Why British women go off sex (unlike the French and Germans)

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Britain's middle-aged women don't think an active sex life is important, but on the Continent they consider it essential

Monday, February 19, 2007

By Roger Dobson

Middle-aged women in Britain are more likely to have a low sex drive than women in other European countries, a study shows. One in three British women in their late 40s and early 50s doesn't think an active sex life is important.

Forty-seven per cent of British women reported a tail-off in their sex drive, compared to 21 per cent in Switzerland and 32 per cent in Italy. For the study, in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology, researchers in Italy and the Netherlands interviewed 1,800 women in six European countries.

France had the highest proportion of women who thought a satisfying sex life was important at 90 per cent, compared with 81 per cent in Germany. Sex was an important part of a relationship for 86 per cent of the women in Italy and 82 per cent in Switzerland. British women were also the most likely to have headaches, with 37 per cent compared to 21 per cent in Switzerland. They had the most depression - 34 per cent - and 48 per cent were irritable.

The French were found to be the most sexually active. "They report having the most active sex life and, according to their attitude, sex is obviously a very important part of their lives," says the report.

The British-based French writer Agnès Poirier, 32, said: "Having a healthy sex life is part of our culture. You want to look good so you dress well; you want to be attractive and be looked at and so the attraction, femininity and sexual chemistry come out.

"Love and sex are the same thing and it's a serious thing; in Britain, sex is something that is laughed about and there is clumsiness about love and sex. Take the page three girl in the tabloids, presented as you would meat at the butcher's." Claudette Lemere, 48, a mother of two from Paris, agreed. "For me and my friends, we feel, 'What has changed?' OK, so we may have put on a few pounds and got some wrinkles here and there, but in our minds we are still 17."

Ursula Heinen, a 49-year-old mother of three from Munich, said: "A healthy sex life is as good for the brain as it is for the body. It keeps your adrenalin flowing, making you feel fit and in a good mood."

Louise Widmer , 52, from Geneva, Switzerland, went through the menopause last year, but "I haven't noticed any reduced sex drive". She said sex was about "sharing something with your partner and making them happy too, whether or not you have a headache. We want to keep our men happy and from going elsewhere, so you look for a solution if there is any sign of your sex drive starting to suffer."

Dr Rossella Nappi, of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the University of Pavia, who led the study, said: "Sexuality is a complex interplay among biological, psychological and social aspects. I was surprised at the results from the UK. Maybe in the UK a woman feels a woman, independently from being a sexual object. Maybe that is why they complain more and we complain less."

Dr Petra Boynton, a sex and relationships specialist, was cautious about the findings. "This is not meant to be a Eurovision sex contest among women," she said. "There is also an issue with ageism in this country where older women may feel they are not able to talk about sex."

Kate Johnson, a British 52-year-old mother of one, said: "Continental men tend to exercise more and take greater care of themselves. British men don't look after themselves. It's the drinking culture that affects them, with their big beer bellies."