Researcher reveals women are more sexually-fluid than men and a psychologist believes physiological changes of middle age may be the reason they choose to explore those feelings, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
Data between 2011 and 2015 by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed 17% of women reported that they were sexually attracted to both men and women. Only 5.6% of men felt the desire for both sexes.
As more women in their later life are choosing to have a relationship with other women, researchers believe "late-in-life lesbians" are not a fad.
A study, presented by North American Menopause Society (NAMS), found that more women than men "are attracted to both sexes than are attracted exclusively to people of the same sex," the report revealed.
Further studies are needed to understand how social and physiological factors affect a middle aged woman's sexuality, University of Utah psychologist Dr Lisa Diamond told the Daily Mail. She hypothesises that "it’s a complicated dynamic between hormonal changes, physical experiences, and, certainly sexual desires."
Changes when a woman gets to middle age could be a contributing factor. "We don’t know if fluidity is more likely at certain life stages than others. But one of the things we have observed is that individuals, but especially women, go through changes that give them a little more freedom," Dr Diamond told the Daily Mail.
Women might be at the point in their life where questions of sexuality come to play. "People are living longer, so when we talk about menopause and post-menopausal changes, we’re talking about a substantial portion of your life, so there’s a lot to study about how sexuality evolves at that part of life,"Dr Diamond explained.
However, Dr Diamond worries women going through these changes may feel they have "repressed" these feeling, which is not the case. She encourages women to embrace the process and figure out what is right for you.
