Women's experiences of sexual expression as they age:: a qualitative exploration

The older adult population is growing as people live longer and are healthier to more advanced ages, and with this trend, sexual expression with age is changing. To explore these shifts qualitatively, sixteen women were interviewed in depth about sexual expression over their lives. The experiences of these women as they have aged included claiming sexual agency to find pleasure and finding opportunities for sexual expression in the course of marriage and divorce. The women interviewed, who ranged in age from 57 to 91, had not concluded their sexual lives. Instead, from the youngest of the group to the eldest, they were considering what sexual expression meant going forward.