Men Report Better Pandemic Sex Than Women

It’s no secret that the pandemic has affected our sex lives. From couples cooped up inside together who were once rumored to have been launching a (since debunked) baby boom to the singles who were forced into a temporary period of celibacy, pandemic sex has meant something different for everyone. But as vaccinated (or soon-to-be-vaccinated) singles set their sights on that long-awaited post-COVID fuckfest this summer, eHarmony is checking back in with the couples to see how their pandemic sex lives have fared one year in.

The dating site’s fourth annual Happiness Index Study surveyed 2,000 people about their pandemic relationships, checking in on everything from general relationship satisfaction to politics, personal space and mental health. Naturally, the study also checked in on participants’ sex lives, noting that, “Because of stay-at-home orders, couples were forced to be in the same space and spend more time with each other.” As the cynics among us know, this obviously could’ve gone two ways, but according to eHarmony, this “quality time” actually had a positive impact on couples’ sex lives.

The study found that 39 percent of people in relationships said their sex lives have improved amid the pandemic. This, I probably don’t have to tell you, is not the majority, but I guess at eHarmony the glass is 39 percent full. Anyway, it would seem that satisfaction isn’t evenly split among men and women. While men and women were both about equally “glad they were with someone during the pandemic,” men were significantly more likely to say their sex lives had improved. About half of men reported an uptick in the quality of their sex lives, compared to just 29 percent of women.

This trend may be linked to differences in how men and women assess sexual satisfaction, as relationship therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab told Insider. According to Tawwab, men may be more likely to consider any increase in sexual activity an overall improvement in their sex lives, while women’s qualifications for “good sex” might tend to be more nuanced.

Perhaps on a related note, the survey found that men were also more likely to report their relationship had been good for their mental health amid the pandemic. While 43 percent of men said their relationship had a positive impact on their mental health, only 29 percent of women said the same — possibly the same 29 percent who were having good sex.