Chapter 28 Further Reading: Age, Life Stage, and the Changing Landscape of Desire

Foundational Works

Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties. Oxford University Press. The definitive account of emerging adulthood as a distinct developmental stage. Provides essential context for understanding why contemporary young adults' courtship patterns differ from the patterns of prior generations. Accessible and evidence-based.

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. Norton. Erikson's psychosocial stage theory, including the intimacy vs. isolation stage of young adulthood. Essential for developmental framing of romantic attachment. Somewhat dated in language but foundational.

On Adolescent Attraction

Diamond, L. M. (2008). Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire. Harvard University Press. A landmark 10-year longitudinal study of women's sexual attraction patterns. Documents developmental trajectories that challenge stable category models and provides nuanced account of how romantic attraction changes over time. Essential reading on adolescent and young adult sexual development.

Connolly, J., & McIsaac, C. (2009). Adolescents and romantic relationships. In H. T. Reis & S. Sprecher (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relationships. Sage. A thorough review of what research shows about the development of romantic relationships in adolescence. Good entry point to the literature.

On Midlife and Later Life

Carr, D. (2004). The desire to date and remarry among older widows and widowers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(4), 1051–1068. The key empirical study on re-entry into dating markets after widowhood. Careful attention to variation by gender, race, and circumstances. Essential for the late-life courtship section.

Kleinplatz, P. J., et al. (2009). The components of optimal sexuality: A portrait of "great sex." Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 18(1–2), 1–13. Research on what constitutes "great sex" across age groups — documents that older adults report richer, more relational, and in many ways more satisfying sexual experiences than younger cohorts. Useful counterweight to the cultural assumption that sexuality declines simply with age.

On the Aging Double Standard

Sontag, S. (1972). The double standard of aging. Saturday Review, September 23, 29–38. Sontag's original essay naming the asymmetric aging standard. Remarkably prescient and still widely cited. Essential reading for understanding the cultural origins of a well-documented phenomenon.

Tiggemann, M., & Rothblum, E. D. (1988). Gender differences in social consequences of perceived overweight in the United States and Australia. Sex Roles, 18(1–2), 75–86. Early empirical work documenting gendered differences in body-related social consequences across ages. One of many studies confirming Sontag's observation.

On Generational Courtship

Schwartz, B. (2004). The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. Ecco. Schwartz's account of how expanded choice can produce worse outcomes — highly relevant to the extended young-adult courtship period and the comparison effects of app dating. Chapter 5 is most directly relevant.

Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. Atria Books. Twenge's data-heavy account of Gen Z's distinctive characteristics, including the documented "sex recession" and shifting relationship norms. Should be read critically — Twenge's causal claims about smartphones are contested — but the descriptive data is valuable.