Nearly 40% of Single Gen Zers Are Celibate. How to Practice Intentional Celibacy

Reports about the death of Gen Z’s sex life have not been exaggerated: About 37% of single Gen Zers are now celibate, according to a survey by the Kinsey Institute and ModernDating.com. You’d think that at a time when we have more access to sex education, hookup apps, and a greater understanding of sexuality than ever before, we’d all be going at it like rabbits. Yet somehow, the exact opposite is true.After my last breakup, I was celibate for a year and a half, initially because I was down bad, but later because I realized that not having sex gave me a greater sense of control over my emotions and time. Eventually, hooking up just stopped being a significant part of my life. Of course, people have been practicing celibacy for centuries, for all sorts of reasons. Hindu sages practice sexual abstinence as a means of achieving spiritual clarity, for example. My initial motivations were less divine. Gay hookup apps and dating total strangers had started to feel like an endless cycle of excitement, disappointment, and emotional shutdown. I felt like my nervous system was fried. I wasn't alone: So many of my queer friends were experiencing similar feelings. They were single, exhausted by dating, and increasingly uninterested in trying.Whether it’s because we’ve developed impossible expectations of each other, our social skills were stunted by COVID, or the harsh economic realities of dating have made romance feel like a luxury, more and more of us are choosing to go through periods of celibacy. For some, it's become a way to reclaim pleasure on their own terms and redirect their erotic energy toward themselves, their passions, and even their friendships. For others, as it did for me, celibacy ended up turning into a spiritual exercise. Whatever your reasons for going celibate might be, here's how to make the most of your time in the sexual Khia asylum.Figure out the real reason you want to go celibate​As queer people, sexual liberation is often a hard-fought