A new study out of the U.K. finds 76 percent of gay men defied early lockdown orders, risking contraction of COVID-19 in order to find sexual partners. The study highlighted that the majority of the motivations behind defying the lockdowns were both isolation and loneliness. Feelings of isolation and loneliness are both associated with poor mental health.
The study, may not solely reflect a carelessness within the queer community but could reflect a lack of mental health services available to LGBTQ individuals and men in general. Stigma against seeking help for mental health issues has been pervasive against men. Men commit suicide at higher rates than women, attend therapy at a smaller percentage, and tend to discount the benefits of seeking help when they feel negative emotions such as isolation and loneliness. In addition, both isolation and loneliness are directly linked to suicidal ideation. The pandemic has also inspired an uptick in suicides. Since the start of the lockdown, suicide rates have increased as much as 146 percent.
There is also a disproportionate percentage, at least 67 percent, of LGBTQ individuals who experience depression in their lifetimes. The pandemic could amplify and worsen symptoms of depression for LGBTQ individuals. Many LGBTQ individuals also have a hard time seeking mental health help because of the stigma against their identity and possible trauma with the societal rejection of their sexual identity.
A different study on the compliance of COVID restrictions found that the majority of men in their study, nearly 90 percent of them, also defied and violated social distancing rules. The sample population of this study was not based on sexual orientation. This could display that the issue may be gender-related and not reflective of gay men in particular.
Of the gay men surveyed in the U.K. study, those who did defy lockdowns claimed that they attempted to stay safe during the various sexual encounters they had outside of their homes. The majority of men stated that they discussed the severity of the virus and the risks involved and ways they could reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. There were notable changes that the study found as well in the sexual patterns and activities of the gay men surveyed. Thirty-nine percent of them reported that they sexted partners more than they did before COVID-19 restrictions.
The U.K. study may be important to understanding why and how some individuals disobeyed coronavirus restrictions. It could help to flatten the curve, but it also underscores a more pressing issue with men in the LGBTQ community. Mental health stigma is still a pervasive and deadly issue that should be addressed.
