Sex & Relationships

The naughty forties! Women over 40 spill their sex secrets

Research shows women in their "naughty forties" are more sexually open-minded than men of any age, teenagers and young people.
Loading the player...

If you went by news headlines, you might believe young people are having wilder sex than anyone else in out country.

They’re trying new things, embracing porn and throwing inhibitions to the wind.

But that, according to a major national survey, would be incorrect. Because it’s actually Australian women in their 40s who have the most liberal attitudes to sex and are really experimenting between the sheets.

Just to really spell that out, women in their “naughty forties” are more sexually open-minded than men of any age, teenagers and young people.

As for women in their 50s and 60s? Well, they aren’t too far behind.

Women over 40 have a lot to say when it comes to all things in the bedroom department…

(HBO)

In an eye-popping feature published in The Weekly (that might have warranted a sealed section not so long ago), we reveal the extent of changes to the sex lives of Australian women.

We’ve outlined all the best findings sourced from the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships. Keep scrolling for all the saucy details.

  • Oral sex has moved from risqué to a regular part of the repertoire for 87 percent of women in their 40s.

  • Women aged 30 to 49 (not men, sex addicts or teenage boys) have the most favourable attitudes towards porn, which they view as beneficial for relationships.

  • One in seven women have had a lesbian encounter during their lifetime. Women aged 40 to 49 are the most likely age group to identify as gay.

  • Women are more into role play, dressing up and sex toys than men.

  • In the past year, one in five women had looked at porn, one in five have used a sex toy and almost one in ten have watched an X-rated movie.

The stats speak for themselves!

‎(Castle Rock Entertainment)
  • One in four women aged 30 to 49 has tried anal sex (although it tends not to be a frequently performed part of their sex lives).

  • Women aged 30 to 49 have had the most sexual partners in their lifetime (about six on average).

  • The belief that gay relationships are wrong is quickly becoming outmoded (from one on four women thinking it was wrong a decade ago, compared to one in eight now).

  • Two-thirds of women reached orgasm the last time they had heterosexual sex (vs 90 percent of men).

  • More than two-thirds of women want sex more often. More than a quarter reckon 4-6 times a week would be ideal; 30 percent think 2-3 times a week would satisfy them.

WATCH: Social experiment: Girl and guy ask strangers for sex:

Loading the player...

Related stories