Sex Clubs Are Everywhere — Even In Your Tiny, Rural Hometown
On today's episode of BuzzFeed Daily, we broke down the top pop culture headlines AND discussed the return of sex clubs amid the pandemic. You can listen below or scroll down to read more about the interview!
So let's dive right into it! Recently we talked to Hallie Lieberman about her BuzzFeed Sex Week piece on sex clubs and how COVID-19 has changed them. Here's some of what we learned:
BuzzFeed Daily: What even is a sex party? What goes on in there?
Hallie Lieberman: So what goes on is usually there's a bunch of drinking, as there is in events like this. Some people have pre-gamed, and so they're a little tipsy. Others are just kind of downing shots or downing champagne to get comfortable. It seems like a regular bar — the only thing that seems a little different is people are dressed a little sluttier, and there is porn playing in the background. So like on first glance, you'd be like, "Oh, this is kind of like a normal bar." And then you're like, "Oh, wait." And then if you like, squint your eyes closely, you might see someone fellating someone in a corner. That's the difference in the main area, and then when you get to the back area it's like a total orgy.
BuzzFeed Daily: Is this like mostly couples, or do single people go?
HL: Usually it's couples, but then who really wants to go are single men — the stereotype is true. And so they're charged a huge amount of money to go. If a single man wants to go, he has to pay like three times as much and then single women will be free because they're like unicorns. But usually it's a lot of couples, and there'll be some single man. Single women are rare, but when I see them, I'm like, "Hello, hey girl, hashtag feminism." I'm so happy to see single women there.
BuzzFeed Daily: So after a year of basically being legally banned from human contact, how does a post-pandemic sex party change? I mean, what is the feeling of everyone just sort of being in this room together? Are we seeing new people? And what are the clubs doing to keep people safe?
HL: The vibe of the club changed, and people just seem more friendly and relieved. It was like, "Oh, Jesus Christ. Like we can, you know, we get to be half-naked around each other and flirt with each other." And there was a sense of relief that you could just be hanging out with like-minded people. So there was that sense. Now, the pandemic issue... What were the clubs doing? Well, in New York at Hacienda with their sex parties, you had to either have proof of vaccination, like show your vaccination card or a negative test. In Atlanta where I live, which is the South — well, there were not as many guidelines. So at Trapeze, the sex club we went in, there were like zero guidelines: no temperature checks, no masks, no vaccine checks. And then The Loft, which was the other place we went to, we had to sign a form saying — and I wrote about this in the piece too — you know, we could die if we have sex in here. And then they took our temperature with a forehead thermometer, which actually don't work that well. And we know people with COVID don't necessarily have temperatures. So it was like the theater of that.
