Key Takeaways
- Millennials’ stronger embrace of heteroflexibility shows sexual fluidity isn’t just a Gen Z trend — and platforms must adapt accordingly.
- The way people, especially cis men, think about intimacy and shame is changing, with cis men reporting a 200% surge of interest in once-taboo acts like pegging.
- Platforms can’t underestimate Gen Z’s interest in sports, which spiked as much as 600% in 2025, due in part to the in-person connection that comes from competition.
- Feeld’s insights point to an opportunity for ENM and kink apps to expand education, supporting both experienced ENM daters and curious newcomers.
As the dating platform says on its site, Feeld is “for the curious.” And now, Feeld’s Raw 2025 report determines that sexual exploration is becoming the new normal — even among “vanilla tourists.”
Back in October, DatingNews reported how Feeld’s revenue jumped 26% in 2024 thanks to an increased international presence and an emergence of “vanilla tourists,” or people who want to explore ethical nonmonogamy (ENM) and nontraditional dynamics without making any long-term commitments.
In 2025, Feeld focused on further growing its revenue and its user base without alienating the initial niche demographic of experienced ENM daters that makes up its most loyal customer base.
Now, Feeld is reevaluating the intimacy trends it sees most on the app. As a judgment-free zone, Feeld is uniquely suited to analyze the diverse relationship dynamics that unfold on the app.
DatingNews spoke with Dr. Luke Brunning, Lecturer in Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds and an expert contributor at Feeld, about the report findings, the rise of sexual fluidity, and how dating platforms can meet the diversifying needs of the modern dater in 2026.
Fluidity Inches Closer to the Mainstream
What Feeld calls “heteroflexibility” became the fastest-growing sexual identity on the app with a 193% surge in 2025. This points us to a clear conclusion: The modern dater’s desire to explore their sexuality without labels is more than just a passing fad.
Apps that market themselves as “for everyone” had better make good on that promise. This means inclusive tools, features, and resources for users who may or may not fully understand their desires.
And platforms don’t only have to evolve for Gen Z’s sake. Feeld reports that millennials actually lead the pack of open-minded daters in the survey embarking on sexual exploration (65% of millennials versus 18% of Gen Z versus 15.5% of Gen X).
Consider the implications: Millennials are far more likely to be newly divorced, single parents, or stagnant in their marriage, opening up a world of possibilities within this new demo of curious, slightly older daters.
The desire of modern daters to explore their sexuality without labels is more than a passing fad.
To associate ENM and sexually adventurous relationships solely with the young and unmarried would mean alienating a demographic that is more likely to make long-term financial investments in sexual exploration.
Sexual fluidity may be rising, but some people still depend on familiar identifiers to label themselves. Feeld found that the bisexual population spiked 161% in NYC this year, the fastest-growing in any surveyed location.
This label is perhaps the best-understood way to signal sexual fluidity to others. This identifier is certainly fitting for some, but others may use it simply as a catch-all label because they haven’t yet defined their desires.
Apps that provide more context and information about other sexual identities can help these daters further examine their desires and decide whether bisexual is accurate to their feelings or not.
When Shame Shatters, Opportunity Flourishes
Feeld’s report made a surprising (and specific) discovery: Cis men are into pegging now!
This suggests more than just “cis men are curious about this specific sex act.” There’s deeply ingrained shame surrounding pegging, with the long-held narrative that pegging is unmasculine or solely for non-straight, non-cis men, making it downright taboo for those groups.
The surge — a 200% surge, to be precise — of interest in pegging among cis men gives dating platforms an opportunity to normalize pleasure in whichever form it comes.
Perhaps the gender norms that have long existed on dating apps are starting to fade, paving the way for deeper pleasure and intimacy, especially among men.
Exploration is part of this evolution. Nowadays, Feeld users are more interested in toys being a means of deeper and more satisfying intimacy (the app notes a 400% spike in a desire for toys in the bedroom).
Men have also expressed interest in Role Play, according to Feeld. Playful open-mindedness about intimacy seems to be a growing trend, which is in direct contrast to the strict cultural norms people typically obey.
A 200% surge of interest in pegging among cis men gives dating platforms an opportunity to normalize pleasure in any form in comes.
“Our society is still quite ‘amatonormative’ to use the helpful term coined by philosopher Elizabeth Brake, which means we are expected to aim for and prioritise loving romantic relationships at the expense of other forms of intimacy,” Brunning told us.
But a growing critical mindedness is changing the way people think about intimacy. “I suspect this will be challenged more and more as friendship and other kinds of intimate care become more visible and as society adapts to modern living conditions,” Brunning said.
With Feeld and other open-minded platforms becoming more commonplace, our collective definition of “the perfect relationship” will evolve into something much more inclusive over time.
“We’ll likely see more pressure on the romantic ideal of the domestic couple and a more flexible, realistic, and practically sustainable approach to intimacy,” Brunning predicted.
Sports Are Driving the Return to IRL Connection
Sports are a surprising facilitator of intimacy in 2025, according to Feeld.
Feeld determined that Gen Z’s interest in basketball, tennis, soccer, and general fitness has spiked 300-600%, and interest in going to the gym has increased 350%, making sports one of Gen Z’s fastest-growing interests.
It’s worth noting that Gen Z women report a 200-300% spike of interest in movies, music, reading, and art. They don’t want to be glued to their phone, but to participate in what the real world has to offer. And physical activity is still important to Gen Z women: Their interest in hiking spiked 300% this year, according to Feeld.
This speaks to more than the average dater’s desire to get in shape. To be engaged in some kind of sport is to be engaged in culture. Sports are one of the only remaining activities that people can only do in a real-life setting and with real-life people.
Sports is one of Gen Z’s fastest-growing interests, according to Feeld’s research.
Combine this with the ability of sports to conjure passions, competition, and camaraderie, and you get a recipe for real-world intimacy — and, if you’re a dating platform, a shining opportunity to facilitate the types of meaningful IRL connections that modern daters crave.
If dating platforms want to change the narrative surrounding online dating, the time is now, when more users than ever are willing to embrace real-world connections. “Companies can experiment with getting back to basics and trying to cultivate nurturing, open-minded, and caring spaces,” Brunning told us.
If many online daters feel, as Brunning put it, that “the few do well at the expense of everyone else“, then platforms must do what they can to change this narrative.
“[Companies] can also experiment with more representative and realistic portrayals of online dating — in their advertising and general media presence — as something open to each and every person, irrespective of appearance, age, height, class, or occupation,” he said.
Platforms As Educational Resources and Connection Points
Brunning explained how platforms, including Feeld, can be both a meeting place for experienced ENM daters and an important resource for those who are only now starting to explore their desires.
In ENM and sex-first relationships, it’s essential for participants to have a strong grasp of consent and transparency — something newbies may not understand, leading to potential discomfort or even harm.
“There is always room for a company like Feeld to continue to engage and educate its users around these concepts and practices,” Brunning told DatingNews. “More educational resources, community discussions, and conversations with individual users and thinkers will help ensure a culture of consent and transparency thrives on Feeld.”
As our desires evolve, so, too, does the way platforms harness technology. But Brunning advises against using AI as a shortcut to intimacy.
Having a strong grasp of consent and transparency in ENM and sex-first relationships is essential.
Much like modern daters, developers and platform creators need to think critically about their impact on the average dater. “Before reaching for a new technological solution to ‘dating fatigue’, company leaders can reflect more on how their past approach contributed to the problem in the first place,” Brunning said.
As an industry leader in the ENM space, Feeld’s dedication to consent and education also helps ensure that the niche community is as sex-positive and healthy as possible.
Feeld Raw 2025 reveals a generation in the mindset of transformation. They’re more open-minded, more curious, and increasingly drawn to real-world connection, setting expectations for platforms to offer higher-quality matches, educational tools, and more ways to connect in 2026.
