The real reason young women are going off sex

Closer investigates why half of British 20-30 something women are dissatisfied with their love lives

Millions of women across the UK M breathed a collective sigh of relief last week, when research revealed that more than one in four of us reports being unhappy with our sex life. For many, the news brought the realisation that they’re not alone. Perhaps shockingly, the survey by Public Health England showed that women aged 25-34 are least satisfied in bed, with 49 per cent complaining of a lack of sexual enjoyment. But why are so many younger women feeling lukewarm under the covers?

PRESSURED

Psychotherapist and relationship expert Diana Parkinson tells Closer, “So many women aren’t having good sex, and it’s partly because life today is so much more pressured. Thanks to mobile phones and the internet, we feel rushed or pressured for time 24/7. Young women are so busy getting an education, finding the perfect job and building their career or making their lives look good on social media, that they often don’t have time to think about sex – it simply becomes another box to be ticked.”

BLAME

Diana adds, “Younger women especially are exposed to so many sexualised and filtered images of inflated lips, bottoms and silicone boobs on social media that it distorts their perception of what’s normal. It erodes their self-esteem, which makes it harder to feel relaxed in the bedroom. And as soon as your mind switches into wondering how you look naked, you’ve lost your connection with your partner. Plus work, laptops and TVS have also crept into the bedroom, with the result that there’s less tenderness and build-up before sex. We’re expected to suddenly switch into sex mode and perform, but we need time for making love.”

DISSATISFIED

Diana says that online dating also has its part to play. She says, “Dating apps are stripping away the connection we need to have good sex. There’s less courtship, which means sex often isn’t as satisfying because there’s less depth of feeling behind it.”

But while many millennials are sexually dissatisfied, the survey revealed women in their mid to late 50s to be the most contented in the bedroom, with less than a third experiencing unfilled sex lives.

Diana explains, “Women of that age are less affected by social media. Their children are getting older too and they often care less what people think. They’re also realising life is short, so they live to enjoy it.”

Here, one young woman tells Closer why she’s unhappy with her love life, while a mum in her 50s talks about her sexual reawakening...