Gen Z is resetting more than their calendars this new year.
Looking forward to a fresh slate in 2024, Bevinn Bey, 25, posted a TikTok video with a curious revelation.
“When my virginity resets in a couple days,” Bey captioned a clip of him lipsyncing to Nicki Minaj’s song “Old Body,” which includes the provocative lyrics: “You ain’t f–ked me, you f–ked the old body.”
Bey had scrolled past a similar video on TikTok and decided to recreate the clip to make his friends roll their eyes and laugh.
But he isn’t really joking: Bey is cosigning her crass statement in an attempt for a serious reset — by reclaiming his long-lost virginity.
He is one of many Gen Zers who are redefining virginity and rejecting judgment of their sexual history in a bold way.
The 25-year-old explained to The Post that he’s not ashamed of his past sex life — he just doesn’t really care about it.
“The internet has allowed Gen Z to become more aware and more educated [about sex],” Bey told The Post, claiming that many in his generation have learned that virginity “doesn’t really matter.”
Despite schoolyard rumors of popped cherries and stretched vaginas, “virginity” has no medical or scientific definition.
“This whole concept of virginity is something that Gen Z feels very confused about,” Dr. Emily Jamea, a certified sex and relationship therapist, told The Post.
According to Merriam-Webster, a “virgin” is “a person who has not had sexual intercourse” — meaning penetration must occur. That presumably means Gen Zers are eternal virgins if they enjoy sex without it, which can be an odd parameter to ponder — especially true for members of the growing LGBTQ+ community.
“Virginity really is a construct,” Jamea explained. “It is not something that you can test for, so the argument is if virginity is a construct, someone can decide whether or not they are one.”
As some Gen Zers are deciding what actually is and isn’t sex, others simply don’t think their sexual history matters, including the pop singer Lil Nas X, who publicized his sentiments to his 7.8 million X followers at the beginning of the new year.
On Jan. 1, the sexed-up 24-year-old musician tweeted: “It’s 2024 meaning all of our body counts have reset to zero.”
And although presumably a joke, the idea struck a chord with some.
Dr. Lee Phillips, a psychotherapist and certified sex and couples therapist, told The Post that several of his Gen Z clients have mentioned the star’s tweet and consulted him on wanting to “reset” their “body counts,” or the number of people with whom they’ve had sex.
“The whole body count thing is a little dehumanizing,” Phillips admitted, while also warning that “resetting” and trying to erase your sexual history can perpetuate sexual shame.
“I don’t think numbers really matter about sex. It’s about what you feel and who you are as a sexual being,” he said.
Many people out on the dating scene agree.
Sixty-seven percent of singles don’t plan on asking their next partners how many people they’ve slept with, and only 24% think the number even matters, according to eHarmony.
Nicole Kilcullen, 25, agrees that the exact number is irrelevant — which is why she wouldn’t share it with a partner if asked.
The Long-Islander also made a TikTok video joking about resetting her virginity for the new year. Although she doesn’t actually claim to be a virgin and isn’t ashamed of her sex life, Kilcullen doesn’t want to hear people’s opinions, so she keeps her body count to herself.
“Everybody’s body count could be high to one person and low to another person,” Kilcullen told The Post.
“I think that you’re going to get judged whether it’s zero, one, 100, 500 or a thousand. No matter who you are or what your actual real body count is, somebody is always going to have something to say.”
However, experts note that there are competing narratives defining Gen Z.
Some claim the generation is known as the most sexually accepting demographic, while others also report rising rates of abstinence and virginity, as well as loneliness.
“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” especially for women, Jamea told The Post.
Studies have found that a sexual double standard (SDS) continues to exist that judges men and women differently for the same sexual behavior.
To exist in this period of cultural transition, many young women like Kilcullen have decided to do whatever they please while keeping personal details to themselves to avoid any possible judgment or rejection.
“We care about people’s history because there’s a perceived threat to ourselves,” Dr. Catalina Lawson, a licensed psychologist specializing in sex and relationships, told The Post.
She explained that people typically want to know about their partner’s past to gauge for any physical threats — such as contracting a sexually transmitted disease — or emotional worries, including concerns about whether a partner will get bored and cheat.
But Lawson suggests those concerns should simply be addressed directly.
“I actually encourage people to open up those conversations early on, when you’re not attached to someone,” Lawson shared.
“The whole idea of dating is getting to know each other and finding someone with the same values.”