By Crystal Calo, Second Year, Politics and International Relations
There’s nothing more terrifying than a dark, shagless night. As much as mainstream media loves to portray university as a ‘sex paradise’, it better resembles the desert. In the early hours of Sunday, my friend and I were spooning in my bed after a failed prowl on Gloucester Road. We had a debate on whether the game was truly gone. University students across the world have been plagued by cold, unoccupied sheets more than ever before. I set out to try and comprehend this phenomenon. I diagnose this dry spell as a rise of social conservatism that has driven Gen Z to be more politically divisive, socially inept, and thus less likely to go into the wild for a mate.
First and foremost, Gen Z is undersocialised in comparison to previous generations. 44 per cent of Gen Z men were not in relationships during their teenage years, this compares to only 38 per cent of millennial men. However, this disengagement extends further than the realm of intimacy. Gen Z are less likely to have a part-time job in comparison to their millennial counterparts and 32 per cent less likely to smoke and drink. The average Gen Z spends 25 per cent less time in nature than Gen X. There is a fundamental difference in Gen Z’s approach to the world. Our disengagement to social settings has caused a skewing to interacting with others.
Rosie Moore
On top of the obvious divide in how the youth occupy their time, ideology has become detrimental to how Gen Z evaluates their relationships with others. A central feature of life to many born in the 2000s has been political controversy from the COVID-19 pandemic and the overturning of Roe v. Wade to Partygate at home. Politics has defined our livelihoods. An effect of this is that we are increasingly politically polar, 71 per cent of Gen Z stated that they would not date someone with different political views. This is in an age where gender has stemmed from an intensification of political views, while women between 18 and 29 in the UK have become more liberal, men have become more conservative.
This political transition has affected how each gender views themself among the changing world. Men’s conservatism has been focused on topics like male empowerment. More extreme examples of the rise of male conservatism include the popularisation of the manosphere, an internet community that uses outdated gender politics to reaffirm women as the inferior sex. Similarly, political movements such as the Me Too movement have focused around women understanding their systemic oppression that creeps into every facet of their lives. With a more politically conscious youth, conversation has extended far further than someone’s course and accom, but their understanding of their lives prior to a hookup.
Beth Nugent
Dating discourse has suffered among a growing political divide because it frames dating as exclusionist. Wording used by Gen Z has functioned to inhibit women’s sexual freedom. Phrasing such as ‘304s’ and ‘bop’ have centred women’s romantic value to their sexual activity. Furthermore, phrasing such as ‘red flags’ and ‘chopped’ have contributed to a more suspicious view of dating that centres around a sceptical view around potential matches. Our fear does not just show in the lack of sexual activity, but the way we use words to isolate and void potential sexual partners.
Honestly, I understand for many that getting some has become an epidemic of shame. However, I still maintain my position that people should be as open as possible despite the taboos. Whether you like a pickup from the Triangle or call for the ex that you were once cramped in your first year single bed. Shagging is a point of joy and should never be a point of shame. We are at war with the world but in our angst we have forgotten how to interact with our fellow peers. In a society that becomes more divisive, there is no issue in seeking physical company.
Featured image: Epigram / Lindsay Shimizu
Do you find the overall dating trends in Gen Z compare to your experience?
