Rainchecks on dates, cancelled sex parties and kissing bans are just some of the ways in which coronavirus is impacting people’s sexual lives.
As the world grapples with what the World Health Organization (WHO) has now officially termed a coronavirus pandemic, public events are being cancelled or postponed across the globe. The NBA has suspended its entire season, while the Olympics and IPL might well be held without spectators, and Coachella has been postponed to October — and that’s just to name a few.
Many governments are also issuing advisories against that most basic of human habits — physical contact — while people around the world are strictly following self-imposed restrictions. From not touching the hand rail in a train to not shaking hands with others at a conference (if at all the conference is being held), people are adapting their lifestyle to minimize contact with other people.
But what happens when these restrictions enter the bedroom?
Of kissing bans, cancelled sex parties and gau mutra
Prohibiting intimacy during an outbreak of disease isn’t new. In 1439, Henry VI, king of England, banned kissing in a bid to contain the spread of plague. Six centuries later, many governments are recommending zero physical intimacy, such as in Italy, to control the spread of coronavirus, And the events being cancelled include not just sports tournaments and music festivals, but also public sex parties.
Chesham Dogging is a group that organizes dogging parties in Buckinghamshire, England. Dogging, for the uninitiated, is the act of engaging in sexual activity in public places such as car parks, while others watch. This group doesn’t organize just any dogging parties, though, but “some of the biggest and best sex parties in Buckinghamshire”, claims its Twitter handle. Unfortunately for its patrons, it has cancelled said sex parties until further notice because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Over in Hong Kong, 32-year-old student Nicola runs the Hong Kong Polyamory Group for those interested in polyamorous relationships to meet like-minded people twice a month, usually for drinks and clubbing, but also “smaller meets for discussions and whatever else we feel like doing”.
Since she founded it in September 2019, the group has amassed more than 100 members online, but “the most we’ve had at our meets is 40 people. But now there’s a general decline in locals going out, and we’ve definitely seen a decline in attendance at our events since the virus”.
One Response
In 1-2 months the worst of the virus should be gone and folks can get back to normal lives (as much as normal can be).