Do you remember the Summer of Love?  How about “free love,” or “make love, not war?”  If you do, you’re probably a baby boomer.  And even more likely that you are dissatisfied with your current sex life, because that’s what a recent poll has shown, today’s middle-aged Americans are less satisfied with their sex lives than any other age group.  Perhaps we should change the slogan to “Make quilts…they’re easier.”

According to the Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll, only 7% of Americans aged 45-65 described their sex lives as extremely satisfied.  Nearly 25% of this group said they were dissatisfied with their sex lives, compared to 12% of 18- to 29-year-olds, 20% of those 30-44 and 17% of those over 65.  Pretty tough when your parents are more satisfied with their sex lives in their golden years.

Baby boomers, it seems, may feel like they’ve tried all there is to try sexually, as nearly three in five women and half of men in this age group said they have done it all.  28% of men between 45 and 65 said they are sexually dissatisfied, while more than two in five said their sex lives got worse in the last decade.  Further, nearly half of male baby boomers said their partners do not want sex often enough, while only 17% of women felt similarly let down.

But saying that, it is men that are plagued by performance problems.  The poll found two in five men between 45 and 65 having problems with sexual functioning, while only 19% of women in the same age group said the same. For both genders, less than half received treatment.

The AP-LifeGoesStrong.com Poll involved online interviews with 945 people between 45 and 65, as well as companion interviews with an additional 587 people aged 18-44 and over 65.  It was conducted using KnowledgePanel, which uses a probability-based design. Respondents to the survey were first selected randomly for KnowledgePanel using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed for this survey online.

Well, all I can say is that maybe changing the world has its drawbacks.  Since the boomer generation has been involved in many of the major cultural changes of the modern age, as well as being at the forefront of experimentation of all types (think hippies, sexual revolution, acceptance of premarital sex, abortion legalization, and coming out), perhaps there isn’t much else left to the imagination.  I’m sure that the 7% of satisfied middle-agers have kept searching–and finding.  But for a large number, they’re a bit spent.

It’s never too late however; so don’t give up on retaining a satisfying sex life just yet boomers.  A gerbil here, a geisha there…get creative, dang it!  It can only get better…or worse.  It’s up to you.  But my guess is that dissatisfaction means it’s still somewhat important to you.  It’s all in the mind, anyway.  Change that and you’re home free.