In this episode, I explore how sexuality evolves over time and what aging reveals about pleasure, gender, and identity. My guest, Dr. Lisa R. Miller, is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Discipline Coordinator at Eckerd College, whose research examines how women’s sexual well-being transforms across the life course. Her work highlights how experience, confidence, and agency can expand desire rather than diminish it.

We talk about how cultural expectations around gender and sexuality shift as people age, and why aging often brings greater authenticity and emotional freedom. The conversation uncovers how prejudice and inequality shape intimacy, the myths surrounding sexuality in later life, and why the study of pleasure is essential to understanding human health and happiness.

This is a conversation about desire as a form of growth, the freedom that comes with self-knowledge, and the beauty of embracing the body’s changing story.

Chapter:

00:00 – Introduction: Dr. Lisa R. Miller and her research focus
02:00 – Why sexuality and aging are rarely studied together
06:00 – How cultural scripts shape pleasure and self-image
10:00 – The gendered expectations that limit sexual expression
14:00 – How aging can liberate desire and deepen confidence
19:00 – Sexuality as communication: what changes with experience
24:00 – Myths about aging and sexual decline
29:00 – LGBTQ+ experiences and the sociology of health and stigma
34:00 – How prejudice and discrimination affect intimacy
39:00 – Pleasure as resistance and reclaiming the body
44:00 – Redefining what it means to be attractive and desired
48:00 – How to teach about sexuality, aging, and gender with empathy
53:00 – What the future of sexual well-being research looks like
57:00 – Closing reflections: embracing aging as growth