Sex parties, non - monogamy and the orgasm gap.
Sex has never been less one-position-fits-all. But after the pandemic shifted so many priorities, how much do you really know about other women’s sex lives? WH surveyed more than 1,000 people to learn if the sex we think we’re having matches the sex we’re actually having
SEX
in 2023 hits different. Gynaecologists championing sex ed are now TikTok stars; porn can be ethical and served on subscription – with performers picked, akin to PTs, for how amazing they leave you feeling; while TV continues to explore places you didn’t expect. (Yes, that would be Tom Holland’s rear in Apple TV+’s The Crowded Room).
But ask a sex therapist to name the most influential shaker-upper of British sex lives in 2023, one whose effect truly defines what groans on behind closed doors, and they’ll refer you to 2020. ‘How people feel about intimacy now seems to relate directly to their experience during the pandemic,’ says psychosexual therapist Cate Campbell, who’s written four books on sex and relationships, and co-presents The Real Sex Education podcast.
That unmoored sensation during the lockdowns, which made us re-evaluate everything from where we lived to how we worked, also left us questioning our sexual satisfaction. While the enforced intimacy brought some couples closer, other pairings shuddered to a halt. The latter trend, Campbell explains, was particularly common in sexual relationships that started during the pandemic between people on opposite ends of the social spectrum; when normality returned, their incompatibility made itself known. That mood also manifested in changing sexual preferences; in a Bumble survey, 14% of users said they’d shifted desires from opposite sex to same-sex partners since 2020.
So where does that leave us all now? To get a read on what’s hitting the G-spot in 2023, we surveyed 1,000 people about the most intimate aspects of their lives. The goal was two-fold: to unpack the pandemic’s sexual shock waves, while peering into an erotic landscape that’s never been so fluid. ‘Social media content demonstrates that people are having different kinds of relationships and self-identifying in more varied ways,’ says Campbell. ‘This is reflected throughout western culture’s arts, entertainment and sport, and in big societal changes.’
Of course, while there might be more sexual openness outwardly, what (or who) goes down in other women’s bedrooms remains a mystery. And in the absence of facts, sexual imposter syndrome and envy eat away at desire – 42% of you believe other people are having more satisfying sex than you are. To ensure that the only hard feelings in the bedroom are physical, we delved beneath your sheets to reveal the naked truth of what it means to do it 2023-style.
Mating by nu
