Monday, June 21, 2010

Married Women Like Sex Too

**Warning--If you didn't get it from the title, this post is about sex. If you're not old enough, come back tomorrow.  If you don't like reading about sex, come back tomorrow.  If you get embarrassed, come back tomorrow.  Otherwise, read on.**

A quick scan of magazine headlines in the grocery store, on the rare occasion when I don't bring children with me, would lead me to believe that single girls are swinging from the rafters and married women are baking pie. When did sex become something that only single women liked?  What occurs when women put on that white wedding gown that makes editors, producers and society assume that we go numb from the neck down?

I recently spent an educational three hours under a hair dryer reading Cosmo, Glamour, and other "single lady" magazines I haven't picked up since college.  I flipped open to a page which began "How many sexual positions can you name?"  I quickly listed 5.  "If you named fewer than 20, then this is for you."  20?  Are they serious?  Not only were they serious, they had 77.  77!!!!!  Why has no one told me these things before now?  While not everything the author advocated was kosher for a believing Catholic, I would say 50 of the 77 were on the up and up.  Have I been living under a rock?  50!!!

The next magazine I picked up gave detailed instructions for giving my man a massage.  He has totally different pressure points than I do.  It makes sense, but I've never seen it before, and I read.  I read a lot. There are reflexology points in the arches of his feet which relax his whole body, and others just above his ankles which wake him up and get his attention.  Ladies Home Journal tells me what questions to ask the doctor about his heart health, Cosmo told me how to get his heart racing.  Glamour told me "37 Ways to Please Your Man and Leave Him Begging for More";  Good Housekeeping tells me "10 Summer Recipes They'll Really Love."  Guess which ones I want to read?  (Hint: I already have enough recipes.)

Television is no better, with "How I Met Your Mother" showing single 20/30 somethings enjoying their sex lives, while "The Middle" has a married couple too tired to even be interested.    Does something happen when we get married which has us more interested in making pies than making hay?  Or do we just behave as if it has?  In our desire to appear as the "perfect" mothers, have we forgotten the joy of being women?  The sensuality of being wives?  What are writers seeing that makes them think no one is chasing anyone around the bedroom any more?

While most women I know would never dream of serving the same dinner 5 nights in a row because the family would quickly become bored, but they think nothing of offering their husbands the same bland, tired menu a couple times a month in the bedroom.  We need to educate ourselves as to what is possible, decide what we consider acceptable, and go from there.  We need to remind ourselves that we are women; women who are loved.  We need to slip into his arms, not as his exhausted wife, but as his beloved bride.  We need to rediscover sex.

Sex is a gift to us and to our marriages.  It is not meant to be one more job on a to do list; it should be fun and joyful, full of play and delight in each other.  God did not design our sexuality merely for the begetting of children.  Its other purpose is to draw us together, to strengthen our bond within marriage, to remind us of our enchantment with each other, to give of ourselves completely and unreservedly, to become one flesh, and for joy.  Sex is for joy.  I think that too often we forget that.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are many reasons why there are those kind of magazines writtin for thirtysomething or fortysomething married women with children. 1. No time, 2. I know enough, thank you. 3. I don't want my kids to pick up the magazine and peruse it. 4. It won't sell--it's not that married women with children don't do it, it's that they have their man--these magazines are there to get women to woo a man through sex, which is the opposite of the way it's supposed to be. I'll take Country living magazine anyday!

aka the Mom said...

My dear Anon,
I couldn't disagree with you more.

1. "No time." This is my husband I'm talking about. I make time. If I have to put the kids to bed an hour earlier to be his wife, they can go to bed right after dinner. Heck, there are some days they can go to bed right after lunch, but for totally different reasons.

2."I know enough, thank you." My 90 year old grandmother says that the day you stop learning is the day you die. Your body may keep going, but you're dead if you're not still learning something. I still have so much to learn.

3. "I don't want my kids to pick up the magazine and peruse it." 50 positions, sure, but I don't really care if my children learn the anatomy of the foot. Foot rubs are great, massages are great. Give me instructions for all of it. The rest I'll read in the library.

4."-it's not that married women with children don't do it, it's that they have their man" Please God, may I be wooing my husband until the day one of us dies. I hope never to adopt the "I've gotten him to the altar, my work is done here" attitude. He is the love of my life, and my lover for life. I hope to always treat him that way.

Coffee Catholic said...

NO TIME FOR SEX?!?!??! Holy smokes... Sex first, everything else later!!! Lock the door. The kids can wait. No one has died from breakfast being delayed lol!

My guess is that with these magazines assuming married women become uninterested in sex is... well, the elephant in the room! If you're sleeping with 20, 30, 40 guys in your 20's and 30's then by the time you get married in your mid to late 30's (after college, establishing career, etc.) I guess maybe you're a tad BORED and need 77 sex positions to spice things up. How can sex with the same man be even remotely interesting after the thrill and dare of "hooking up"??

That and working full time + caring for house, kids, husband... how is that going to help the libido? "No thanks honey. Not tonight. I don't have time. Can you pass me that copy of Good Housekeeping?"

Coffee Catholic said...

P.S. Forgot to mention that I'm going to have to change what magazines I read. I'm obviously missing out on some good stuff lol

Kathy said...

Wow, you're saucy with your purple hair ;) If I weren't 9mos. pregnant, I might rush out *today* to do the same thing--I could use some saucy.

Good post. Can't wait to tell my husband about the number of positions. That can be a fun homework assignment when I'm not quite so ready to pop. :)

Anonymous said...

The Mom:

Thought you might be interested in Dr. Laura Schlessinger's take on marriage: sex every day. That's right. You can read about her advice in her wonderful book, _The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands_. I don't agree with everything that she says on her radio show (for instance, she is okay with the death penalty), but I think she has a lot of wisdom to share. Many men have written her letters thanking her for her book--and suggesting that she title the next edition "Sex and Sandwiches." I'm sure you can get it at the library. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Your attitude about sex reflects that you are very happy in your marriage. Women biologically have a harder time gearing up for sex, though, if they feel unhappy with their spouse. I'm not saying that every single married woman is totally unhappy, but many women are not necessarily happy, either.

Unequal division of household chores and childcare (especially when both people work), pornographic expectations from husbands, and money worries, in addition to the normal marital lumps can really kill the sex drive for a lot of women.

Those magazines are written, though, to support the "Sex and the City" unchaste lifestyle. Of course, this leads many single men to believe that they should get on-demand spicy sex without having to offer anything real in return...which leads to unhappy wives who feel like they are only wanted for their bodies and don't want to have sex anymore.

Anonymous said...

You completely misunderstood me. I didn't mean no time for sex, I meant no time to read the magazines if they made one for my age/etc.--I stick with my position--I don't need to learn from a magazine what makes my man happy and I don't need it around because it might be an occasion for sin for someone else. I woo my man just fine, thanks! BTW, it was me who wrote that!
Love, Suzanne

Jackie Parkes MJ said...

Great post!

Katie said...

It's a good thing married women can still like sex or else we would've been in trouble from day one... But um, this particular woman does not particularly like sex at 36 and a half weeks pregnant. Guess I'll be trying a hot bath tonight...

Le@h said...

LOL @ DougLane! :-P

Leila said...

Way to shake up the Catholic blogosphere! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Va-va-voom. You have no idea how timely this post is.... also the locks on bedroom doors are very useful, but my kids know how to poke a toothpick in and unlock them so we always move the night stand in front of the door also. -Loretta

Lerin said...

I just added you to my favorites list. :)

Ann - Building a Nest said...

I love this! I love your whole attitude.

LarryD said...

I'm surprised Nod hasn't left a coy comment yet.

I should surreptitiously leave a copy of that magazine under my wife's pillow...

So - have you thought of getting a spot on EWTN?

aka the Mom said...

LarryD- I'm as surprised as you are that Nod has been silent on this one.

Give me your address, I'll send her a copy.

I'd love to be on EWTN. Unfortunately, they aren't exactly beating down my door to have me on. Bummer.

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I would like to recommend a book that I found so helpful-Holy Sex by Dr. Gregory Popcak. I found it very helpful with the focus on the spiritual as well as all the 'extra help' we need to know about but don't know who to ask or what to ask~!!!
Just thought you and the readers might benefit as much as we have so far :) God bless you all! Bye!

LarryD said...

the Mom - I think Nod's read this, because his most recent post has to do with cooling off via air conditioning! LOL!

Colleen said...

Great post, and I agree with you 100% I would add that to keep things spicy in the bedroom, NFP totally works. Because as soon as we are told we can't have something (sex) for a while, that's all we want!!

Karyn said...

I would like to say that I care about 77 sex positions but I don't. I really am feeling just too tired and worn out (hopefully that will change when the littlest is older??). Anyway, the biggest libido-depressor has been body image - after four kids I feel so large, lumpy, and saggy and feeling unattractive makes me feel less interested. Yes, I know it's sinful vanity...

Anonymous said...

I'm bummed about being single. I'm not a young lady either: so many articles written about waiting are for dewy eyed teen-agers or college age girls. I use wrinkle cream for goodness sakes. I'm 35+ and "still on the market." Yes, I would like to have sex and all that.

-Anonymous Woman