The memory of kissing

My most recent relationship was an early casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic. My partner and I both panicked, each in our own unique ways, about the impending end of reality as we had come to understand it. The pandemic exposed new faultlines in our relationship and we both reacted to them by withdrawing, leaving nothing to hold on to.

For a time I was so wrapped up in fear, and grief — for my lost relationship, for the entire planet I love, for all of our lost hopes and aspirations that this year would be better than the last. Thus it took me some time to realise that this is not such a great time to be newly single, when the only people we are supposed to be in physical contact with are people who we are already dating or living with. For the foreseeable future, the very act of courting and seeking out some kind of physical intimacy has acquired a level of danger not seen since the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. (This isn’t just for new couples or singles — health workers who are in relationships, for example, will be limited in their ability to touch their loved ones. This might just be the most heartbreaking fact of this epidemic. And an excellent reason to stay celibate, if only so they can hug their loved ones sooner than later.)

I’m going to say that unfortunately the advice telling people not to have casual sex is unlikely to have the desired effect. To say this is to…