Sex and Marriage

The New York Times recently carried an article about no-sex marriages, marriages where sex has ended over time and no longer forms part of marriage.

The article states "Married men and women, on average, have sex with their spouse 58 times a year, a little more than once a week, according to data collected from the General Social Survey, which has tracked the social behaviors of Americans since 1972. But there are wide variations in that number. Married people under 30 have sex about 111 times a year. And it’s estimated that about 15 percent of married couples have not had sex with their spouse in the last six months to one year, according to Denise A. Donnelly, associate professor of sociology at Georgia State University, who has studied sexless marriage."

The article consists of a number of questions that the author (Tara Parker-Pope) asks of Professor Donnelly:

• Is there any indication that the sexless marriage is becoming more common? Or are we just hearing about it more?

• Why does a marriage become sexless? Does it start that way? Or does sex fade?

• Are couples in sexless marriages less happy than couples having sex?

• Can people in a marriage that has become sexless rekindle their sex lives?

• Are people in sexless marriages more likely to get divorced?

• What else are you trying to learn about sexless marriages?

The answers to some of these questions may surprise you. Read the entire article by clicking here.

And in order to look at further possibilities about why it happens, why marriages sometimes lose their passion, you may also wish to read these articles, published some time ago in various editions of my monthly newsletter:

• Your Parents, Your Children, and the Marital Bed
• Losing the Connection: You Love Each Other, But No Longer Connect

Photo: The Kremlin by night