Originally published at: Adult male "virginity" soars | Boing Boing
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Absolutely! When #metoo and other modes of self-assertion by women are tied to lack of sex for some men, it’s just another way to hate on women.
I wonder if another reason we’re hearing about male virginity in western societies is the increasing openness about acknowledging and discussing one’s sexual experiences (or lack thereof). While the toxic masculinity that prompts boys and men to brag (and often lie) about sexual conquests as “notches on their barrel” and so on survives, it’s generally fading. At least I hope it is.
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I’m sure whatever well-founded study this is used better methodology than the graph implies (benefit of the doubt and all that), but referring to any man who hasn’t had sex with a WOMAN since they turned 18 seems like it’s forgetting something rather important…
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Oh my god! Imagine if the ratio came out about the same as the proportion of gay men to straight!
No one tell them!
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Your point is the more significant; but i’m having trouble even with the “since they turned 18” bit. Perhaps the phraseology is curious, but could they have had seventeen occurances of “sex with a woman” prior to turning 18, just none thereafter, and still be on this chart?
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Noticed that, too. This specific chart is not in the WaPo article, though - wonder if they updated it?
Also - COVID, anyone? I know young people are more apt to be stupid but I’ve still got to believe it’s a lot harder to hook up these days. Seems like the simplest explanation as to why younger folks are having less sex, and it’s having less of an impact on older folk (more likely to already be in a relationship).
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Too much ‘internet’?
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Great. Here come a bunch of thinkpieces about how Millennials are “killing sex.” We got shit to do, man. Ain’t got time for sex.
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I’ve noticed that with the sons of my (liberal, more cosmopolitan) friends. There seems to be a generally healthier attitude among them toward sex and relationships than when I was that age, whether or not they’ve had sex and whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity (their acceptance of LGBTQ people is another factor here).
I’ve seen older men try to have those “nudge-nudge, wink-wink” conversations with them about dating and girlfriends, but it just rolls off their backs and they end up looking like the real adults. For them it’s just another aspect of life, along with work and time with family and friends.
Of course, in these circles they’ve all had reality-based sex ed, the influence of organised religion is effectively absent, and there’s no ethnic culture of machismo, so I can’t say if it’s typical of most young American men. But it’s a positive sign to go along with some of the more negative factors discussed in the FPP.
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And these are still going to be written, despite the fact that the millennial generation are ageing out of the “18-30” bracket during that uptick on the graph. The news media have a real problem accepting the fact that the older millennials are now forty.
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so the article doesn’t seem to mention virginity, or anything even close to approximating virginity. it’s about people who haven’t had sex in the past year, which is a far cry from not having sex at all or not having sex since turning 18. 18 was simply the lower bound of the age group in question.
not sure where boingboing’s interpretation is coming from.
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I’d guess it’s coming from the part of boingboing that realizes how eye-catching headlines increase page views.
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Worse, from the far right we’re going to see a lot of “Great Replacement” garbage about how “feminised” men aren’t doing their part to produce more white babies.
I’m sure Jewish space lasers will figure into the discussion before long.
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Funny (in a not funny way) how (from what I’ve gathered) “Great Replacement” has replaced “Demographic Winter.” So many ways to try to avoid sounding racist, while also claiming that white people are the real victims.
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Seems like a good place for this:
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As my Son says, “It’s a GAME changer”. My wry wit has fallen close to the tree.
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Disregarding the background of the graph for a moment, wasn’t this trend toward celibacy started in Japan, where men preferred privacy and fantasy over the effort of finding a partner?
Exactly, like all the claims that Isaac Newton died a “virgin”, ignoring his longtime male “roommate”. (a quick google came up with about 3.6% of American men identifying as gay or bisexual, I’d hazard a guess that percentage goes up if you break it down generationally and just look a Gen Z but I don’t have the time right now).
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I ain’t ignoring it, Mister.
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