Oh the joys of getting old…are there any? I must admit, while I’m a mere bambino compared to most in the “Decision Marketing Dream Team”, I sometimes look on in horror as the rest decompose before my very eyes.
None more so, of course, than the Little and Large Show (that’s McFatty and McThinner to the uninitiated). Almost daily they bemoan their lot; constant visits to the GP, expensive trips to the dentist; regular appointments at the chiropractor and podiatrist… it’s hardly the stuff of dreams, is it?
Well, that’s what I was thinking until a new study landed on my desk from the Scarlet Society, an online resource for women’s sexual health and wellness, which surveyed a group of 40- to 60-year-old women to uncover sexual habits and satisfaction and how age impacts their sex life.
(Very timely it was, too; I was wondering what the hell I was going to write about this week.)
Anyway, the results are both surprising and encouraging. To start with, older women are thinking about sex an “eye-popping” one quarter (24%) of their day but less than a third (27%) are truly satisfied with their sex life. Among the reasons for their lack of satisfaction? Being too tired (57%), a lack of interest in sex (31%) and, er, “dryness” (28%).
A Scarlet Society founder Jade Chang explained: “Women over 40 are often portrayed in society as being past their ‘sexual prime’ and are devalued and left in the dark when it comes to their sexuality – especially after life’s major transitions of marriage, childbirth or divorce. But with the right tools and education sex can continue to be more fulfilling and liberating than ever as we age.”
The survey also found that the biggest sexual turn-ons are oral (48%), followed by extended foreplay (47%), new sexual positions (37%), sex toys (35%) and masturbation (30%). Meanwhile, more than half (55%) of women consider themselves to be an open book when discussing their sexual needs with their partner, while only a quarter (26%) remain tight lipped.
In addition, accepting the natural changes in your body (60%) was selected most often as improving sex after 40, followed by letting your needs be known (58%) and being confident (54%). And, finally, more than one third (36%) of women in their 40s report that they’re most satisfied with their sex lives right now, while new sexual positions (43%), pornographic images or movies (27%), and domineering or submission (25%) are turn-ons.
As ever, you may ask what has all this got to do with marketing? Well, as ever, not a lot but one thing is certain, us girls are certainly not taking getting old lying down. We’re taking it standing up, kneeling and even on all fours…
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