How Psychedelic Use May Reshape Sexuality, Gender Identity, and Intimate Relationships
Sunday, April 27, 2025.
A fascinating new study published in The Journal of Sex Research (Kruger et al., 2025) suggests that psychedelic experiences may do more than temporarily alter perception—they may also quietly, sometimes dramatically, shift the way people experience sexuality, gender, and intimate relationships.
Surveying 581 adults who had used psychedelics, researchers found that the majority reported noticeable changes in sexual attraction, gender expression, and relationship dynamics—sometimes fleeting, often lasting well beyond the immediate effects.
Beyond the Clinical Boom: Exploring Psychedelics and Human Connection
While modern research on psychedelics tends to fixate (for good reason) on their therapeutic value for depression, PTSD, and addiction (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Davis et al., 2021), this study took a different tack: What happens to a person's social and romantic life after they ingest something meant to crack the self wide open?
It’s not an idle question.
Long before psilocybin became the darling of mental health clinics, cultural figures like Timothy Leary suggested psychedelics could revolutionize love, sex, and even identity. But until now, scientific inquiry into these personal realms remained surprisingly sparse.
As study lead Daniel J. Kruger of the University at Buffalo and University of Michigan put it:
"There are so many areas that have not yet been covered. Timothy Leary said that psychedelics were great for sex... but we’ve had very little empirical exploration of that claim."
Surveying the Psychedelic Landscape: Who, How, and What Changed?
The research team conducted an anonymous online survey, reaching participants via email lists, social media, and in-person psychedelic advocacy events.
Their sample spanned a broad demographic: ages 18 to 85, predominantly users of psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and MDMA, with a balance of men, women, and gender-diverse souls. Most reported full-dose experiences, not the trendy microdosing seen in recent years.
Key findings included:
About 70% reported psychedelic use affected their sexuality or intimate relationships.
Short-term changes during the experience were common, but long-term shifts were also widespread.
Most changes were perceived as enhancements rather than disruptions.
However, the results were far from one-size-fits-all. Some users experienced deepened attraction to partners, greater openness, and intensified sexual experiences. Others, by contrast, found clarity that led them to end longstanding, toxic relationships.
Kruger summarized it neatly:
"There’s no single effect psychedelics have on intimacy or identity. It depends entirely on the person, their mindset, their environment."
Shifting Gender Identity: Subtle to Profound
One of the study’s most striking findings was that roughly 10% of participants reported changes in how they viewed or expressed their gender.
Some described subtle shifts—feeling freer in clothing choices, less inhibited by rigid gender norms. Others reported profound revelations that led them to reject traditional gender binaries altogether, embracing non-binary or fluid identities.
Participants often described these changes as a return to authenticity rather than an imposition of anything new. Psychedelics, it seems, loosened the unconscious scripts they had been living by.
Expanding Sexual Fluidity
Changes in sexual attraction also emerged:
About 25% of women and 12% of men reported increased same-sex attraction after psychedelic use.
Gender-diverse folks were especially likely to report shifts in attraction patterns.
This echoes previous observations that psychedelic experiences can dissolve rigid self-concepts (Griffiths et al., 2018), potentially allowing people to explore previously unacknowledged parts of themselves.
Kruger noted the historical irony:
"In the 1960s, psychedelics were infamously (and unethically) tested to try to ‘convert’ homosexuals. Our findings suggest the opposite: psychedelics help people move toward their authentic sexual selves."
Transforming Relationship Structures
Relationship dynamics also shifted post-psychedelic experience:
More participants reported being in committed relationships, engaging in consensual non-monogamy, or dating multiple partners compared to before their psychedelic use.
Fewer participants described themselves as single afterward.
In other words, psychedelics didn’t simply shake up internal identities—they seemed to subtly reconfigure how people chose to relate to others.
Again, the direction of change was unpredictable. Some formed deeper bonds with existing partners; others realized they needed to leave relationships that no longer fit.
Who Was Most Affected?
Certain patterns emerged:
Younger Participants were more likely to report changes in sexuality and gender expression.
Lower-Income Folks were more likely to report shifts in relationship structure and sexual attraction.
Full-Dose Users experienced more noticeable effects than microdosers.
Gender-Diverse Folks reported the highest levels of change across all categories.
These findings suggest psychedelics may interact with broader factors like developmental stage, social positioning, and pre-existing identity flexibility.
Caution: Correlation, Not Causation
Before anyone rushes to a dispensary seeking enlightenment or sexual revolution, it’s important to recognize the study’s limitations:
It relied on self-reported, retrospective accounts.
It recruited participants already interested in psychedelics, possibly biasing responses.
It did not control for co-use of other substances, specific set and setting, or whether experiences were shared with partners.
Moreover, expectancy effects—the belief that psychedelics will produce certain outcomes—may shape experiences as much as the molecules themselves (Olson, 2021).
Kruger and his team are careful to frame this research as exploratory, not definitive. But they believe it opens a rich new frontier for understanding how psychedelics impact not just the mind, but the heart and body.
Toward a Broader Understanding: The 2025 Psychedelic Community Survey
Encouraged by these findings, the team has launched the 2025 Psychedelic Community Survey, hoping to gather more detailed, nuanced data.
Their long-term aim: to build a comprehensive understanding of how psychedelics reshape social connection, gender identity, and intimacy far outside the walls of clinical settings.
Kruger’s closing advice?
"Take it seriously. Psychedelics aren’t just another recreational high. People who prepare thoughtfully and set clear intentions often have the most meaningful outcomes."
And, it seems, those outcomes may include not just individual healing, but whole new ways of being in relationship—with oneself and others.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Rucker, J., Day, C. M. J., Erritzoe, D., Kaelen, M., ... & Nutt, D. J. (2016). Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(7), 619-627. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30065-7
Davis, A. K., Barrett, F. S., May, D. G., Cosimano, M. P., Sepeda, N. D., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2021). Effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 78(5), 481–489. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., ... & Klinedinst, M. A. (2018). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(12), 1226-1240. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675513
Kruger, D. J., Argyri, E. K., Mogilski, J. K., Herberholz, M., Barron, J., Aday, J. S., & Boehnke, K. F. (2025). Perceived Impact of Psychedelics on Sexual, Gender, and Intimate Relationship Dynamics: A Mixed-Methods Investigation. The Journal of Sex Research. https://doi.org/xxxxxxx
Olson, D. E. (2021). The subjective effects of psychedelics may not be necessary for their enduring therapeutic effects. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 4(2), 563-567. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00192