The way we thought about, talked about, and even had sex 10 years ago was in many ways different from the way we do now. So chances are, it'll also be very different in 10 years. But the ways sex will change are hard to predict. Who, after all, could've imagined Tinder before their were smartphones, or VR porn before there was VR?
One aspect of the changes we've seen and will continue to see in our sex lives is technological. Dating apps have made it easier than ever to find casual hookup partners, and robotics and teledildonics have expanded what we can do with our sex toys.
Other changes we've seen are more societal. For example, over the past few decades, our society has come to value women's pleasure more, which means more products geared toward us, more information on pleasing us, and (some statistics suggest) more orgasm equality. And fortunately, people are feeling more comfortable than ever admitting to same-sex attraction and engaging in consensual non-monogamy.
Think all these changes sound exciting? Over the next decade, it's going to get even more exciting. Here are some ways you can expect sex to change over the next 10 years.
1
Sex Toys Will Be Normalized
If you've ever hid your vibrator when your friends came over or blushed when the TSA had to search a bag with your kegel balls in it, you may not even blink an eye a decade from now. "Design-centric vibrators, lubricants, and accessories will become household essentials instead of novelty items," Polly Rodriguez, CEO of Unbound, tells Bustle. "A new generation of young women will grow into adulthood aware of their bodies and needs as the stigmas associated with female sexuality erode over the next 10 years."
2
We'll Have Sex In Virtual Reality
We can already experience porn in virtual reality, and soon, we'll also be able to hook ourselves up to machines and have sex with each other in VR, Nenad Cuk, CEO of technology outsourcing company CroatiaTech.com, tells Bustle. No matter how far apart we are, we'll be able to see and even feel 3-D representations of each other.
3
Long-Distance Sex Toys Will Get More Realistic
There are already some toys that can pick up touch across distances and even move in response to each other. If this technology improves, we'll get to a point where "both partners would simultaneously enjoy each other as if they were in the same bed," says Cuk.
4
Polyamory Will Become More Mainstream
Kenna Cook, a sexual health educator and pleasure professional at O.school, tells Bustle that the majority of the 18-24-year-olds she works with identify as poly. "I think that 10 years from now, more people will see polyamory as a viable relationship option, instead of monogamy centered as the only healthy type of relationship style," she says.
5
Queerness Will Be The Norm
Cook has also seen the majority of Millennials she works with identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, transgender, non-binary, asexual, and all sorts of other identities that weren't widely known just a few years ago. "With a large majority of millennials now identifying as queer and gender non-conforming, taboos and mystery around sex with gender variant bodies will lessen," she says.
6
A Lot Of Things Will Stay The Same
Don't worry — sex as we know it probably won't ever be gone forever. "We will have more and more options to augment the experience or to experience completely virtual experiences," Alexandra Fine, CEO of Dame Products, tells Bustle. "That said, for the most part, virgins will be nervous, couples will go through ruts, and sex will still be the main way we reproduce."
That's a lot of changes, but we'll likely be alive to see them. The next 10 years are definitely going to be interesting.
