Sexuality and Reproduction in Portugal: The Pandemic Years

No. 113 MAY 2021

What has changed in sexuality and reproduction in Portugal due to the Covid-19 pandemic? The sale of short-term female contraception and the use of intimate dating platforms increased. The purchase of condoms and erectile stimulating drugs decreased, while purchases of sexual devices increased. The fall in the birth rate became more accentuated and more babies were born in some private hospitals. Will these paradigm shifts last? And what challenges will they bring? Based on reliable data, previously unpublished in many cases, this essay addresses the interactions between isolation, lockdowns and teleworking and marital, emotional and sexual life, as well as the desire for pregnancy. Old and new sexual behaviour and the use of contraceptives are exemplified in figures, as is the way healthcare in these areas was accessed. What will be the result of the apparent antagonism between such diverse and contrasting ways of life, so close and yet so far?