Show Notes #39: Golden Age
from Jane and Ashley
This episode is dedicated to that old faithful term, the Golden Age, which was often use to refer to seniors. Jane remembers taking one of those Zumba classes a few years ago that was called Zumba Gold, and noticed after it began that, not only could she do all the dance steps but she was also one of the youngest members of the class. She also remembered her grandmother going to the Golden Age Club and wondered what it was they talked about while they were knitting and crocheting.
We got another great email from a 66-year old man who asked: “My libido is weakening and I am concerned that one of the most important things in my life (sex with my wife of 37 years) will significantly diminish. Will the “passion” in my marriage be gone? Will we just b buddies with some common relatives?” To help this 66-year old man, Ashley talked about one of her favorite sexological terms, limerance, and discussed the need for each of us, as we age, to be more aware of the changes in our bodies, not just our physical appearance but our physiological response. What is the “new normal” for you as you age?
Jane reported on a recent research team who studied female orgasm and found that the largest preponderance of women do not experience orgasm with penetration alone (75%) although approximately 30% of men think that women need penetration to achieve orgasm. Their results indicated a “golden trio” of genital stimulation, deep kissing, and oral sex to be highly effective, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (2017) by the research team of Frederick, St. John, Garcia, & Lloyd.
Ashley discussed John DeLamater’s study (2008), Sexual Satisfaction in the Seventh Decade of Life, published in Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, in which DeLamater reports on the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of 2156 men and 1955 women in their mid-60’s. These participants reported having sex 1.7 times a month and found that physical health, sexual functioning, psychological distress, and relationship satisfaction were all correlated with sexual satisfaction. Most importantly, they found that sexual expression continued to play an important role in the seventh decade of life.
Ashley also reported on a recent study by Frederick, Lever, Gillespie, & Grace (2016), What Keeps Passion Alive? Sexual Satisfaction is Associated with Sexual Communication, Mood Setting, Sexual Variety, Oral Sex, Orgasm, and Sex Frequency in a National U.S. Study, published in the Journal of Sex Research that found, not surprisingly that passion and sexual satisfaction typically decline in long-term relationships. But, they said it was not inevitable and identified the attitudes and behaviors from a large group of participants (N = 28,747). More than 30% said their sexual life was as passionate three or more years later as in the beginning. Satisfaction was highest among people who had sex most frequently, received more oral sex, had more consistent orgasms, and incorporated a variety of sexual behaviors, mood settings, and sexual communication.
We love our listeners and welcome your feedback. Please write to us at this address. And thanks for listening!
Powered by WPeMatico