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Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

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Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#321

The article correctly identifies that lack of intimacy and relationships are serious problems, with sexual loneliness being a related comorbidity (if you will). The comments, so far, predictably drift toward "how do we get everyone laid?" Giving everyone access to sex will not solve sexual loneliness. And, solving (a lot of) sexual loneliness can be achieved without giving everyone access to sex. Anecdotally, I spent…

Even a simple compliment is rare. We could start there.

Does the following meme resonate?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcNQvJwXgAEqCLI.jpg

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#322
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Porn is ubiquitous which reduces the number of people looking for real-life hookups to satisfy their immediate urges Why is that a bad thing? For me the problem is the opposite - it might not completely satisfy it, but if it'd completely satisfy the urge, then wouldn't it be a good thing?

Get out of the house, meet people (even if only in the pursuit of getting laid), inadvertently make relationships in the process of just trying to get laid, find that special somebody. Or stay at home, jerk off, and then go browse the web. Basically the urges we all have, even if they can obviously lead to some awful things, are also the process of aeons of evolution. And they've shown themselves to be remarkably eff…

  Basically the urges we all have, even if they can obviously lead to some awful things, are also the process of aeons of evolution. And they've shown themselves to be remarkably effective at keeping our species alive 
Ah, so the disagreement stems from the fact that you don't think those are all awful things. I'm afraid I can't explain it further on HN..

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#323

Legalize prostitution and regulate safety and perhaps incels would build confidence and learn to socialize a bit from paid sexual interactions? I'm kind of ignorant to the subject of what is the cause of 'sexual loneliness' but I believe the world's oldest profession shouldn't be pushed into the shadows as that causes more problems than it prevents.

100% this. How many acts of violence by lonely men would be avoided if they had just had the opportunity to go out, drop $150 and have sex. Especially sex that catered to whatever fetish they happened to indulge in. I have no scientific numbers to back this but I am willing to be the answer is "a lot". I feel like if an isolated, angry virgin was able to have sex in a non judgmental environment they would lose their…

> How many acts of violence by lonely men would be avoided if they had just had the opportunity to

Zero. It's not about the sex. It's about value and self-worth. It's about being selected. It's about being chosen by the person who could have chosen anyone. When people are rejected by other human beings, they are literally being told they are worthless. Wouldn't you turn violent if you were told you were worthless your entire life?

Prostitution is an incredibly dismissive and superficial solution to the so called "incels" and it's going to fail for the exact same reasons as sex bots solution that's often proposed: it's not genuine human acceptance.

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#324

I love how the article compares the unequal distribution of sex partners with the unequal distribution of wealth, because in my opinion that might be part of the cause. I would predict that being able to afford a nice apartment in a good area close to date locations will easily 10x your sex chances. There have been other studies about young men struggling to find jobs that pay well enough for them to become financial…

The unequal distribution is more related to the power law (80/20 rule) than each other. Money definitely helps, but if it had high correlation, Software Engineers would be viewed as rock stars, instead of the nerds we are lol

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#325

> One possible aid for sexual loneliness might come from online dating apps such as Tinder. In theory, online dating could provide an efficient way to find a partner. However, online dating divides people heavily into winners and losers – perhaps even more so than traditional dating. While women can get attention from thousands of men online in just a few hours, men are lucky if anyone is interested in them My wife d…

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Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#326
post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this. The importance of being okay-looking and intellectually stimulating are small compared to the importance of being a good emotional communicator, self aware, reciprocating in conversation etc.

I'd disagree regarding okay-looking - that could be surprisingly more important than assumed. Without looks which make enough of a pause many other qualities are worth little.

In my experience, looks matter to men a lot more than they matter to women. Of course some level of attraction is necessary but (again in my limited experience) women are far more willing to go for an average-looking partner with a great personality than men are.

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#327
post #162

> One possible aid for sexual loneliness might come from online dating apps such as Tinder. In theory, online dating could provide an efficient way to find a partner. However, online dating divides people heavily into winners and losers – perhaps even more so than traditional dating. While women can get attention from thousands of men online in just a few hours, men are lucky if anyone is interested in them My wife d…

I think it's very telling there's no real lesbian equivalent to the sex clubs for gay men, or Grindr for that matter. They do exist; relatively few women actually use them. Pornography by and for gay men, is as popular if not more so, with gay men as pornography is with straight men. The market for such material aimed at women, gay or straight, is rather marginal by comparison. Similarly, a very large % of gay men wh…

> Similarly, a very large % of gay men who are partnered romantically, are in open relationships. And by large % I mean around half. At least with American gay women, open relationships are a very minor thing, similar to the rates with heterosexuals.

I would love to know the actual number here, as someone in the gay male open relationship category.

I remember discussing this with a friend of mine, who is also in an open relationship. He came out with a fascinating statement that he had never seen a long term monogamous gay relationship where both parties were perfectly happy. After he said it, my first thought was that was ridiculous and then tried to think of friends who were the exception... I couldn't name a single one either. Every monogamous gay couple I've met going for longer than >1 year had at least one person in the relationship air that they were sexually frustrated to me in private and wanted more. Most were jealous of our relationship, but worried about the consequences of opening their relationship.

I am sure the monogamous gay couple who are happy is out there somewhere, but I've yet to meet them.

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#328
post #300
post #278

Sexual loneliness and frustration is strange to me. I accept that it is real and painful for many people. But I just don't understand how the desire for sex drives people to take risks with their health and safety, or how the lack of it causes despair or violence. What is the big deal about sex anyway? Why do some guys go crazy if they can't have sexual intimacy? A lot of time and effort for what, ten minutes of plea…

Many boys spend nearly their entire first 18 years of their lives stewing in an extremely toxic media/community/family ecosystem where sexual virility and your ability to have sex with women is _directly_ correlated with status and success in life. Similarly, your in-abililty to attract members of the opposite sex is _directly_ correlated with your status as a loser and station in life.

Why do humans have to seek status? Wouldn't we all be happier and healthier if we stopped caring about where we are in the social pecking order?

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#329
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm ok looking and I feel like I can make women like me. So, I promise I'm not just picking on the phrasing (though yeah, the phrasing is pretty bad). I find it amazing that you went through that whole discussion about the perspective of your seemingly-hetero-male-only social environment without once recognizing that intimacy is a two-way transaction and that the other party needs to get something in return. Everyo…

Your right about the two-sided thing. The key to successful dating is understanding the woman's perspective. Most men think women should act like them and want to have meaningless sex right away. No, that's not how it works. For most women who are going to have more than a one night stand, sex is a big deal and an enormous emotional investment. I could go on, but this is HN not a dating advice subreddit.

> The key to successful dating is understanding the woman's perspective.

Understanding could be required, but sufficiently not sufficient condition. That understanding should have a chance to be demonstrated - and the choice of actions, given highly unpredictable short-term decision making, could easily make or break the transaction.

I say "could be", even though I seen cases where that was completely bypassed - only the form was in place, and one side of the transaction remained under wrong assumptions long after the initial actions had place.

Re: Sexual loneliness: A neglected public health problem?

#330

> One possible aid for sexual loneliness might come from online dating apps such as Tinder. In theory, online dating could provide an efficient way to find a partner. However, online dating divides people heavily into winners and losers – perhaps even more so than traditional dating. While women can get attention from thousands of men online in just a few hours, men are lucky if anyone is interested in them My wife d…

The dating market for men seems very similar to the job market: * It's easier to find a partner when you already have one * There are much higher standards in getting dates (akin to interviewing) than once in a relationship * Theres a power imbalance due to cultural expectations that men are the pursuers

> * Theres a power imbalance due to cultural expectations that men are the pursuers

I've been told by a male friend who (quite successfully) uses several of these apps that even on that one that makes women initiate contact (is it Bumble?) the first message is just "hi" like 99% of the time. Meanwhile, that's a guaranteed way for a dude to get ghosted, on any platform where guys can initiate contact, as is responding with a reciprocal "hi" on that one. In either case the clear expectation is that the guy needs to present something interesting right out of the gate, very first message, and generally drive the discussion. (this guy attributes his success largely to his A+ chat game, so I'm inclined to believe his take on this)

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