Covid Sex Lives: How the Pandemic Impacted the Sex Lives of Men Who Have Sex With Men

Garwood-Cross, Lisa; Katz, Rachel; Hinds, Kia; Light, Brian; Moore, Karenza

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, messages from the government and public health organizations aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus were turned into media campaigns targeting different groups.

The COVID Sex Lives project sought to understand how these messages affected the experiences Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in the United Kingdom when it came to their sex lives and using digital platforms for sexual purposes.

Over the past two decades, dating and hookup apps have become popular ways for people to meet and connect, even during the pandemic, and MSM have been early adopters of these technologies for dating, hooking up, and combating loneliness. The research project, a collaboration between the University of Salford, Newcastle University, King's College London, and Birmingham City University, was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and aimed to understand how health messages during the pandemic affected the sex lives of MSM, their sexual health and overall well-being during and after this challenging time.

The research team conducted four online surveys between April 2021 and January 2022 with a total of 1,409 responses from MSM, as well as analysis of relevant topics in the media, on health organisation websites and on Twitter. In the surveys, participants gave brutally honest and vibrant answers about their experiences, these were sometimes
hilarious and sometimes heart-breaking.

This zine aims to show some of the key themes that came from the research, whilst giving space to the variety of voices of UK MSM that
appeared in our data. They demonstrate the frustration, challenges, and spirit of a community navigating an unprecedented period of global uncertainty in their personal and intimate lives.

Citation

Garwood-Cross, L., Katz, R., Hinds, K., Light, B., & Moore, K. (2023). Covid Sex Lives: How the Pandemic Impacted the Sex Lives of Men Who Have Sex With Men. University of Salford: UKRI AHRC

• Report Type: Research Report
• Online Publication Date: Jun 10, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 13, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 16, 2023