Jane Fonda Says This is Why Women Get Better at Sex As They Age

Legendary actress Jane Fonda has never been one to let ageism affect her career or her decades-long commitment to activism. And when it comes to stamina, Fonda says her sex life is no exception. 

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When asked in a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen how she characterizes her sex life “these days,” Fonda first quipped “private.” But she then went on to add that sex got better for her as she aged — and she had a feeling she knew why. 

“Women, I think, tend to get better because they lose their fear of saying what they need,” she said. “We waste way too much time not wanting to say, ‘Wait a minute, hold, hold it, hold it. No, no, no. Slow down. And a little to the left.’ We don’t wanna do that … But when we get older, it’s like, ‘No, I know what I want. Give me what I want.’”

The Grace & Frankie star isn’t alone. Writer Ashley Papa reported for SheKnows in 2017 that several women report sex getting better with age as they start to know themselves.

“By the time I reached 50, I knew my body better than ever,” said Judith, 62, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “After having kids and going through menopause, my body changed so much — including and especially what turned me on and made me orgasm. Now that I know what my body likes, it makes sex that much more fun and satisfying with my husband.”

In a 2016 study by the University of Minnesota and Stony Brook University, psychologists noted chalking up older sex as boring sex is a mistaken assumption. Sexual wisdom, it turns out, is a major benefit of aging.

“This is consistent with the improvement we see in other life domains with age, and highlights the benefits of life experience for sexuality as people learn more about their sexual preferences and their partners’ likes and dislikes,” the study’s authors wrote in The Conversation.

This sex life uptick, the authors wrote was the result of “quality  — not quantity — of sexual encounters…For example, frequency of sex became less important with age, and the amount of thought and effort invested in sex became more important.”

This is consistent with what Anne, 73, of Montclair, New Jersey told SheKnows when asked about how frequently she has sex. “My husband and I are both in our 70s and just don’t have the energy and stamina that we used to. That’s not to say we don’t get physical with each other. Just because we’re having less sex doesn’t mean we’re not sexually satisfied.”

Like these women, Fonda—who, let us not forget played a character who designed a vibrator for arthritic women on Grace & Frankie—serves as inspiration for the crowd (ahem … me) who don’t want to discount sexual pleasure as the birthday candles grow in number. 

Gives us something to look forward to, am I right?

Before you go, check out 69 (nice) sex positions you should add to your bucket list: