Baby Boomer Sex

You're not getting older. You're getting sexier, at least to your mate. Maybe even to someone else ....

That was one of the more intriguing findings in a new survey of sexual attitudes among 45-and-older men and women in the age of Viagara, released this month. Most aging baby boomer women approve of sex outside marriage, but they may have trouble in the future finding partners among boomer men, the nationwide survey reported.

The poll of Americans older than 45 also found that the anti-impotence drug Viagra can make sex better, but not necessarily more frequent, for men as they age.

The study found conclusively that there is a sex life after 45, and that the graying of the boomer generation is having an enormous impact on how society thinks, feels and acts in the bedroom.

Americans older than 45 certainly care about having a good sex life, but sex ranks below good health, satisfying family relationships and financial independence, according to the study.

And as they have at every phase of their development, members of the baby boom generation have a different take on senior sex than generations that came before them.

Boomer women are less likely to believe that sex is only for younger people. Only 36 percent of women ages 45 to 59 think people should not have a sexual relationship if they are not married, the survey found, while 66 percent of women 75 and older said extramarital sex was taboo.

Oral sex and masturbation are likely to be more frequent among boomer women.

Among boomers with sexual partners, more than six in 10 respondents said they had intercourse once a week or more, as do more than one-quarter of those 75 and older. Overall, seven in 10 of those with partners said they had sex at least once a month.

But that leaves out the problem of finding a partner, which is harder for women, who tend to live longer than men.

About eight of every 10 Americans age 45 to 59 have sexual partners, but that changes with age. Only 21 percent of women 75 and older have partners, while 58 percent of men in that age group have partners, the survey found.

One in every four men reported being either completely or moderately impotent, and 15 percent of those said they had tried Viagra to improve sexual performance.

Such a small percentage of men and women said they have taken drugs or undergone treatments to enhance sexual performance that it was unclear whether they increased the frequency of sexual activity. But most who took the drugs said sex was more satisfying and improved the relationship.

The baby boom generation is loosely defined as those people born in the
years 1946 through 1964. The survey of 1,384 adults focused on those born from 1940 through 1954, which includes some baby boom years.

The survey was conducted by National Family Opinion Research Inc., with a margin of sampling error of 2.6 percent.

Source: Reuters