Infectious desire: How the pandemic is still negatively impacting our sex lives

Infectious desire: How the pandemic is still negatively impacting our sex lives
It's time to normalize that nobody is in the mood because everything still sucks

By NICOLE KARLIS
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 14, 2024 12:00PM (EST)


(Salon) When COVID-19 first began spreading around the world, and cities went into lockdown, many people joked that keeping couples cooped up in their homes would lead to a baby boom.

Instead, the opposite happened: a baby bust. Nine months into the pandemic data confirmed such an event did not occur. While there did end up being a small bump in births in 2021, which was the first major reversal in declining domestic fertility rates since 2007, a substantial decline followed and has been sustained ever since. In May 2023, Brookings reported that birth rates were below 2019 levels again.

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It turns out that living through a massive pandemic with a virus that’s highly contagious and often deadly, against the background of inflation, record homelessness, multiple wars breaking out globally and eroding abortion access, all while working from home with your spouse, isn’t exactly a libido booster either. Therapists and psychologists told Salon the pandemic hasn’t been great for sex and intimacy. In other words, if you haven’t been in the mood because it feels like everything still sucks — you’re not alone.

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One study published in 2021 corroborated that people’s sex lives worsened during the pandemic. Specifically, researchers found that women experienced more of a disruption in their sexual desires than men. Nearly four years later, many people’s sex lives are still suffering from the pandemic. Even the sex lives of young people who are often thought to be out living stress-free lives, especially in an age where hookups can be as easy as swiping right. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/02/14/infectious-desire-how-the-is-still-negatively-impacting-our-lives/