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 Human sexual development does not end with adolescence, but continues in adulthood. It is in adulthood that most females and males become parents, and this, in itself, changes their outlook on life and their behavior. Apart from that, their gender roles and erotic preferences can also still change: Different models of femininity and masculinity may become fashionable, new sexual practices may be tried and preferred, and even sexual orientations may spontaneously shift somewhat over time.
In any case, adult sexual relationships today can take many different forms: In addition to the traditional life-long marriage to the same person of the other sex, we now find the modern lifestyles of “singles”, couples just “living together”, and groups experimenting with sexual “communes “. Some women and men have an “open marriage”, others practice “serial monogamy” (i.e repeated marriage, divorce, and remarriage). In addition, some countries recognize “registered partnerships” for couples of the same and of different sex, and a few countries allow same-sex marriages.
Not surprisingly, quite a number of women and men try several of these forms in the course of their lives, and it is therefore difficult to draw definite general conclusions about contemporary sexual relationships. Still, one can state with relative certainty that happy and enduring relationships depend more on mutual respect, trust, and understanding than on sexual activity. “Sex” may play an important secondary role, but its frequency and intensity are bound to diminsh with advancing age. Instead, love, as expressed in tenderness and physical closeness, becomes the decisive factor.
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