Sex and the Seasoned Woman
• Gender Studies
A review of Gail Sheehy’s new book, Sex and the Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life:
Judging from the experiences of the women in the book, dating is no less perilous for a woman in her fifties, but all that rejection is a small price to pay for the joy of entering your “Romantic Renaissance.” Yes, that “pilot light lover” will dump you, as may the others who follow him, but heartbreak just allows you to “transcend” the need for something more lasting. Sheehy often veers wildly between insisting on sexual independence (while presuming the financial kind in focusing primarily on middle class women) and rhapsodizing over soulmates, but she is clear about what makes a seasoned woman superior to her younger peers: “She is less likely to have an agenda than a young woman: no biological clock tick-tocking beside her lover’s bed, no campaign to lead him to the altar, no rescue fantasies.” Gee, why don’t I just shoot my thirty-something self already?

Comments
Posted by: Sparky | April 27, 2006 01:35 PM