26% of Americans over 18 reported that they haven’t had sex once in the last 12 months
Between Valentine’s Day and spring fever on the horizon, this time of year usually comes with its fair share of love in the air. But in a recent survey, it seems that the love on the breeze has been blown in a different direction over the last couple of decades.
Americans Reach 30-year Low for Partnered Sex
In the 2021 General Social Survey, 26% of Americans over the age of 18 reported that they haven't had sex once in the last 12 months. While the pandemic may have had a hand in this partnered sex rut, this trend was already in motion well before Miss Rona became a household name.
For a little context: The last two times this survey was conducted (2016 and 2018), the rate of adults reporting that they didn't have sex once in the past year was at 23%. Comparatively, this number never surpassed 19% prior to 2004. This 2021 survey also noted reduced numbers in partners living together, marriage and steady partnerships in general, as well as divorce rates.
What the survey fails to observe, however, is what these numbers say about the state of our sexual wellbeing, and had no comment on how people have been centering their pleasure more than ever before.
The Pandemic and the Rise of Self-Care
It’s no secret that sexual wellness has seen some serious positive growth in recent years. A survey in 2017 showed that 65% of American female consumers own at least one sex toy and the worldwide sex toy industry was projected to see billions of dollars in growth from 2019 to 2026. And those were the estimates made before pandemic was a whisper on the breeze.
In 2020, sex toy companies saw a massive boom in sales. When lockdown measures were enacted and everyone was forced inside, in total isolation for some or with an intimate partner for others, the lean towards sexual wellness products skyrocketed. The reasons for this erotic explosion range from having the means to produce a little endorphin rush amidst all the confusion to keeping things fresh in a relationship when you’re suddenly spending way more time together than ever before. But ultimately, one underlying theme became the common thread: self-care.
Ever since Bellesa first announced the Buzzfeed Airvibe dual stimulation toy in the fall of 2020, we’ve had a helluva time keeping it in stock. Each new batch gets scooped up faster than you can say, “I’m coming.” Through 2021, we saw the same phenomenon with the Buzzfeed Pebble suction toy and the entire Soft-Touch line of vibrators.
People are owning their pleasure. They’re taking their self-care business very seriously and it shows.
Prioritizing Self-Care and Personal Pleasure
In the face of a global health crisis, self-care took on a new level of importance. Meanwhile, the self-love movement has been going strong and shows no sign of letting up. Whether this is in response to the decrease in partnering up observed in the survey, or a contributing factor to it, is impossible to say. But one thing is for sure: more people are standing up for themselves and their pleasure and we absolutely love to see it.
As terms and trends, “self-care” and “self-love” have been thrown around so much as mantras, as marketing slogans, as the rally cries of a generation, that they’ve almost become a parody of itself. But this emphasis on self-care and personal pleasure is not without validity.
Taking care of yourself has always been important. But until we were quite literally forced to go inward and reflect on it, many of us didn’t stop to take stock of the ways we were (and weren’t) giving ourselves the love we need and deserve. If nothing else, the 20s so far have shed light on how multifaceted we are in our health and wellness needs. And sexual wellbeing is an important part of that puzzle.
Moving towards an All-time Self-Love High
Whether currently in a partnership or living that independent life, we know that self-love is crucial to living our best lives.
Cultivating a healthy sexual relationship with yourself is connected with a whole host of benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, increasing sexual satisfaction both alone and in partnered sex scenarios, boosting your immune system, and generally more contentment in life. Body-safe pleasure products are giving people the power to explore and enhance their self-love rituals, affirm their sexual identities (shout out to Demi Lovato and their Demi Wand vibrator), and enhance their pleasure like never before.
We may be at a 30-year low for partnered sex but that doesn’t mean our potential for pleasure need be compromised. The good times have been coming and don’t have to stop coming, which is why we want you to enjoy 30% off your next investment in your pleasure. (Just use promo code 30OFF at your BBoutique checkout!)
Let’s keep self-love at an all-time high for the next 30 years and beyond.