NY report 03
How American women view their bodies
Case2: Dolly (80s)

I'm TOMO, a freelance writer based in New York who has lived in the United States for 23 years. Continuing from last time, we would like to introduce real voices from American women about what they think about their bodies.

“Super senior” who is active in both love and work

The heroine this time is my friend Dolly (pseudonym), who is in her 80s. I never imagined I would be interviewing a woman who is almost the same age as my mother on this topic (I would never have a conversation like this with my own mother...)!

However, if you are an elderly person, don't limit yourself to high prices. She has such physical strength that it is hard to believe that she is almost 84 years old. I love tennis so much that I have boasted, ``I want to die on the tennis court,'' and I sweat it out on the tennis court more than half the week, and I also go swimming once a week. He also has a sharp mind and works as an active financial planner.

Furthermore, he is a strong man who still enjoys dating and sex even in his 80s. When it comes to dating, he is a very active ``super senior'' who casually says, ``If anything, I just want to have sex.''

Feeling confident about my body but feeling guilty about sex

She grew up in the 1950s. At that time, even America was still very conservative when it came to sexuality.

"When I was in high school, I had a boyfriend, but we never made it to the final act. Times were different," Dolly says.

``I never had any complexes about my body,'' she says confidently.She is over 170cm tall and has a strong physique. His back muscles are still standing tall. Looking at photos of her when she was younger, she looks exactly like Jennifer Beals, who starred in the 80's blockbuster movie "Flashdance." With her bright and open personality and beautiful looks, it's easy to imagine that she was approached by many men.

However, she says, ``Although I didn't have any complexes about my body, I had always resisted sex.''

The reason is that when she was 15 years old, her father's best friend pranked her by touching her private parts. She was unable to tell her father or mother what had happened, as she had a close family relationship with this friend.

It was around the age of 30 that she revealed her secret to her father.

"My father was also shocked, but I don't think he said anything to him. It had been a while."

Yes, this sexual molestation by her father's best friend when she was a teenager has cast a shadow over her sex life for years.

"I felt guilty about not being able to enjoy sex at some point," she said. That changed when I turned 30.

"Your mom is great in bed!"
Hearing stories from my father about his marital life with my mother frees me from guilt

One day, while Dolly and her father were talking late into the night, her father, who was naturally an open-minded person, started talking about his married life with her mother.

Her father praised her, saying, ``She's great in bed!'' and went on to say, ``She enjoys sex.'' At that time, she said, ``I see! If my mom is like that, then I can enjoy sex too!'' and felt positive, and was liberated from the heavy guilt she had felt about sex.

After that, she freely enjoyed dating various men (she shared some exciting stories, such as group sex and nudist beaches).

“I love my parents.When I was a child, I would lie on the bed in their bedroom and watch them get ready to go out.My mother would get dressed up and put on make-up. And my father was also wearing a crisp suit. At that moment, I thought to myself, ``Ah, I'm so glad I was born to these two.''

I believe that her strong relationship of trust and sense of security with her parents must have been reflected in her carefree, honest, and open personality.

I wish I could stay active no matter how old I am and work hard in both love and work! As I listened to her story, I was so inspired that I couldn't lose to Dolly!

Writer's Profile

Tomo Matsumoto

Freelance writer. In 1999, she went to the United States to study abroad and studied communication theory. Lives in New York since 2001. She is the author of ``Beyond: A Japanese Woman's Perspective of Japan-US Cross-Cultural Love'' (Kindle version e-book).