This is how the cost-of-living crisis could affect your sex life

Where you live, the type of work you do, your education and your finances all play a role in determining not just your sexual health, but the extent to which you can experience pleasure

Wealth buys privacy, something most people need to experience pleasure (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As the cost of everything rises relentlessly, an increasing number of families are finding themselves in a position they couldn’t have imagined even a year ago. Their buying power has shrunk and looks likely to contract further as fuel and food inflation outstrip wages and benefits.

While the impact of poverty and inequality on health and life expectancy have been known for years, the link between inequality and sexual pleasure has rarely been explored, until now. New research investigates how socioeconomic conditions influence sexual wellbeing, coining the term “erotic equity”.

Sexual identity and pleasure are influenced by social factors as well as biology and genetics. Where you live, the type of work you do, your education and your finances all play a role in determining not just your sexual health, but the extent to which you can experience pleasure.

Poverty is no aphrodisiac – hunger and exhaustion understandably compromise libido and sexual pleasure. As Maslow’s hierarchy of needs makes clear, we need basics such as food, shelter and clothing to be met before we can progress to experiencing love and belonging.

Energy and effort will always go first towards meeting our basic needs. But securing sufficient food and drink is becoming harder for many people, and is no longer restricted to those receiving benefits.

As food prices surge, the social group Theresa May described as “just about managing” are no longer managing. Households with the lowest 20 per cent of income typically spent 15 per cent of their earnings on food. This proportion is now rising on an almost weekly basis. Add rising fuel costs into the mix and it’s easy to see how hundreds of thousands are being sucked into poverty.

Financial security doesn’t just protect you in the present – it allows you to plan for the future. You can make healthy choices now which might not pay a dividend for years. This starts at an early stage in life, when those with means are able to experiment sexually and keep their options open in terms of relationships. Essentially, money is sexually liberating and a lack of it dampens sexual interest and drive.

The relationship between sex and socioeconomic status is not limited to money. Wealth buys privacy, something most people need to experience pleasure. Housing insecurity and multiple occupancy households intrude on privacy and the ability to be sexually expressive. For some, there is a need to become involved transactional sex for financial security. This can come with the additional risk of exploitation and potential abuse.

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Good mental health is critical for good sexual health and wellbeing. The constant worry about money and having enough to eat or somewhere to live can erode the mental health of even the most psychologically robust individual. We can become worn down by the drip, drip effect of stress, removing any last bit of desire and feelings of being desirable.

The government continues to peddle the idea that work is the route out of poverty, something that can compound feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness. The reality is that many people in work are still financially insecure, with the cost of basic essentials like food and fuel surging. All the indicators are that prices will continue to rise, as inflation is forecast to be near double digits for the next two years.

Sexual health and pleasure are not a nice-to-have or an added extra in life. They are at the core of who we are and how we interact with others. The chancellor made clear in his spring statement that he couldn’t solve all the problems people faced. His choices and policy decisions will benefit those at the top of society, and his political impotence will lead to dysfunction for millions of “hard working families” as they are robbed of yet another pleasure.

Ian Hamilton is a senior lecturer in addiction and mental health at the University of York