Sex and sexuality are a part of life because it can offer many benefits to all facets. Singles are now -metaphorically – fucked. Keeping 1,5-meter distance and not meeting people is the new ‘normal’, which means singles can’t have sex. What are the consequences of this?
By Laszlo Lieffering
Since March 13, 2020, the Netherlands has been in an intelligent lockdown, which means everyone has to commit to social distancing. The safety measures are here with a reason: flattening the curve of people infected with the coronavirus. Even though this is a legitimate reason, people remain to have their physiological needs.
The Dutch Institute for Public Health and Environment says the following about this: “There are no exceptions for people who don’t live together.” In addition, the Amsterdam LHGBT-community started a campaign: ‘Sex date? #NOTNOW!’ However, sex is a human right according to the World Health Organization. The organization claims that people have the right to fulfil their sexual needs and to enjoy their sexual health. If we have learned something about the HIV epidemic, it should be that not having sex isn’t an option: the virus kept spreading rapidly even though people knew about how it was spread. This tells us that the physical drive to have sex is simply too high.
Humans possess psychological needs besides their physical needs for food, shelter and sleep. If we do not meet our psychological needs, it will mess up our mental and physical state. Depression and stress are related to all sorts of physical issues. Sexual activity can provide important psychological and emotional benefits, just like for instance, exercising. It helps people to reduce stress and anxiety and it increases our happiness. Therefore, sex correlates with increased mental health. If our physical needs aren’t met in a natural way, people will develop addictions, neuroses and even delusions.
People, especially singles, need intimacy and love
Besides sex being beneficial for our mental health, sex is also about recognizing that it 
can be an important part of our lives, according to the American Sexual Health Association. There is more to sexual health than avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Aside from reproduction, sex is about intimacy and pleasure. It offers many benefits in a human’s life. Sex is good for the psychical, intellectual, emotional, psychological and social aspects of our lives. The deed can be seen as a cardiovascular exercise. An exercise people could do while the gyms are closed.
The physical benefits are burning calories, lowering blood pressure, increasing the health of the heart and even sleeping better. A study showed that the immunity in people who had sex frequently, one or two times a week, was significantly higher than people who had less sex. The list of studies that show that sex is healthy goes on and on. Humans have developed the definition of sex from reproducing to a more intimate and loving activity which boosts our confidence.
A 33-year-old single from Amsterdam, who wants to stay anonymous, says the following about his own experiences during quarantine: “I’m not too worried about not having sex because I still have my contacts and meet them if I want to. I live alone and I was forced to stop with my job as a personal trainer. I would be very lonely If I followed the safety measures perfectly. Being alone would drive anyone crazy.”
In conclusion, there are a lot of positive benefits to having sex. Humans have psychological needs which they need to fulfil. People, especially singles, need intimacy and love. Going into social isolation increases stress, depression and anxiety. It is likely that singles will continue having sex. It is a psychological need which people will crave to fulfil. The HIV pandemic is the perfect example of this, and the coronavirus is not even a chronic STD. Singles could not have sex for a couple of weeks, but more than that is too much to ask.