"Over the hill" isn't that far away

It will only follow in porn if it follows in real life. I think sex will continue for boomers only if they have partners. Single women will have it harder simply because there will be more of them. Then you have to hope that the available men find older women sexually attractive, without the men being in their nineties. Its interesting to read the requirements of men in the late fifties and sixties when you read personal adds or profiles on match sites. My favorite is petite and between 35 and 50. 50 seems to be the cut off age.

[I agree that it's more difficult for single people in general especially since, as you say, the older we get the fewer men are left. Thanks, Five. --fl]

Just discovered you tonight, and I have to say... it's so refreshing to find such an intelligent "sex blog," if you accept such a label. ;) I've been soaking up your thoughts, perspective, and discoveries on the web and am thoroughly enjoying the read. Thanks for the news, the honesty, choosing to blog. :)

xoxo
Tara

[Thanks, Tara. I appreciate your work as well. --fl]

Ho Ho Ho!

:)

Hi Figleaf. I wish you all the best in New Year. Lots of health and lots of good sex. Kiss.

[Thanks, BW. Happy New Year to you too. --fl]

This subject is, of course, very interesting to me, since I am a 50-plus woman who is still very sexually active, has lovers outside my primary relationship (although not lately) and this year have started a blog on which I display myself nude and in various degrees of undress.

And I love it!

I'm not doing it for money or fame, or to bolster my self-esteem. I'm doing it because I love sex, I love discussing sex and I love learning about sex from others. I don't care if there are "right" or "wrong" reasons, these are my reasons, and I am perfectly satisfied with them.

How long can I go? I have no plans to stop! Age is just a number, after all.

[I think that's the point. I'm confident some people really do submit to pressure, low self-esteem, and so forth, but I've never heard anyone say, direct, oh yeah, that's why I did. So I'm guessing it's usually (though perhaps not always) failure of imagination on the part of the speculator. Thanks, Cherrie. --fl]

It might seem like a niche at the moment, but I don't see boomers, or succeeding generations, giving up sex at 60, or 45, or 30, or whatever just because someone else imagines they should stop that and start playing shuffleboard.

You're right on this one, Figleaf, and in 2004 AARP conducted a survey that gives some statistical backing to your projection based on interviews of ... a nationally representative group of 1,682 adults ages 45 and older to measure attitudes and other factors affecting their sexuality and quality of life.
Read the article entitled Sex in America here.

As for Althouse's remark -- You just love sex and have a wonderful sense of adventure -- well, she inadvertently agreed with the AARP study which reported this observation:

Still, much of the spirit of the "free love" generation's youthful attitude remains. Boomers feel strongly that sex is for every age, not just the young. And a large majority of both men and women in their 40s and 50s see no reason that sex should not be enjoyed by singles, the divorced, and widows and widowers...For Boomer men and women, a spicier sex life often means experimenting with activities that convey a whiff of the forbidden.

I did not see porn among the list of those spicier activites, but phone sex and sex in public places were supposedly popular.

There is also a pdf version of the final report, methodology, findings and the questionnaire available here.">http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/2004_sexuality.pdf">here.

And finally, Figleaf, I must confess that I have an ulterior motive in providing all these valuable reference links. I hope that, one day soon, you will invite me to a game a naked shuffleboard.;-)

["I hope that, one day soon, you will invite me to a game a naked shuffleboard.;-)" You just want to see how well I puck, right? :-) Good points about AARP, by the way. They started sending me their newsletter when I turned 50, by the way, and I seem to recall they recently started -- or at least had an article on -- an on-line dating service for seniors. Anyway, the most provocative insight I've ever heard about geriatrics is that "Life for boomers will be no more like their predecessors in old age than they were at any other age." Something to look forward to anyway (especially considering the alternative!) Thanks, Kochanie. --fl]

My question how large is that niche of fifty plus somethings? Looking at parts of that study is even more depressing for me.

[I don't know how large it is. I just know I've Googled in the past and seen hundreds of links. That's so superficial it doesn't really count as research -- I don't know who's looking for it, who the customers are, etc. So the best I can say is there's smoke but I don't know what kind of fire there might be. Thanks, Five. --fl]

Its interesting to read the requirements of men in the late fifties and sixties when you read personal adds or profiles on match sites. My favorite is petite and between 35 and 50.

Five of Nine:

I had to laugh when I read your comment because not so long ago I saw an ad in which a man gave very specific requirements for his ideal woman: not just age, height and weight but BMI (body mass index), FICO score, and bra cup size. However, he did not reveal his own vital statistics -- he simply said he was in "good shape."

As far as the demographics of dating for the 50+ "niche", well, that is one helluva "niche":

Of the 97 million Americans who are 45 or older, almost 40 percent--36.2 million--are on the loose, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

[Thanks Kochanie! --fl]