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home / 世界杯决赛2022

'backsliding' and experimentation are signs of the times: youth sex-lives report

through a veil of sexting, canadian youth said they tried new sexual positions, toys and kinks. even sex tapes made a comeback.

by hayley juhl
published aug 16, 2022
read time 3 minute read
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read time 3 minute read
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coming of age during a series of lockdowns is one boring list of boredom busters after another. you finished tiger king with your pandemic puppy at your side, uploaded a jillion tiktok dances, listened to all the k-pop, and one more game of among us seemed a little suss. “everyone felt like we were trapped,” said shamin mohamed jr., founder of the grassroots organization letsstopaids. “we all knew there would be an end, but we didn’t know when. and that was the storyline.”
young people wanted to try something new, and sexual experimentation is miles more attractive than trying out another sourdough starter. a survey published in june by angus reid for letsstopaids examined the sex lives of 1,018 young canadians. as the last of the covid-19 restrictions were lifted, 18- to 24-year-olds told pollsters that over the previous three months they were more likely to have sex on the first date, send nudes and experienced more instances of “backsliding” with exes during lockdown.
“say you are locked up for two years and going through puberty, learning about your identity, learning about yourself, and then you’re like, ‘ok, i really want to try something,’ ” mohamed said. but no one was supposed to go anywhere.
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with mountains of erotic media available online and through a veil of sexting, they were ready for adventures, like trying new sexual positions, toys or kinks. even sex tapes made a comeback.
the younger cohort, 18-21, had a higher desire for adventure, the report says, as did gender-fluid and non-binary canadians.
“it’s fun to use sex as a distraction and a way to forget about what’s going on, so testing out new styles and toys allows you to lose yourself in the experience more,” one person told pollsters. and another: “the pandemic made me and my sexual partners more freaky.”
it wasn’t all dildos and porn. nearly 60 per cent of respondents said their sexual creativity stayed the same or decreased.
“it kind of lessened the desire because we were forced to be with each other 24/7,” one respondent said. others referred to decreased mental health and a preoccupation with finances and their living situations.
thirty-seven per cent of young people admitted to “backsliding,” saying they got in touch with former flames. mohamed said he asked members of his organization about it “and the answers were very honest: ‘hey, i lost my job, i have nowhere to go. either i move in with my ex or i move in with my parents who live in another city.’ what we thought was happening was solidified with real data. there’s something powerful in that.
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“youth were already disadvantaged, they couldn’t get a job without experience, but covid was leading to the downsizing of jobs that gave them experience. we need income to survive.”
the sex lives report gave youth a voice, mohamed said, “a tool that will give us momentum. this is something we can bring to our mps” to help boost education and resources. he noted the report is a national representative survey that has results from every province and representation from bipoc and lgbtq2+ people.

at a glance

find out more about letsstopaids at letsstopaids.org. read the sex lives report at bit.ly/3pk20dt.
no time to wait, nov. 20-21, is canada’s largest youth conference focusing on leadership and hiv advocacy. visit notimetowait.ca.
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hjuhl@postmedia.com
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hayley juhl, montreal gazette
hayley juhl, montreal gazette

i’m a queer mom who has been walking the various halls of the montreal gazette since 1989. i write feminist and parent-positive columns and, as a copy editor, am vigilant about inclusive language and sourcing. i believe true change starts with children and continues with lifelong learning.

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