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Women Over 50 pp 26–52Cite as

Women and Sex at Midlife: Desire, Dysfunction, and Diversity

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Abstract

Arewomen likely to experience more sexual and relationship satisfaction in midlife than in earlier periods of their lives? Which women are, and why? Does a woman experience heterosexual partner sex more positively when she is no longer responsible for birth control or parenting? In what ways, if any, do the sexual relations of aging lesbians improve over time? Arewomen who are autoerotic more likely to be in touch with their own sexual desire than women who are dependent on partners for sexual arousal and activity? Is sexual authenticity an important component in the positive sexual response of older women? These are examples of possible research (and personal) questions that cannot be answered at this point. Researchers have not typically investigated the possible positive sexual feelings and experiences of women at midlife. Rather, the literature has focused almost exclusively on the possible declines in sexual activity and desire allegedly experienced by women as a result of declining hormones. The research on women and sexuality at midlife both reflects and reifies the negative cultural views and disease-oriented medical perspectives on aging that are present today in many societies. The current research is reviewed acknowledging the degree to which limited perspectives on women’s sexuality has limited our understanding of the sexuality of women at midlife and beyond.

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Authors
  1. Maureen C. McHugh
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kiryat Yitzhak Rabin, Netanya Academic College, 1 University Street, 42365, Netanya, Israel

    Varda Muhlbauer

  2. Department of Psychology, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, 06320, New London, CT, USA

    Joan C. Chrisler

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McHugh, M.C. (2007). Women and Sex at Midlife: Desire, Dysfunction, and Diversity. In: Muhlbauer, V., Chrisler, J.C. (eds) Women Over 50. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-46341-4_3

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