Why ‘Body Count’ Is a Terrible Sexual Phrase

How dehumanizing metrics and hookup culture undermine intimacy and relationships

Image created by the author with DALL·E 3

Most people feel moral discomfort referring to civilian war casualties as “collateral damage.”

While standardized for discussing the complexities of urban warfare, some find the term dehumanizing, bordering on war apologist territory.

Yet, society seems relatively indifferent to the modern appropriation of another military term: “body count,” a grotesque misnomer primarily used to tally sex partners — or, as it were, how many “bodies” someone’s “smashed.”

Despite its dehumanizing implications, it’s increasingly in vogue, embellishing an already problematic metric-driven hookup culture.

This discrepancy in our reactions to such language reflects, at best, moral confusion.

First, some throat-clearing:

1. This is not written support for using the term “collateral damage.” I’m merely juxtaposing two military terms to highlight a moral inconsistency.
2. I’m not stigmatizing sex or advocating for premarital abstinence. I believe it’s healthy and wise to experience sex within relationships before committing to one long-term.