Abstract
In late midlife, heterosexual women report markedly lower levels of sexual satisfaction than heterosexual men. This article explored the social factors contributing to this difference, using data from 1,035 sexually-active heterosexual adults, aged 40–59 years, who participated in the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS). Conducted in 1992, NHSLS interviewed a nationally representative random sample of U.S. adults about diverse aspects of sexual life (Laumann et al., 1994, The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Contrary to gender stereotypes, women’s emotional satisfaction was closely associated with bodily sexual practices, whereas men’s physical pleasure was linked to relational factors. Lower levels of sexual satisfaction at older ages appeared to stem from differences between the Baby Boom and older generations rather than from aging per se.
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Acknowledgments
Carpenter was supported by the Social Science Research Council—Sexuality Research Fellowship Program and NIA training grant number T32-AG00237. None of the authors have interests in the pharmaceutical industry. The authors would like to thank Meika Loe, Dana Britton, Karen Campbell, and the 2001 Seminar on Aging and Health at the Center for the Study of Health, Culture, and Society at Emory University for their comments on earlier versions of this article.
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Dr. Y. J. Kim is now deceased.
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Carpenter, L.M., Nathanson, C.A. & Kim, Y.J. Physical Women, Emotional Men: Gender and Sexual Satisfaction in Midlife. Arch Sex Behav 38, 87–107 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9215-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9215-y