The Science of Cougar Sex: Why Older Women Lust

High_Gravity

Belligerent Drunk
Nov 19, 2010
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The Science of Cougar Sex: Why Older Women Lust

woman_sexuality_0708.jpg


Men who cheat on their spouses have always enjoyed an expedient explanation: Evolution made me do it. Many articles (here is one, and here is another), especially in recent years, have explored the theory that men sleep around because evolution has programmed them to seek fertile (and, conveniently, younger) wombs.

But what about women? If it's really true that evolution can cause a man to risk his marriage, what effect does that have on women's sexuality?

A new journal article suggests that evolutionary forces also push women to be more sexual, although in unexpected ways. University of Texas psychologist David Buss wrote the article, which appears in the July issue of Personality and Individual Differences, with the help of three graduate students, Judith Easton (who is listed as lead author), Jaime Confer and Cari Goetz. Buss, Easton and their colleagues found that women in their 30s and early 40s are significantly more sexual than younger women. Women ages 27 through 45 report not only having more sexual fantasies (and more intense sexual fantasies) than women ages 18 through 26 but also having more sex, period. And they are more willing than younger women to have casual sex, even one-night stands. In other words, despite the girls-gone-wild image of promiscuous college women, it is women in their middle years who are America's most sexually industrious.

By contrast, men's sexual interest and output, usually measured by a reported number of orgasms per week, peaks in the teen years and then settles to a steady level (an average of three orgasms per week) for most of their lives. As I pointed out in March, most men remain sexually active into their 70s. According to the new study, as well as the study I wrote about in March, women's sexual ardor declines precipitously after menopause.

Why would women be more sexually active in their middle years than in their teens and 20s? Buss and his students say evolution has encouraged women to be more sexually active as their fertility begins to decline and as menopause approaches.

Here's how their theory works:

Our female ancestors grew accustomed to watching many of their children — perhaps as many as half — die of various diseases, starvation, warfare and so on before being able to have kids of their own. This trauma left a psychological imprint to bear as many children as possible. Becoming pregnant is much easier for women and girls in their teens and early 20s — so much easier that they need not spend much time having sex.

However, after the mid-20s, the lizard-brain impulse to have more kids faces a stark reality: it's harder and harder to get pregnant as a woman's remaining eggs age. And so women in their middle years respond by seeking more and more sex.

To test this theory, Buss and his students asked 827 women to complete questionnaires about their sexual habits. And, indeed, they found that women who had passed their peak fertility years but not quite reached menopause were the most sexually active. This age group — 27 through 45 — reported having significantly more sex than the two other age groups in the study, 18 through 26 and 46 and up. Women in their middle years were also more likely than the younger women to fantasize about someone other than their current partner. The new findings are consistent with those of an earlier Buss paper, from 2002, which found that women in their early 30s feel more lustful and report less abstinence than women in other age groups. In both studies, these findings held true for both partnered and single women, meaning that married women in their 30s and early 40s tend to have more sex than married women in their early 20s; ditto for single women. Also, whether the women were mothers didn't matter. Only age had a strong affect on women's reported sexual interest and behavior.

Read more: Study: Why Older Women Have Higher Sex Drive - TIME
 
The Science of Cougar Sex: Why Older Women Lust

woman_sexuality_0708.jpg


Men who cheat on their spouses have always enjoyed an expedient explanation: Evolution made me do it. Many articles (here is one, and here is another), especially in recent years, have explored the theory that men sleep around because evolution has programmed them to seek fertile (and, conveniently, younger) wombs.

But what about women? If it's really true that evolution can cause a man to risk his marriage, what effect does that have on women's sexuality?

A new journal article suggests that evolutionary forces also push women to be more sexual, although in unexpected ways. University of Texas psychologist David Buss wrote the article, which appears in the July issue of Personality and Individual Differences, with the help of three graduate students, Judith Easton (who is listed as lead author), Jaime Confer and Cari Goetz. Buss, Easton and their colleagues found that women in their 30s and early 40s are significantly more sexual than younger women. Women ages 27 through 45 report not only having more sexual fantasies (and more intense sexual fantasies) than women ages 18 through 26 but also having more sex, period. And they are more willing than younger women to have casual sex, even one-night stands. In other words, despite the girls-gone-wild image of promiscuous college women, it is women in their middle years who are America's most sexually industrious.

By contrast, men's sexual interest and output, usually measured by a reported number of orgasms per week, peaks in the teen years and then settles to a steady level (an average of three orgasms per week) for most of their lives. As I pointed out in March, most men remain sexually active into their 70s. According to the new study, as well as the study I wrote about in March, women's sexual ardor declines precipitously after menopause.

Why would women be more sexually active in their middle years than in their teens and 20s? Buss and his students say evolution has encouraged women to be more sexually active as their fertility begins to decline and as menopause approaches.

Here's how their theory works:

Our female ancestors grew accustomed to watching many of their children — perhaps as many as half — die of various diseases, starvation, warfare and so on before being able to have kids of their own. This trauma left a psychological imprint to bear as many children as possible. Becoming pregnant is much easier for women and girls in their teens and early 20s — so much easier that they need not spend much time having sex.

However, after the mid-20s, the lizard-brain impulse to have more kids faces a stark reality: it's harder and harder to get pregnant as a woman's remaining eggs age. And so women in their middle years respond by seeking more and more sex.

To test this theory, Buss and his students asked 827 women to complete questionnaires about their sexual habits. And, indeed, they found that women who had passed their peak fertility years but not quite reached menopause were the most sexually active. This age group — 27 through 45 — reported having significantly more sex than the two other age groups in the study, 18 through 26 and 46 and up. Women in their middle years were also more likely than the younger women to fantasize about someone other than their current partner. The new findings are consistent with those of an earlier Buss paper, from 2002, which found that women in their early 30s feel more lustful and report less abstinence than women in other age groups. In both studies, these findings held true for both partnered and single women, meaning that married women in their 30s and early 40s tend to have more sex than married women in their early 20s; ditto for single women. Also, whether the women were mothers didn't matter. Only age had a strong affect on women's reported sexual interest and behavior.

Read more: Study: Why Older Women Have Higher Sex Drive - TIME

Of course, all this assumes the women in question can find someone to have sex WITH. After all, the men in their own age group have a decline in their libidos at the same time these poor ladies are revving up; plus, if the woman in question is single, most of the men her age either are married, or have a very good reason for not being, if you catch my drift. And if the cougar in question has a taste for younger men, that leaves her competing with women half her age for them.

Seems like rather a cruel joke for Mother Nature to play on some of these women.
 
The Science of Cougar Sex: Why Older Women Lust

woman_sexuality_0708.jpg


Men who cheat on their spouses have always enjoyed an expedient explanation: Evolution made me do it. Many articles (here is one, and here is another), especially in recent years, have explored the theory that men sleep around because evolution has programmed them to seek fertile (and, conveniently, younger) wombs.

But what about women? If it's really true that evolution can cause a man to risk his marriage, what effect does that have on women's sexuality?

A new journal article suggests that evolutionary forces also push women to be more sexual, although in unexpected ways. University of Texas psychologist David Buss wrote the article, which appears in the July issue of Personality and Individual Differences, with the help of three graduate students, Judith Easton (who is listed as lead author), Jaime Confer and Cari Goetz. Buss, Easton and their colleagues found that women in their 30s and early 40s are significantly more sexual than younger women. Women ages 27 through 45 report not only having more sexual fantasies (and more intense sexual fantasies) than women ages 18 through 26 but also having more sex, period. And they are more willing than younger women to have casual sex, even one-night stands. In other words, despite the girls-gone-wild image of promiscuous college women, it is women in their middle years who are America's most sexually industrious.

By contrast, men's sexual interest and output, usually measured by a reported number of orgasms per week, peaks in the teen years and then settles to a steady level (an average of three orgasms per week) for most of their lives. As I pointed out in March, most men remain sexually active into their 70s. According to the new study, as well as the study I wrote about in March, women's sexual ardor declines precipitously after menopause.

Why would women be more sexually active in their middle years than in their teens and 20s? Buss and his students say evolution has encouraged women to be more sexually active as their fertility begins to decline and as menopause approaches.

Here's how their theory works:

Our female ancestors grew accustomed to watching many of their children — perhaps as many as half — die of various diseases, starvation, warfare and so on before being able to have kids of their own. This trauma left a psychological imprint to bear as many children as possible. Becoming pregnant is much easier for women and girls in their teens and early 20s — so much easier that they need not spend much time having sex.

However, after the mid-20s, the lizard-brain impulse to have more kids faces a stark reality: it's harder and harder to get pregnant as a woman's remaining eggs age. And so women in their middle years respond by seeking more and more sex.

To test this theory, Buss and his students asked 827 women to complete questionnaires about their sexual habits. And, indeed, they found that women who had passed their peak fertility years but not quite reached menopause were the most sexually active. This age group — 27 through 45 — reported having significantly more sex than the two other age groups in the study, 18 through 26 and 46 and up. Women in their middle years were also more likely than the younger women to fantasize about someone other than their current partner. The new findings are consistent with those of an earlier Buss paper, from 2002, which found that women in their early 30s feel more lustful and report less abstinence than women in other age groups. In both studies, these findings held true for both partnered and single women, meaning that married women in their 30s and early 40s tend to have more sex than married women in their early 20s; ditto for single women. Also, whether the women were mothers didn't matter. Only age had a strong affect on women's reported sexual interest and behavior.

Read more: Study: Why Older Women Have Higher Sex Drive - TIME

Of course, all this assumes the women in question can find someone to have sex WITH. After all, the men in their own age group have a decline in their libidos at the same time these poor ladies are revving up; plus, if the woman in question is single, most of the men her age either are married, or have a very good reason for not being, if you catch my drift. And if the cougar in question has a taste for younger men, that leaves her competing with women half her age for them.

Seems like rather a cruel joke for Mother Nature to play on some of these women.

Actually I was with a couple women in their 40s back when I was in the service and I found them to be less clingy than their 20 year old counter parts and actually better in bed, I think cougars have alot to bring to the table, maturity is a big thing if you are going to have casual sex without feelings.
 
As an ex-cougar, I can say with some certainty that a woman in her 40s is treated much BETTER by a man in his 20s, than she is by a man in his 40s.

As men age, they develop the idea that they are most sexually appealing to women in early to middle 20s. This isn't true they just believe it to be true. As a consequence men in middle age and up believe that women their own age should be terminally grateful for whatever attention they get. This makes them obnoxious. The contempt just leaks out of their pores. Younger men bring the attitude that older women are more experienced and more adventurous. A 25 year old man is likely to show up at the door of a 40 year old woman with flowers and a bottle of wine. A 40 year old man is likely to break a date with a 40 year old woman because he THINKS he can get one with a 39 year old woman.
 
As an ex-cougar, I can say with some certainty that a woman in her 40s is treated much BETTER by a man in his 20s, than she is by a man in his 40s.

As men age, they develop the idea that they are most sexually appealing to women in early to middle 20s. This isn't true they just believe it to be true. As a consequence men in middle age and up believe that women their own age should be terminally grateful for whatever attention they get. This makes them obnoxious. The contempt just leaks out of their pores. Younger men bring the attitude that older women are more experienced and more adventurous. A 25 year old man is likely to show up at the door of a 40 year old woman with flowers and a bottle of wine. A 40 year old man is likely to break a date with a 40 year old woman because he THINKS he can get one with a 39 year old woman.

For a man in his 20s being with an older woman can be a great experience, it definently was for me. Younger women are ok with being with an older guy if he has money and can treat them to nice dinners and vacations and stuff, I have definently seen that.
 
Its all about propagation of the species.

Your body is programed in these ways to try and create offspring.

Give into your bodies programing or not.

Its your choice.

I prefer to opperate my life more with my head than my primal urges
 
Its all about propagation of the species.

Your body is programed in these ways to try and create offspring.

Give into your bodies programing or not.

Its your choice.

I prefer to opperate my life more with my head than my primal urges

Oh, SO not true, grasshoppah. This discussion isn't about sexually active or no. I am not, but only because I'm still married (and he's living with someone else.) And men make me nervous, and I'm a hermit. None of that has any bearing on hormones and sex drive.

Being 53 and sans relationship? It's like I have an off switch on the urges. It's a blessing. Now if I ever start dating again and my off switch remains locked? I'll be seeing a doctor, because then I will know something IS wrong.
 
Seems like rather a cruel joke for Mother Nature to play on some of these women.

One of many Mother Nature likes to impose of us.

Too soon old, too late smart is another.

And what's up with the MN's plan wherein boys go from having ZERO sex drive to being nearly completely obsessed with sex for years before most of them are remotely spongeworth?

Oh yeah, those years of wanting but not being wanted doesn't make most men forking nuts when it comes to the male female relationsips for the rest of their lives, now, does it?
 
Seems like rather a cruel joke for Mother Nature to play on some of these women.

One of many Mother Nature likes to impose of us.

Too soon old, too late smart is another.

And what's up with the MN's plan wherein boys go from having ZERO sex drive to being nearly completely obsessed with sex for years before most of them are remotely spongeworth?

Oh yeah, those years of wanting but not being wanted doesn't make most men forking nuts when it comes to the male female relationsips for the rest of their lives, now, does it?

From what I understand when men get married they get denied sex so much they just don't really want it as much when the woman gets older and hits her prime, it seems older ladies and younger men are a good match physically.
 
Its all about propagation of the species.

Your body is programed in these ways to try and create offspring.

Give into your bodies programing or not.

Its your choice.

I prefer to opperate my life more with my head than my primal urges

Oh, SO not true, grasshoppah. This discussion isn't about sexually active or no. I am not, but only because I'm still married (and he's living with someone else.) And men make me nervous, and I'm a hermit. None of that has any bearing on hormones and sex drive.

Being 53 and sans relationship? It's like I have an off switch on the urges. It's a blessing. Now if I ever start dating again and my off switch remains locked? I'll be seeing a doctor, because then I will know something IS wrong.

I think you misunderstand me.

This is natures way of getting a woman to do a last chance child.

The same is for the middle aged man finding younger women compelling.

Its a last ditch effort to spread the seed.

Diversification of the species is the aim of this natural cycle.
 
I don't have a storage tank.

And you said "I prefer to opperate my life more with my head than my primal urges", which is exactly what I responded to. It's not an 'either/or' scenario, to my mind.
 
As an ex-cougar, I can say with some certainty that a woman in her 40s is treated much BETTER by a man in his 20s, than she is by a man in his 40s.

As men age, they develop the idea that they are most sexually appealing to women in early to middle 20s. This isn't true they just believe it to be true. As a consequence men in middle age and up believe that women their own age should be terminally grateful for whatever attention they get. This makes them obnoxious. The contempt just leaks out of their pores. Younger men bring the attitude that older women are more experienced and more adventurous. A 25 year old man is likely to show up at the door of a 40 year old woman with flowers and a bottle of wine. A 40 year old man is likely to break a date with a 40 year old woman because he THINKS he can get one with a 39 year old woman.

As a ... I can't bring myself to refer to myself as a cougar ... I have to disagree. I'm in my 40's and I find older men ( mmmm ... 50's ) to be more attentive than any younger man. And the ones I know and adore WOULD show up with flowers and a bottle of wine and perhaps a little something else to enjoy the night with.
 
Seems like rather a cruel joke for Mother Nature to play on some of these women.

One of many Mother Nature likes to impose of us.

Too soon old, too late smart is another.

And what's up with the MN's plan wherein boys go from having ZERO sex drive to being nearly completely obsessed with sex for years before most of them are remotely spongeworth?

Oh yeah, those years of wanting but not being wanted doesn't make most men forking nuts when it comes to the male female relationsips for the rest of their lives, now, does it?

From what I understand when men get married they get denied sex so much they just don't really want it as much when the woman gets older and hits her prime, it seems older ladies and younger men are a good match physically.

Meh ... it depends on the relationship. If we throw children into the mix here, well I can understand exactly why women shy away from sex. In my opinion, men ( husband / father ) don't think nearly as much about all the things that need to be done and taken care of, as much as the woman ( wife / mother ) does.

What's sad is when the children grow older and the woman doesn't come back around to enjoying sex.
 
Its all about propagation of the species.

Your body is programed in these ways to try and create offspring.

Give into your bodies programing or not.

Its your choice.

I prefer to opperate my life more with my head than my primal urges

Oh, SO not true, grasshoppah. This discussion isn't about sexually active or no. I am not, but only because I'm still married (and he's living with someone else.) And men make me nervous, and I'm a hermit. None of that has any bearing on hormones and sex drive.

Being 53 and sans relationship? It's like I have an off switch on the urges. It's a blessing. Now if I ever start dating again and my off switch remains locked? I'll be seeing a doctor, because then I will know something IS wrong.

I think you misunderstand me.

This is natures way of getting a woman to do a last chance child.

The same is for the middle aged man finding younger women compelling.

Its a last ditch effort to spread the seed.

Diversification of the species is the aim of this natural cycle.
I think this is a certain possibility....it does make great sense in a scientific realm.
 
As an ex-cougar, I can say with some certainty that a woman in her 40s is treated much BETTER by a man in his 20s, than she is by a man in his 40s.

As men age, they develop the idea that they are most sexually appealing to women in early to middle 20s. This isn't true they just believe it to be true. As a consequence men in middle age and up believe that women their own age should be terminally grateful for whatever attention they get. This makes them obnoxious. The contempt just leaks out of their pores. Younger men bring the attitude that older women are more experienced and more adventurous. A 25 year old man is likely to show up at the door of a 40 year old woman with flowers and a bottle of wine. A 40 year old man is likely to break a date with a 40 year old woman because he THINKS he can get one with a 39 year old woman.

As a ... I can't bring myself to refer to myself as a cougar ... I have to disagree. I'm in my 40's and I find older men ( mmmm ... 50's ) to be more attentive than any younger man. And the ones I know and adore WOULD show up with flowers and a bottle of wine and perhaps a little something else to enjoy the night with.

I'm 29 and I will prove you wrong.:cool:
 

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