(CBS) - Forty years of research is turning conventional wisdom on its head when it comes to the issue of women and sex. The experts say it gets better with age.
“Your husband wants it and you kind of go along with it,” said Susan Courtney, who is 56-years-old. Sex was never really at the top of her priority list.
“You’re running around and car pooling,” said Susan. But now that this mom is in her 50’s, her feelings towards sex have drastically changed.
“I look forward to it more,” said Susan. She isn’t the only woman whose sex life is getting better with age, according to a new study from the University of California.
“This is not a part of your life that shuts down,” said Bat Sheva Marcus, a Sexual Dysfunction Specialist.
The study followed 800 women over forty years, and looked at all aspects of their sex lives from desire to frequency. The majority say they had increased sexual satisfaction as they aged – findings that come as no surprise to Marcus.
“What irritates me is we as a society think, ‘Oh, sex only lasts until your 29 and you know after that, it’s just going to be downhill from there,’” said Marcus. She says there are so many stereotypes when it comes to women and sex, like women are rarely ‘in the mood’ especially as they age and have to deal with physical changes, like menopause.
“I think that’s a horrible myth,” said Marcus. She says there are several reasons why mature women have better sex.
“There’s less guilt. There’s less distraction as your kids get older. There’s more emotional stability,” said Marcus.
Ann Karrick, who’s in her forties, says so many aspects of life improve with age, why not sex too?
“If you know yourself better, almost everything I think becomes better,” said Ann.
Ultimately Marcus says most women with more life experience have no problem asking for what they want.
“There’s nothing embarrassing about a 65-year-old woman who wants to have a vibrant sex life,” said Marcus.
Susan says she’s looking forward to being one of them.
“I don’t see myself as getting to be an aged person, who can’t be sexual. I don’t see that,” said Susan.
Some experts say sex lives get better because older women also have more time to feel good about themselves, in a way they didn’t have when they were 30.
Yes, I know… you had a baby months ago and sex is still the last thing on your mind. Will it ever change?
We have long known that hormonal birth control (pill, ring, or patch) can have an adverse effect on sexual functioning for some women. Hormonal birth control can decrease testosterone levels and increase a protein (SHBG) that binds to testosterone, inhibiting its function. Having sub-optimal testosterone levels can negatively affect sexual functioning. Therefore, we often recommend that women stop taking hormonal birth control and either opt for an IUD (intra-uterine device) or use a barrier method (condom, diaphragm, cervical cap) with a spermicide (gel, film, foam, sponge) if tolerable.
In my opinion, persistent genital arousal disorder is one of the most frustrating syndromes that I’ve faced while practicing at MCFS. Typically, a patient complaining of PGAD symptoms presents to us after some time of suffering. Since this syndrome affects each woman differently, a careful history must be taken. Although more research is being dedicated to this syndrome, standardized treatment protocols do not exist.
Pfizer announced the recent recall of Lo/Ovral-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol) birth control pills. 28 lots of the brand name and generic tablets were recalled in total. Apparently, there was a mix up at the processing plant and some of the packs have tablets that are out of sequence and contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets therefore increasing the risk for unintended pregnancy.
As I wrote about in my previous blog entries, I read a very interesting article by Kate Bolick, who cites Bella DePaulo. DePaulo, a social psychologist, created the term singlism, which is the “stigmatizing of adults who are single [and] includes negative stereotyping of singles and discrimination against singles”. In her book, Singled Out, she argues that “the complexities of modern life and the fragility of the institution of marriage have inspired an unprecedented glorification of coupling”. I don’t agree with this conceptually. I think the primary complaint of my single friends and patients is not that they feel stereotyped, but rather that they feel lonely.
Jolie
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