iqqi said:
Anyone will tell you I am way sexier in my late 20's then I was in my early 20's or teens. But I am sure I only have a year left before I get old and ugly.
So by this logic then you must be buying clothing, accessories and beauty products that will make you look older, right? Where do they sell product to make a woman look older? Because whenever I flip open an issue of Marie Claire all I seem to see are advertisements for beauty product to make women look younger. Funny how that is,...
The commonly held misperception is that women reach their sexual peaks at 40 (or 30's now, to adjust the myth for frustrated "professional" women) and men reach their own at 18-20. This is a wildly perpetuated myth. The actual peak - or period of highest sexual frequency to fertility ratio - for women is (unsurprisingly) during their mid 20's. This period represents the time at which her physical attractiveness, sexual desire and fertility potential are all at their most viable for reproduction. This stage then gradually decays as she ages (i.e. a declining sexual marketability). Childbearing only accellerates this process as the benefits of oxytocin and estrogen replace testosterone in her bloodstream to forment nurturing in child-rearing rather than sexual priorities.
However, there is a significant and quantifiable spike in sexual desire and hormonal levels in women as they reach middle age. This increase is brought about by glandular and hormonal changes as the last of her eggs begin to drop in preparation for the onset of menopause in a sort of biological 'last ditch effort' to reproduce before she becomes sexually inviable. It should also be noted that immunity deficiencies, vitamin retention, hormonal imbalances and higher instances of osteoperosis accompany this transition, into menopause and after it. Thus human bio-mechanics compensates for this by triggering a spike in sexual desire at this stage in a woman's life.
The error is to assume this spike is some indicator of a woman's sexual maturity, but it makes for a very useful social contrivance. If an older woman can be painted, socially, as more sexually mature and/or desireable as her sexual value wanes into her 30's and 40's (comparitively with women in their 20's that men will biologically prefer) it aides in leveling the sexual playing field with younger, more physically attractive women, at a point when most women's priorities are focused on securing a long term mate with parental investment potential.
Of particular note is the higher occurances of extramarital affairs of women in this stage of maturity. Studies have shown that fully 2/3rds of women who have stated to have engaged in infidelity do so during the 5-7 year period immediately prior to menopause.