Jane Fonda on Sex at 73

In 1968, she was Barbarella, the fresh-faced ingénue in shockingly sexy outfits. Then she was Hanoi Jane protesting against the Vietnam War. She was the prostitute in the movie Klute, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress. She became our Fitness Queen in 1982 literally inventing the workout video. The “Jane Fonda Workout” is still the bestselling video of all time (17 million).

Whatever you might think of Jane, she’s always been at the cutting edge, always willing to forge new paths, and she’s always relevant.

Now Jane is at it again, tackling stereotypes and pummeling barriers with her latest book, Prime Time, an uncensored examination of “love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, and spirit.” This time she’s taking on the stereotypes of aging. With a freshly remade face (about which she is unabashed) and characteristically toned body, she looks many years younger than 73. Yes, you read that right. Seventy-three. In a quintessentially Jane statement, she attributes her appearance to 30 percent good genes, 30 percent lifestyle, 10 percent plastic surgery, and 30 percent good sex.

As you might expect, Jane doesn’t pull any punches about the sex. She has sex, and she likes it. Her frank, 50-page chapter on sex in Prime Time (“The Changing Landscape of Sex When You’re Over the Hill”) is a refreshing peek behind a curtain that is ignored at best and considered unmentionable at worst.

Perhaps the first important revelation is that she is doing what she can to continue enjoying sex with her longtime boyfriend, music producer Richard Perry. She was on hormone replacement therapy until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. Until recently, she also took testosterone, which “makes a huge difference if you want to remain sexual and your libido has dropped,” she says. She stopped taking it recently when she developed a stubborn case of acne.

In her book, she discusses masturbation, sex toys, and resuming sex after a hiatus. After divorcing Ted Turner, she was alone for six years before meeting Perry. “If you have been celibate for a long time and then begin a new love affair, be aware that your vagina is likely to need some attention,” she said in a recent interview.

Jane’s done her homework, and her advice is solid. But her most important contribution is to broach a subject that is socially taboo. When a celebrity and role model talks about having sex at 73, it becomes okay for other people to talk about.

That was a conscious decision on her part. “I wanted to go into such detail about sex because it can be very important in later life,” she said. “There are all kinds of changes that no one ever tells us how to handle. One of the things I kept hearing from the sex doctors was that very few people come to them with their problems… So I thought it would be helpful to go into detail about that.”

She also reveals another little-known secret of aging in Prime Time—that it can be the best time of your life. People over 50 tend to be less hostile, less stressed, and more capable of maintaining intimate relationships. And the sex can be better, too. According to Jane, all this adds up to happiness.

Thanks, Jane.