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Still Doing It: The Intimate Lives of Women over Sixty
"An informed, honest, joyous book. Younger women may well envy us." -Suzanne Braun Levine, author of Inventing the Rest of Our Lives and
"Sex, love, and life can grow even richer as we grow older, and the stereotype-busting women in this book show us scores of ways. These women are not going downhill, they're on a roll. They are women of juice and wisdom-and living proof that the best is yet to come."- Gina Ogden, PhD, author of Women Who Love Sex, The Heart and Soul of Sex, and The Return of Desire
When Deirdre Fishel and Diana Holtzberg began work on their documentary Still Doing It, they knew they were catching a wave.
The women of the baby-boom generation who had been so outspoken about sexuality and freedom were about to turn sixty, yet no one was talking about the revolution in aging. Nor was anyone letting on about the big dark secret that women born before the boomers, even way before, were a hell of a lot more vital than the images we were getting, and many were still having sex-and loving it! In Still Doing It, Fishel, Holtzberg, and the incredible women in their documentary broke the silence.
Now they are back, with a stimulating and eye-opening book that offers a deeper look at women who break every stereotype we have about sex and intimacy. These women are dynamic, confident, opinionated, and wise. They're also having the kind of intense sexual experiences and fantasies we never associate with grandmothers. You'll meet Betty, who met her live-in boyfriend in an online chat room when she was sixty-nine and he was twenty-two; Joani, age seventy, who shares her boyfriend with another woman; and Frances, who encountered the intellectual and sexual love of her life at eighty.
Today's women are living longer, healthier lives, and their appetite for sex and adventure isn't fading. Aware of their mortality, they understand just how precious life really is, and are willing to take risks to go after what they want. Challenging stereotypes about older women, Still Doing It lets everyone know that sex and adventure do not need to end when you hit sixty (or seventy . . . or ninety!). In fact, the good stuff is often just beginning.
"Sex, love, and life can grow even richer as we grow older, and the stereotype-busting women in this book show us scores of ways. These women are not going downhill, they're on a roll. They are women of juice and wisdom-and living proof that the best is yet to come."- Gina Ogden, PhD, author of Women Who Love Sex, The Heart and Soul of Sex, and The Return of Desire
When Deirdre Fishel and Diana Holtzberg began work on their documentary Still Doing It, they knew they were catching a wave.
The women of the baby-boom generation who had been so outspoken about sexuality and freedom were about to turn sixty, yet no one was talking about the revolution in aging. Nor was anyone letting on about the big dark secret that women born before the boomers, even way before, were a hell of a lot more vital than the images we were getting, and many were still having sex-and loving it! In Still Doing It, Fishel, Holtzberg, and the incredible women in their documentary broke the silence.
Now they are back, with a stimulating and eye-opening book that offers a deeper look at women who break every stereotype we have about sex and intimacy. These women are dynamic, confident, opinionated, and wise. They're also having the kind of intense sexual experiences and fantasies we never associate with grandmothers. You'll meet Betty, who met her live-in boyfriend in an online chat room when she was sixty-nine and he was twenty-two; Joani, age seventy, who shares her boyfriend with another woman; and Frances, who encountered the intellectual and sexual love of her life at eighty.
Today's women are living longer, healthier lives, and their appetite for sex and adventure isn't fading. Aware of their mortality, they understand just how precious life really is, and are willing to take risks to go after what they want. Challenging stereotypes about older women, Still Doing It lets everyone know that sex and adventure do not need to end when you hit sixty (or seventy . . . or ninety!). In fact, the good stuff is often just beginning.
- GenresNonfictionHealth
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 23, 2018
I was disappointed.
I'm 57, unconventional, inquisitive, enjoy sex. I was hoping for more substance from this book. Instead of research interspersed with anecdotes or comments from older women, we are presented with anecdotes and quotes from a handful of women, with a tiny smattering of science, mostly in sidebars here and there. It didn't help my enjoyment of the book that I didn't much like most of the women highlighted.
My favourite anecdote, told by one of my favourite women, Dell, involves her quest for a vibrator in the early 1970's. I laughed out loud at her plight, turning on a "personal massager" in Macy's and being mortified at just how loud those things are, imagining "everybody on the floor knows what I want to use it for!"
(And yes, Dell, those things are STILL that loud!) But I imagine Dell knows that, for this experience inspired her to open her own store, aimed at women and selling not only sex toys, but also providing sex education. Such stores are not uncommon now, but they were ground-breaking in the '70's!
There were a few inspiring quotes and ideas in the book, but by and large I didn't learn much. However, that could be that I am within spitting distance of 60 now, and could easily be one of the women in this book. (One of the likeable ones, I hope!)
Still, it wasn't a waste of time, at all. The ideas I have taken from the book will improve my quality of life as I venture through the next few decades -- let's be real here: the last few decades -- of my life. And no, I don't find that a depressing idea. In your late fifties, you know you are closer to the end of your life than the beginning. That's just fact. As the women in the book note, this awareness makes you treasure life more, and makes you less likely to defer your wants and needs.
I only have so much time. We all do. Life is finite. Let's make the most of it!
I'm 57, unconventional, inquisitive, enjoy sex. I was hoping for more substance from this book. Instead of research interspersed with anecdotes or comments from older women, we are presented with anecdotes and quotes from a handful of women, with a tiny smattering of science, mostly in sidebars here and there. It didn't help my enjoyment of the book that I didn't much like most of the women highlighted.
My favourite anecdote, told by one of my favourite women, Dell, involves her quest for a vibrator in the early 1970's. I laughed out loud at her plight, turning on a "personal massager" in Macy's and being mortified at just how loud those things are, imagining "everybody on the floor knows what I want to use it for!"
(And yes, Dell, those things are STILL that loud!) But I imagine Dell knows that, for this experience inspired her to open her own store, aimed at women and selling not only sex toys, but also providing sex education. Such stores are not uncommon now, but they were ground-breaking in the '70's!
There were a few inspiring quotes and ideas in the book, but by and large I didn't learn much. However, that could be that I am within spitting distance of 60 now, and could easily be one of the women in this book. (One of the likeable ones, I hope!)
Still, it wasn't a waste of time, at all. The ideas I have taken from the book will improve my quality of life as I venture through the next few decades -- let's be real here: the last few decades -- of my life. And no, I don't find that a depressing idea. In your late fifties, you know you are closer to the end of your life than the beginning. That's just fact. As the women in the book note, this awareness makes you treasure life more, and makes you less likely to defer your wants and needs.
I only have so much time. We all do. Life is finite. Let's make the most of it!
June 25, 2023
The book is a little outdated by now since it’s written in 2009. In the same time it still gives an interesting perspective on women. It’s hopeful in the sense that even at a very old age women go out and try and have an enjoyable, fulfilling and sexy life. Sometimes a better life then they had when they were young. In a time where ageism gets a little more attention, I believe this book still has a lot of value and it complements the recent statements of women like Jane Fonda and Andie McDowell. So far I have not seen many women daring enough to share their intimate lives. The book is made after the documentary with the same name which I have not seen.
August 20, 2010
A series of cheerleading stories of women who find sex enjoyable and who are active post-menopause. We picked it up because of changes that we've seen as a couple.
The first 88 pages are personal stories of women who've continued sex lives after death, divorce and medical conditions. Once you're 88 pages into the book there are some explanations of the physical changes that menopause and aging induces in women but it's not very complete, ignoring some of the latest research on hormone therapy and other medical issues and missing others entirely. In addition, there's little about male issues with sexuality in aging.
The first 88 pages are personal stories of women who've continued sex lives after death, divorce and medical conditions. Once you're 88 pages into the book there are some explanations of the physical changes that menopause and aging induces in women but it's not very complete, ignoring some of the latest research on hormone therapy and other medical issues and missing others entirely. In addition, there's little about male issues with sexuality in aging.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews