When I was 11 years old, my mother silently snuck into my bedroom. Under the cover of midnight, she sat cross-legged at the end of my bed and proceeded to give me The Talk, although it was more of a whisper. Instead of focusing on the anatomy of sex — the biological prophecies by which, some say, our bodies were made to meld into one — my mother chose to emphasize pleasure. She spoke about the importance of passion: pursuing it, asking for it and finding it within yourself. Society has a tendency to perpetuate this idea that the older a woman grows, the more she yearns for the beauty of her youth. It was once bewildering to me that my mother could be so candid about sex. But after speaking with Sylvia, Barbara and Michele — all women 70 or older — about their relationships to pleasure, I now realize that some women only grow more comfortable in their sexualities and in their bodies as they age.

Stuart Nugent August 20, Relationships with age differences have always existed. Many cultures consider it a central tenet, especially in cultures where multiple partners are tolerated. But usually, it seems to be a story of older men partnering with younger women.

According to recent poll, one-third of women over 40 are dating men ten years younger than they are. There are many of us. According to an AARP poll, one-third of women between the ages of 40 and 69 are dating men ten or more years younger than they are. A year and a half ago a man considerably younger than she was asked her to dance. They danced together several times, and at the end of the evening he asked her to go to dinner with him.