Article Perceived Changes in Sexuality during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults in the United States Jessamyn Bowling 1, *, Erika Montanaro 2 , Sarai Guerrero-Ordonez 1 , Stuti Joshi 1 and Diana Gioia 1   Citation: Bowling, J.; Montanaro, E.; Guerrero-Ordonez, S.; Joshi, S.; Gioia, D. Perceived Changes in Sexuality during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults in the United States. Sexes 2021, 2, 331–344. https:// doi.org/10.3390/sexes2030026 Academic Editors: David L. Rowland and Joana Carvalho Received: 2 March 2021 Accepted: 7 July 2021 Published: 11 July 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA; sordone2@uncc.edu (S.G.-O.); sjoshi28@uncc.edu (S.J.); dgioia@uncc.edu (D.G.) 2 Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA; emontana@uncc.edu * Correspondence: jessamyn.bowling@uncc.edu Abstract: In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased partnered sexual behavior and increased the use of enhancement (e.g., toys). This has been partly attributed to reduced social interactions and stress. However, individuals’ perceptions of changes are missing in research. This study aims to examine how adults perceive changes in their sexuality during the pandemic. We conducted a nationwide survey of US adults from April–June 2020 (N = 326). This qualitative study examines the open-ended responses using thematic analyses. The following themes emerged from the data: (1) changes in the purpose of sex; (2) changes in sexual identity; (3) decreases in sex drive and desire; (4) increases in sex drive and desire; (5) fluctuations in sex drive and desire; (6) increased sexual experimentation and reflection. The stress, changes in home responsibilities and living situations, and time spent with partners (more or less) has affected individuals by increasing or decreasing their sex drive and desire. Participants responded to changes with self-reflection and awareness, and incorporating new practices (e.g., technology, kink). The purpose of sex has shifted in order to gain intimacy or connect, or to pass time. These changes were perceived as both positive and negative, and more research is needed to determine the durability of these changes. Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; sex drive; purpose of sex; sexual identity 1. Introduction The global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted society by reducing inter- actions as a result of social distancing and stay at home orders across the United States [1]. With 28 million cases in the United States [2], the pandemic has created new sources of stress (e.g., moral fatigue, unhealthy living situations, financial strain, and health concerns of self and others) [3,4]. These new stressors can, in turn, create changes in perceptions of the importance of sex and sex drive. For example, burgeoning work that focuses on the im- pact of COVID-19-related stress on sexual activity finds that the pandemic is indeed related to significant decreases in partnered sexual activity [5–8]. Conversely, reports suggest that a higher percentage of people are masturbating more and are using enhancements (e.g., toys) more often [7]. There is mixed quantitative evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals’ sexual activity; however, the subjective experiences have largely been neglected in the previous literature. The current study seeks to explore the subjec- tive experiences of individuals’ sexuality during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic (April–June 2020). We draw from the Circles of Sexuality, a strengths-based model that includes sexu- alization, sensuality, intimacy, sexual identity, and sexual health and reproduction [9,10]. This model includes positive domains of sexuality, while also allowing for sexuality-related concerns (including relationships, sexual identity struggles, intimacy concerns, and general life satisfaction [11]). The Circles of Sexuality guides our interpretation and discussion of the findings. Our focus is within the model’s category of sensuality, or one’s “awareness, Sexes 2021, 2, 331–344. https://doi.org/10.3390/sexes2030026 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sexes