Women’s Sexualities across the Life Course: The Role of Major Events, Transitions, and Turning Points

• In Event: 4266 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 6. Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

Prior research documents that women’s sex lives change as they age, including a decline in sexual partnering and an increase in sexual subjectivity. However, little is known about stability in women’s sexualities and the mechanisms responsible for changes in women’s sexual attitudes and behaviors. Using life story interview data with 60 single, heterosexual women between the ages of 18-91, I examine women’s sexualities across the life course. I find that one aspect of women’s approaches to sexuality that remains fairly stable is that sex is preferred with partners they trust and with whom an emotional bond has been formed. The transitions and turning points primarily responsible for changes in sexuality include domestic violence/sexual assault, relationship dissolution, health problems, and menopause. The findings primarily highlight the social processes responsible for changes in women’s sexualities.

Author

• Lisa Miller, Eckerd College