by KELSEY BORRESEN
Here’s what this generation is saying behind closed doors, according to therapists.
Recent data suggests that Generation Z, folks born between the years 1997 and 2012, are less sexually active than older generations. Why? Potential reasons include increased smartphone and social media use, high levels of stress, mental health struggles and effects of the COVID lockdowns and legislative restrictions on abortion rights, just to name a few.
According to a 2021 Kinsey Institute and Lovehoney survey, one in four Gen Z adults in the U.S. say they’ve never had partnered sex. However, 31% of people who have not had sex with a partner say they’ve engaged in virtual sex or sexting.
“So when young adults say they aren’t having sex, this does not necessarily mean that they are sexually inexperienced; rather, many of them seem to be expressing their sexuality in a different way — and, increasingly, that’s through an internet connection,” sex researcher Justin Lehmiller wrote in a blog post about the survey.
Still, statistics don’t paint the full picture. Therapists who work with Gen Z clientele are privy to their innermost thoughts, struggles and fears around sex. We asked these mental health professionals to share some of the sex-related concerns they hear most frequently from folks in this cohort.
1. Trouble communicating boundaries and desires with their partners.
While young folks tend to embrace values like consent, bodily autonomy and pleasure, New York City therapist Keanu Jackson said he sees a number of Gen Z clients who continue to struggle expressing their boundaries and desires in their relationships.
“I actually encounter a bunch of folks who seek support in learning how to advocate for themselves and to speak truth into their sexual and relational needs,” Jackson, who’s part of The Expansive Group therapy practice, told HuffPost.Advertisement
“There is a wide misconception that if you wish to have a long-term healthy relationship, that you need to be ready to meet 100% of your partner’s needs 100% of the time. Not only is this a wildly dangerous and unrealistic expectation, but it also teaches folks that your personal boundaries aren’t as important. This is especially the case when there are clear power differentials present in the relationship and controlling behaviors.”
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