{"id":17478,"date":"2017-05-09T08:09:27","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T08:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/?p=17478"},"modified":"2024-07-01T17:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T15:40:00","slug":"celibacy-syndrome-what-is-it-and-should-we-be-concerned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/celibacy-syndrome-what-is-it-and-should-we-be-concerned\/","title":{"rendered":"Celibacy Syndrome: What Is It & Should We Be Concerned?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the following article, we investigate the so called celibacy syndrome that, according to some, is plaguing the Millenial generation. \u00a0Contributor Emma Sayle<\/a> of Killing Kittens offers her insight.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s youth has apparently gone off sex to such an extent that the phenomena has been given its own name: sekkusu shinai shokogun<\/em>, or \u2018celibacy syndrome.\u2019 A by now widely touted 2013 survey conducted by the Japan Family Planning Association found that 45% of women aged 16-24 “were not interested in or despised sexual contact.\u201d Just over a quarter of men surveyed said the same. A later government study published in 2016 seemed to back this particularly bleak verdict: 42% of men and 44.2% of women aged between aged 18 – 34 were virgins.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the revealing stats would seem to validate doom-mongering about everything from Japan\u2019s skewed demographics – who will look after the old folk! – to concerns that young Japanese are emotionally unable to form romantic relationships. Add to that the air of titillation the by now tired trope of \u2018weird Japan\u2019 inevitably lends to such reports – sex robots! robo-porn! – and you\u2019d be forgiven for believing the Land of the Rising Sun is in fact sinking into a sexless good night.<\/p>\n

Newsflash: it\u2019s not, and it\u2019s not just Japan<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Japan\u2019s birth rate is unequivocally in decline. However, according to data from the World Bank, in 2015 the number of births per 1,000 population was exactly the same as Italy, Portugal, Monaco and several other places. Japan\u2019s fertility rate – that is, number of babies per woman – was on par with Germany, Switzerland and Croatia. If \u2018celibacy syndrome\u2019 is really a thing, then the human race is definitely screwed (and no, not in that way). However, a more measured view points to potentially more positive global trends including delayed sexual activity, a more egalitarian understanding of sex, and women\u2019s greater autonomy over their reproductive health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the age factor is interesting; it\u2019s not just Japanese Millennials who are having less sex. A 2016 study published in The Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 15% of Americans aged between 20 and 24 had not had sex since the age of 18. For their predecessors coming of age in the 1990s, that figures was just 6%. Of Millennials who are getting frisky, on average they enjoy sexy times twice a week.<\/p>\n

So what gives? Why isn\u2019t today\u2019s youth living up to their promiscuous stereotype?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a mother of two and I personally think two shags a week pre-kids is pretty good going, especially if you and your partner both have jobs, hobbies and mates to see,\u201d reckons Emma Sayle, founder of adult party brand Killing Kittens and author of \u2018Behind the Mask.\u2019 Describing her twenties as \u201cvery much a work and life mission,\u201d the successful sex-entrepreneur prioritized friendships, sports, and the small matter of building a lucrative business empire over sex and romance. \u201cI actually had two separate years of no sex. They weren\u2019t planned, they just happened and they were two great years.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Emma\u2019s credentials might set her apart, she is far from unique: whether traveling, career-building, studying, or something else entirely, it\u2019s safe to say that today\u2019s young women in particular enjoy infinitely more possibilities than previous generations. \u201cThere\u2019s no longer this whole \u2018got to find a husband and have babies in my twenties\u2019 expectation anymore,\u201d observes Emma.<\/p>\n

Another possible reason for Millennials having less sex and fewer partners than their parents comes down to an inherently more enlightened attitude to everything from conforming to gender norms to consent. \u201cWomen are very much the ones calling the shots most of the time now \u2013 I\u2019ve built an empire on this fact, after all \u2013 and are now very comfortable saying \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Far from sexless in the city, today\u2019s young people have grown up in a climate in which embracing issues like enthusiastic consent<\/a>, open discussions around STIs, and the importance of safe sex<\/a> are not just laudable, they\u2019re positively cool. While peer pressure can\u2019t be completely consigned to past, the days of young adults and teens being labeled sluts<\/em> or prudes<\/em> or frigid<\/em> based on whether or not they want sex feel distant.<\/p>\n

In other words, alarmist articles and stark stats miss a pretty inspiring point. \u201cRather than celibacy syndrome being a global crisis perhaps it\u2019s a sign that girls in particular are deciding when they want to have sex,\u201d Emma speculates.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To return to those Japanese and US studies, should we be unduly concerned that young people are having less sex? Must Millennials add celibacy syndrome to everything else their generation has to worry about? And is robo-porn the answer? It\u2019s a resounding no from Emma, who muses, \u201cInstead of focusing on the quantity we should conduct studies that focus on quality. Because as long as it\u2019s good when you do have it, that\u2019s what really counts.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the following article, we investigate the so called celibacy syndrome that, according to some, is plaguing the Millenial generation. \u00a0Contributor Emma Sayle of Killing Kittens offers her insight. Japan\u2019s youth has apparently gone off sex to such an extent that the phenomena has been given its own name: sekkusu shinai shokogun, or \u2018celibacy syndrome.\u2019 A by now widely touted 2013 survey conducted by the Japan Family Planning Association found that 45% of women aged 16-24 “were not interested in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[947],"class_list":["post-17478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sex-tips-advice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs the Millenial Celibacy Syndrome Real, and Should We be Worried?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is so called celibacy syndrome actually plaguing the Millenial generation? 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