Sex with Sutton: Cuddle Party

by Madelyn Sutton

Thursday November 29, 2007

The newest trend in New York social gatherings, the “Super Massive Cuddle Party”, seems an attractive option in the current social scene, offering stressed-out urban dwellers a refuge in “drug and alcohol-free, non-sexual affection.”

I am reminded of the many junior high hours I spent snuggled up to my rather rotund and incredibly warm friend, Duke. The combination of his soft belly, jolly laugh, unflappable sense of humor, and aroma of fabric softener and juvenile body odor often sent me into fits of rapturous cuddling. Non-sexual affection ruled

Of course, there was the night we’d all imbibed a bit and I found myself nestling a bit too aggressively against his Star Wars sweatshirt… Put a bunch of lonely, disenchanted Brooklynites in a poorly-illuminated community center, tell them to cuddle, and watch what happens: can you really expect all the clothes to stay on? When I attempt to picture the “Cuddle Party,” all I see is that sweaty room in the movie Shortbus that so transfixed the orgasm-deficient sex doctor. And frankly, the image turns me on. A lot. Is it wrong to attend solely in the hopes of finding an alcohol-induced, completely sexual affection with a fellow sufferer? I think not!

But if you find yourself attending such a gathering—whether or not you believe whole-heartedly in the possibility of realizing the organizers’ idealistic intent—please bring protection – just in case all that physical contact on a cold New York night accidentally gets you going.