LATs in the Third Age

This chapter summarizes ways in which LAT is proving to be an attractive lifestyle for couples in the “Third Age,” those 65 and older, who are past the age of childrearing and may have retired from full-time work. It reviews literature about sex and aging and attitudes toward caregiving in elderly couples. LAT appears to be attractive to this group both because it allows them to combine independence with intimate connection and, among other things, to keep their own familiar space, preserve their inheritance for their children, and, in the case of women, protect themselves against gendered divisions of domestic labor characteristic of marriage.