The Next Generation Lube

Leave it to today’s generation to find fun new uses for lube

Laura Shinn

Last year, in an attempt to give sex advice to readers of Maxim magazine, UFC Fighter Ronda Rousey suggested that if you need lube, then you’re being lazy.

That comment rubbed us the wrong way.

Because here’s the thing: the amount of natural lubricant one’s vagina—or penis (yes, the penis lubricates)—produces is not an indicator of arousal. “Hormones due to aging could contribute to problems with producing enough natural lubrication,” says Seattle-based naturopath Dr. Cindi Buxton, N.D., LAc., whose patients call her Dr. Cindi, “but it could also be stress, dehydration, or even a symptom of feeling under the weather—especially if you’re running a fever.”

The truth is, you could be more turned on than ever, and still need a little help. So here’s what we think: lube-shamers like Rousey could use a little perspective shift. What if the use of lube was less about what your body does or doesn’t do—and more about possibility?

To that end, we turn to our trusty generation of conversation-changers: millennials—who find no shame in the lube game at all. A 2015 sex survey of people aged 15-30 years old conducted by Skyn® Condoms found that 43 percent reported using lubricants as part of their sexual routine.

And why is that? Because in the mind of the millennial, lube is not necessarily about mechanics; it’s about delight. “Millennials are the first generation to embrace lube not because they need it, but because it’s fun,” says Dr. Cindi. “They’re open to more exploration and discovery in the bedroom, and trying new things.”

In other words: Millennials are open-minded; and when it comes to lube, for this forward thinking group, it’s not just about intercourse, hand jobs or anal sex. One of Dr. Cindi’s patients recently introduced her to the idea of “body-gliding”—using lube on the chest or belly, and gliding on each other, skin-to-skin, in a sexual way.

And that, friends, is thinking outside the box.

Laura Shinn is a Portland, Oregon-based writer and strategist covering health, wellness, food, fashion and culture.

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