Issues of sexuality have been considerably under-studied in the analysis of later life in social gerontology. Sexual identity was considered to have a minor impact on life and social inequalities in old age. Consequently, the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older people have been largely unrecognised in the study of ageing. This paper argues for the need to incorporate the dimension of sexuality in the study of ageing. It points out the heteronormative biases that are part of the dominant discourses in gerontology. The theory of active ageing that has so far dominated representations of the ‘desirable’ way to age is used as a case example of this heteronormative imaginary of old age. The second part of the paper focuse...