Preconceived ideas about women’s sexuality are rife, and even more concerning older women. It must be said that between the belief that women have less desire than men, the prejudice of menopausal women who no longer have a libido or even the belief that sexual life is more adventurous during young years, difficult to get rid of clichés. Not to mention the censorship that restricts the female libido in its entirety. And yet, the first important point to emphasize, the female and male libido are “totally equivalent“, as Virginie Girod, doctor of history and specialist in women and sexuality, explained to Current wife.
The risk with these preconceived opinions is not only that they can germinate in the minds of young women and men, but also and above all, that they can become anchored in the thoughts of older women, wrongly. SO who better than the first concerned to speak and deliver their testimony? There were more than 3,000 of them who confided in a vast survey carried out via the Kinsey Institute, for the American version of Cosmopolitan.
1 in 5 older women have had sexual intercourse in the past year
The magazine surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,001 American women, aged 60 and over. All of them confided in their sexual desire, fantasies, libido or even masturbation habits. Among them, 21% reported having had sex with a partner in the past year. If they are not more numerous, Cosmopolitan underlines in particular the fact that men live shorter than women, and that thus, in a heterosexual vision, one could say that demand exceeds supply.
Not surprisingly, people in committed relationships have more sex than others. “Nearly a third of people in a relationship report having had sex in the past year, compared to 12% of people without a partner“, we can read. An even more accentuated observation among the youngest seniors, who are the most spirited. Women aged 60 to 69 reported having more partnered sex during the year than those aged 70 and over. Among these women who had an active sexual life with a partner last year, for 14% the frequency of reports was weekly.
The golden age of pleasure and desire?
Far from the preconceived idea that pleasure diminishes over the years. According to the participants, sexuality becomes even better with age. 60% of sexually active women said they enjoy it as much as they did ten years ago, or even more. And justly, 13% prefer their sexuality during their golden years to that of ten years ago. But sex life is not centered on penetration, since 60% say that the vagina and penis are not necessary for a satisfying sexual experience.
In the same vein, nearly three-quarters of respondents said that age has not had a negative impact on the quality of their orgasms. 20% of them even report having orgasms.more satisfying than ever“ and 57% say they reach orgasm with their partner almost every time or constantly. Even if orgasm is an enjoyable and explosive ending, 57% of respondents believe that sex can be satisfying without pleasure. Finally, libido does not decline over time like sand in an hourglass either, since 40% of participants said they wanted to make love as often as they did ten years ago, and 7% feel more excited than before. Enough to look forward to the next few years with fervor.