It’s no question that the pandemic has upended our lives in every way imaginable, but what impact did it have on our sex and masturbation habits?
While a number of stories in the media may lead you to believe that everyone is buying more sex toys and having more sex, we have evidence that those bedrooms are not actually that buzzy. Sure, many of us are spending more time at home. But we think there are some very real implications from living through these unprecedented times.
The takeaway? COVID sex and its alleged sex toy boom is an ambiguous conclusion at best. Using Lioness Vibrator product usage as our guide, we’ve observed far more convincing evidence of a significant drop-off in masturbation frequency as the year wore on relative to 2019 for the same users.
We looked at anonymous aggregate usage statistics from 1879 Lioness users who were active in 2019 and 2020 and nearly 40,000 sessions recorded from January 1, 2019 through December 12, 2020. There were 19,578 total sessions in 2019 and 19,481 total sessions in 2020*. We supplemented this data with a user survey to better understand what’s going on from a qualitative perspective.
This report is not only the world’s largest physiological data set on sexual behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s also the world’s biggest study done on real world, in-the-bedroom-where-sex-happens sex (rather than in the confines of a research laboratory) in general!
I am a survivor of rape. After it happened, I felt like something precious had been stolen from me.
I isolated myself from my friends and loved ones. I struggled with low self-esteem and found myself trapped in an abusive relationship. Worst of all, I felt like I couldn’t trust my body anymore.
My body froze completely underneath my assailant, and I couldn’t forgive myself for staying quiet.
Being sexually assaulted changed my life, but I can’t let that define who I am. I learned that there’s no correct way to respond to something so horrible and that I should thank my body for surviving.
Masturbation—and sex—are as much an art as they are a science. There are biological and psychological forces at play, which we are able to explore extensively with Lioness Smart Vibrator, but when it comes down to it... everyone's bodies and preferences are different, and we all have had different experiences that have shaped how we view and experience pleasure.
So based on what we know, here are 5 rules-of-thumb to keep in mind when you're looking for the best ways to masturbate and take self-pleasure to the next level.
Some days, it only takes a coy smile and a light breeze to arouse me. Other days, it takes a village of porn, erotica, lube, extra foreplay, and a hard-working partner for me to even get there.
I used to think these urges were completely random — until I started tracking my cycle and learning about my hormones.
When I talk about the “menstrual cycle,” I’m not just talking about Shark Week. The menstrual cycle actually refers to the 21-35 day cycle that makes ovulation and menstruation possible.
Using a popular cycle-tracking app called Clue and my trusty Lioness Vibrator, I found out how all the different parts of my menstrual cycle influence my orgasms.
I could list off all the benefits of exercising, but here’s one of the biggest motivators: research has shown that exercise can improve your orgasms and sexual activity.
Aerobic exercise improves oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, which can mean long-lasting erections for people with penises and higher clitoral sensitivity for people with vaginas.
Plus, working out can boost body positivity and make you feel more confident and present in your body.
An avid reader, I prefer the way that the stories are told from a first-person perspective (the literary equivalent of POV porn). I love being able to read about how all the narrator’s senses are being engaged.
As someone who was assigned female at birth and used to identify as a woman, I found it really refreshing to study pleasure from the point of view of a female narrator(more on womxn-centric porn later).
To this day, I still love reading erotic stories. Being a part of someone’s fantasy in that way is so much more erotic than watching a bunch of body parts smush together on screen.