2015). They become weaker as a result of the changes in their body that do not make sex a pleasure or an exciting activity they were used to.
As they grow older, the secretion of the sex hormones declines, energy, and vigor reduces and are faced with other factors such as stress which affects their mood and desire. The couples may find each other less attractive due to the changes that come with aging such as attractiveness and strength widening the ridge between their sexual lives. In some unfortunate incidences, old age may come with it some terminal diseases that make one or both of the couple to be physically incapable of indulging sexual activities not because they like it but are forced with their physical conditions (Zhong, Pinto " McClintock, 2018). Physiological aspects of sexual development in most cases are beyond the powers of the couples to rectify living them with one option of letting their partners know that they love honor and cherish them.
Psychological
Sex is always considered as mental. Psychological is defined as the mental state of how a person feels about other things and people and growing old increases the chances of mental disorders. Unlike young sexually young adults who think more about sex often, old people have more to think of other than sex (Zhong, Pinto " McClintock, 2018). They look more into their life and how they would like to leave the earth in a more respectable manner and leave behind a legacy for their children and grandchildren. At their age, most of the elderly people have goals to achieve before they die and focus mainly on their remaining part of life praying that it be better than what they have passed through. This leaves them in most cases with no time to think about their sexual life and sex in general.
Their sex drive may also be affected by some of the physiological aspects of sexual development which may alter their perspective of sex. Sex being considered mental is greatly affected by the mental state of an individual (Hartmans, Comijs, " Jonker, 2015). With the increased possibility of mental disorder as one age, the sexual drive may be affected by mental disorder state of an individual. Psychologically they may start viewing each other as best life term friends other than sex partners especially when one or both of them cannot perform sexually due to other reasons associated with psychology or physiology. At this state, the best they can do to each other is make them understand that they are loved, cherished and honored.
Social
Finally, in the cartoon, the social aspect of sexual development is also portrayed. There is a societal norm that believes that sex is best when people are energetic and strong. People have always been made to believe that sex is gross among the older people (Zhong, Pinto " McClintock, 2018). It is often shunned by many based on imaginations of how it is. In some school of thoughts, it is argued that it is impossible for older people to get involved in the act.
Growing up in a society, most people get to hear these jokes about the sexual life of the elderly and develop an attitude towards the act at a particular age. It is unfortunate that as one grows older, they start visioning their lives and demoralizing themselves and hating the act. When they get old, they find themselves incapable or not interested in the act just because they believed in the society more than themselves (Zhong, Pinto " McClintock, 2018). Considering the fact that sex is mental, they consider it too as gross and not for elderly people who should just honor, love and cherish one another despite being not capable of doing all the three at the same time.
Conclusion
Sex is mental, and without thinking of it, one can never get themselves in it. As young adults, the elderly should show love towards each other in the best way possible (Træen et al., 2017). Other than sexual activity which may be incapacitated by the physiological, psychological and social developments, a couple should live their lives into their old age appreciating each other till they part. It’s an attitude and belief that active sexuality is impossible in older people and with the change of attitude, married people can live their lives the same way they lived when young and energetic (Zhong, Pinto " McClintock, 2018).
References
Hartmans, C., Comijs, H., " Jonker, C. (2015). The perception of sexuality in older adults and its relationship with cognitive functioning. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(3), 243-252.
Hertz, H. S. (2017). I Love My Wife. Retrieved from http://www.glasbergen.com/marriage-love-dating-relationship-cartoons/
Træen, B., Carvalheira, A., Kvalem, I. L., Štulhofer, A., Janssen, E., Graham, C. A., ... " Enzlin, P. (2017). Sexuality in Older Adults (65+)—An Overview of The Recent Literature, Part 2: Body Image and Sexual Satisfaction. International Journal of Sexual Health, 29(1), 11-21.
Zhong, S., Pinto, J. M., " McClintock, M. K. (2018). Sensory Dysfunction and Sexuality in the US Population of Older Adults. The journal of sexual medicine.
