Normal Sexual Desire for Men

If one accepts the notion that sexuality generally and sexual desire in particular may be different in men and women, another question quickly follows: when considering sexual desire, what is normal for men? A corollary to this question is: since there is a general understanding that sexual activity changes with age, what represents normal sexual desire for men as they get older?

An exceptional source of information on men and sexuality (including sexual desire) is the Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS), a survey that compound a random sample of men in the general population aged 40 70, and one in which questions were asked about sexual issues from the viewpoint of both behavior and subjective thinking. A total of 1709 men taken part in the study. A self-administered questionnaire included 23 items on such sex-related subjects as: satisfaction; oftenness of activity; frequency of desire; oftenness of thoughts, fantasies, or erotic dreams; frequence of erections and erectile difficultness; orgasm difficultness; genital pain; frequence of ejaculation; and attitudes to sexual changes with age. Studies were divided into two categories: behavioural and subjective phenomena. Only the latter will receive comment here, as sexual desire is a personal phenomenon (which, indeed, might have behavioral consequences but far from always).

Outcomes of the survey pointed a consistent and profound fall with age in feeling desire, in sexual thoughts and dreams, and in the desired level of sexual activity. The fall in sexual interest neither preceded nor followed a similar decline in sexual behavior or events. They appeared to occur together. Since the data were cross-sectional, it was not possible to answer the question about which came first . . . there was no evidence here of a disjunction between the level of sexual activity desired and the level of activity actually reported; it is not the case that as men age they desire at a level that is various from that which they report. Yet, the authors also found that satisfaction did not follow the same path in that . . . men in their sixties reported levels of satisfaction with their sex life and partners at about the same level as younger men in their forties.

The authors of the MMAS considered many factors that might be associated with the decline in sexual interest and found that aging and its social correlates . . . were strongly predictive of minimized involvement with sexual activity . . . (and that) . . . good health was associated with more involvement . . . The authors concluded that the MMAS study, by looking at men in their middle years, goes part way towards filling the gap of up-to-date normative data available to inform clinicians as to the regular levels of activity and interest of normally aging men.

About The Author

David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a organic impotence company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2010 David Crawford of vigrx plus This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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