In As You Like It, Shakespeare suggested that there were seven ages of man. Sadly, he himself didn’t experience all of them; he shuffled off this mortal coil at the age of only 52, precisely 400 years ago.
You could also say that the human male has seven sexual ages, marked by a gradual decline in activity. But can we stress that word ‘gradual?’ The fall-off over several decades really is very slow.
Even some doctors don’t appreciate this. Only recently one of us acted as an expert witness in support of a man who had wrongly been told by a surgeon that ‘males can’t expect erections after the age of 40’.
So let us look at these seven sexual ages. The future may be brighter than you think…
1. Teenage Years
Under-20 males are usually chock full of testosterone. Research from Alfred Kinsey onwards has shown that, on average, they have about three orgasms per week — but in some cases many more. In 2002 Germaine Greer somewhat daringly said of very young men: ‘Their semen runs like tap water’ — which is only a slight exaggeration. She also pointed out that ‘their recharge time is remarkably short’, suggesting this was something mature women might appreciate.
2. The 20’s
The twentysomething male has only slightly less testosterone than his teenage self. According to Kinsey, he is still likely to have around three orgasms a week — though this may be affected by factors such as whether he is in a regular relationship or not. In general, he is less explosively-triggered than before, and can delay orgasm for quite a time. A chap in his twenties usually lasts a good deal longer than he did in his teens, so sexual congress doesn’t often terminate in an embarrassing and involuntary orgasm.