What lockdown easing means for dating

Great news guys! In case you hadn’t noticed, spring is here, there is blossom on the trees and the sun is (sometimes) shining. On top of that, lockdown restrictions are set to ease over the coming weeks and months and life is tentatively thinking about returning to normal.

While life might be normal again soon though, how is your love life looking? Lockdown has had a huge impact on relationships, especially for people who are single and looking to date or for anyone whose sex life involves getting a bit more ‘out and about’ and meeting new people or groups. It’s hard to be adventurous when adventure as a concept has been taken off the table isn’t it?

The good news though is that we start to open up there will be more and more opportunities to explore that adventurous side of ourselves, whether that’s simply by finally getting in touch with that Bumble match or checking out bdsm dating sites. Because honestly, I think that if coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s that we have to seize the day a bit more don’t we? We have to be true to ourselves, embrace the things that make us happy, be that long walks in the local park or a spot of BDSM fun.

BDSM has become a bit of a catch all term, and many people wrongly assume it’s all about pain. While there is an element of the pain/pleasure paradox in BDSM, it’s actually a far more complex practice, incorporating all sorts of different forms of dominance and submission. Although the term BDSM wasn’t actually first recorded until 1991, it’s something that has obviously been popular for a lot longer than that. This rather lovely illustration from the 1920s is a classic example of female submission and male dominance, and the typical BDSM roles must surely date back as far as human beings themselves? Wanting to be dominant of or submissive to a partner, and getting a sexual thrill from that, is certainly not a modern phenomenon.

How has BDSM’s popularity been impacted by the global pandemic I wonder? It would be interesting to know whether the forced time at home together has opened people’s minds to trying new things, or whether the reverse has been in fact true. Many researchers predicted a baby boom this year following what they assumed would be an increase in sexual activity during lockdown, but actually birth rates have significantly dropped – clearly our enthusiasm for baby making at least hasn’t been encouraged by an increase in the amount of time we’ve spent with our partners!

With the summer in the UK set to be a far more optimistic one at least, dating generally and bdsm dating in particular look set to be back on the cards and it won’t come soon enough for a lot of people. Variety is the spice of life after all, and we certainly haven’t had a lot of that lately. Roll on a more exciting and liberating summer.

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