Intimacy Through The Ages: How Getting Older Shifts Dating And Relationships – WUNC

The myths and realities of aging have created an industry rich with people offering a fix to stop or slow down the inevitable. Inevitably, the body changes and so too do relationships. On this episode of the series “Embodied: Sex, Relationships and Your Health,” The State of Things guest host Anita Rao explores the impact aging has on intimacy, and offers a decade by decade look at shifts in bodies, relationships and attitudes.  

Omisade Burney-Scott is a woman currently negotiating menopause. Her 50-plus years have made her self-aware, but the changes in her physical body and emotional state have also made her self-conscious. Burney-Scott recognized there were not enough African American women sharing their stories of menopause, so she created the podcast, “Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause.” She shares her stories of how “the change” is changing her. Dr. Karen Clark is a Chapel Hill-based obstetrician-gynecologist and a North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner. She breaks down what menopause is and debunks the myths about estrogen therapy. Ellen Ashley found herself newly divorced at 60. She spent years holding on to a marriage that had lost its spark out of fear that there was nothing better out there and no one would want a women of her age. Ashley joins the show to talk about online dating and the 35  internet dates that led her to a new man. For J.R. Dreyer and Jonathon Cutler their interest was strictly sexual until their chemistry turned into an 18-year relationship and recent marriage. Dryer and Cutler share the evolution of their relationship and the power of supportive parents. Acclaimed sociologist and sexologist Pepper Schwartz gives an overview of sexuality as we age. Plus, Linda Waite has been studying the behavior of older couples since 2005. She shares her research and discoveries about intimacy as people age. Waite is the Lucy Flower Professor in urban sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago.

* This article was originally published here