Gen X? More Like Gen Sex.

Modern Love

The New York Times

Nytimes, Redemption, Society & Culture, New York Times, Love, Essay, Storytelling, Loss, Nyt

4.4 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mireille Silcoff recently wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine titled “Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex.” At a time of life when many women describe feeling less visible and less desirable, Silcoff said, her life instead “exploded in a detonation of sex confetti.” On today’s episode, Silcoff shares the juicy back story to her popular article, from her coming of age in Montreal to the surprising sexual resurgence she experienced after her divorce. Silcoff reflects on what it feels like to be a highly sexual person in her early 50s and tells us how being part of Gen X is central to her newfound freedom. For an upcoming episode about location sharing, the Modern Love team wants to hear your location-sharing story. Did something happen that made you regret sharing your location with someone? Was there a moment when you were thankful that you had? Where were you? What happened? How did your relationship change as a result? The deadline is May 1. Submission instructions are here. Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay to The New York Times. Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, it's Anna.
0:02.3	The Modern Love Podcast team is working on an episode about location sharing
0:06.6	and how we decide whether to let a partner, friend, or family member track our whereabouts.
0:13.3	On the one hand, using your phone to share your location might help we stay connected and build trust.
0:18.7	But it can also test the boundaries of your relationship in uncomfortable
0:22.1	ways. Tell us your location sharing story. Was there a moment you really regretted sharing
0:28.4	your location with someone, or a moment you were very glad you did? Where were you? What happened?
0:34.6	How did your relationship change as a result?
0:45.6	Record your answer as a voice memo and email it to Modern Love Podcast at n.Ytimes.com, and we may end up featuring it on the show.
0:56.0	One more time, tell us how location sharing has affected a relationship in your life and send it as a voice memo to Modern Love Podcast at nytimes.com.
0:57.9	We're so excited to hear from you.
1:00.2	All right, on with the show.
1:04.8	Love now and all. Love was stronger than anything.
1:08.8	And I love you more than anything.
1:12.9	There's to love.
1:13.9	Love.
1:15.9	Everywhere I look right now, there seem to be articles and books about women in middle age,
1:25.8	with titles like Rediscovering Desire in Perimenopause,
1:29.9	or Middle Age is Sexy Now. Plus, of course, you have the wild success of Miranda July's novel
1:36.8	All Fours. And actually, July is coming on the show soon to talk about the impact of her book,
1:42.3	so stay tuned for that.
1:45.0	So women in their 40s and 50s are being centered in the cultural conversation in a way
	...

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