Why women stop valuing orgasm over time. New research reveals how relationships adapt to unmet desire—and what that means for intimacy. (opens in new tab)

There is a polite version of this conversation. It says: * orgasms matter. * equality matters. * communication matters. And all of that is true. But the research points somewhere less polite—and far more psychologically interesting: Life partners don’t just fail to get what they want. They eventually stop wanting it in order to preserve the relationship that can’t provide it. That’s the mechanism.