The “climaxxing” trend on social media is encouraging people to increase the regularity at which they have sex or are otherwise intimate. (Photo: Getty)
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Ok, you may think that the suffix “maxxing” has already been used way to the max on social media. I’ve already covered various such social media trends like looksmaxxing, fibermaxxing and even ballmaxxing, all of which involve maximizing something. Well, here’s the literal climax of this maxxing trend: “climaxxing.” And it’s about planning more recesses from your busy schedule to combat what’s been dubbed the “sexual recession.”
What Is Climaxxing
The term climaxxing is a play on the word “climax,” just with an extra “x” in the word and its somewhat more x-rated definition. Climax is often used to mean orgasm. An orgasm—just in case you don’t know what one is or never seen one—is when you experience a sudden, intense release after building sexual excitement. An orgasm can occur when you are having sex with your favorite person whether that’s your partner or just you. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to even like the person to orgasm.
Climaxing with one “x” can result in quite a physical reaction with the involuntary muscle contractions in your pelvic area, accompanied by potential increases in your heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and risk of saying some rather interesting things. On top of that are releases in dopamine, oxytocin and various endorphin that combined can make you feel quite euphoric and relaxed afterwards.
But this climaxxing trend is not necessarily about orgasming as often or as much as possible. Sex and intimacy without orgasming can have many of the aforementioned benefits too. In other words, it doesn’t always have to be about the big O. Therefore, climaxxing is more about increasing the number of times that you have sex or are intimate in some way on a regular basis.
Climaxxing Is A Response To The So-Called ‘Sexual Recession’
A stated-on-social-media reason behind this climaxxing trend has been to counter the so-called “sexual recession.” That’s a play on the word “recession” that’s been used to describe significant economic downturns like the one experienced in 2008. Well, sexual recession is in turn being used to encompass observations that Americans—especially Gen Zers—as a whole seem to be having a lot less sex these days than they did in previous decades.
Take, for example, the survey results published in JAMA Network Open in 2020 that showed how from 2000 to 2018 sexual inactivity among male respondents aged 18 to 24 years continued to increase to the point that approximately one in three reported absolutely no sexual activity over the past year. During that same period, sexual inactivity increased as well among both men and women in the 25 to 34 year old age group. This certainly isn’t the only evidence of the sexual recession, but, of course, no one will know for sure what’s happening with sexual activity until the day that corporations are tracking everything that everyone is doing all day.
The Advantages Of Climaxxing
Not having sex does mean missing out on the benefits that sex has to offer, such as helping relieve stress and pain, lower blood pressure and boost your immune system, self-esteem and sleep, as I have covered before for Forbes. These can arise from the physical act of having sex, the hormones being released and the psychological effects of “Oh, my goodness, I am actually having sex.” These can build intimacy and closeness with your partner, if you do have one. Even if you don’t have a partner or have one that you really don’t like, masturbation can still help in a number of similar ways along with helping you be in better touch with your body, both literally and figuratively.
Moreover, sex and intimacy can offer good breaks from your other daily activities, including all that screen time. This assumes that you don’t continue to use your smartphone or laptop while having sex. Routine breaks can help rest your mind and body as well as bring new perspectives and creativity to whatever else you are doing.
How To Do Climaxxing
So, if you are now finally convinced that having sex is a good thing, your response may be, “Great, how then do I do it?” Meaning, how do you actually climaxx? Well, if you do have a partner, the answer is to talk to your partner and make an effort to be more intimate with each other. Bring sex up a lot higher on your priority list. Be more deliberate about making sure that it happens. You could even schedule sex like you would other things in your life. After all, what you put in your calendar may be what you end up doing.
Now, if you don’t happen to have a partner, you may say something like “Easier said than done.” Keep in mind, though, that masturbation is an option as mentioned earlier. So, similarly, this is something that you may want to be more deliberate about such prioritizing, creating the right atmosphere for and even scheduling. Just make sure you aren’t using a shared work calendar.
It’s not clear ultimately how much the climaxxing trend will alter the direction of the sexual recession. But as far as maxxing trends go, this is one that you probably don’t want to minimize.