I got so wrapped up in the lingering excitement of Canada’s Gold Medal Hockey on Sunday night that I forgot to get excited about something else…
I was reading through the “Cuddlemonials” (I WISH I could make this stuff up) and here are a few of the key words/phrases people have used to describe the parties:“addictive”, “freedom” “less inhibited” “intimacy” “fascinating people” “warm place” “giving and receiving comfortably” “people piling on top of each other”. Oh yeah this sounds kind of familiar: throw in some guy in wide leg pants massaging your shoulders, some heavy bass and a couple tabs of MDMA and you have… a RAVE! (or the back Patio of The Barn on Church St. Wow, have I seen some things that I shouldn’t have there–mostly of the “giving and receiving comfortably” variety. Yowza). Even at the height of my reckless partying days I always avoided the strange circles of massaging masses. Even while totally loaded, it always seemed kind of creepy to me. Any kind of “connecting” I did in those days was always behind closed doors and usually involved one (or two) preferably very hot people. I figure if touching strangers was too much even when wasted, its best not to attempt it sober.
If you’re interested in leading a Cuddle Party, you can become a fascilitator. Yeah, that’s something to add to the resume: “John really spearheaded the Corporate Merger…and he’s also great at facilitating non-sexual touching”. HIRED! And apparently things really don’t get sexual at these events. In the FAQ’s there is a whole section that discusses how to handle erections, should they “pop up” during the party. I have this image of a tie-dye wearing, new age-y facilitator quietly pulling aside the poor guy and saying “Its perfectly natural. Just imagine Betty White naked. That’s what I do every time I need to kill the mood”
With that said, I can’t help but wonder if these parties are the result of all that stuff I was talking about in my article: that in our accelerated, technology driven society we are becoming increasingly disconnected from each other to the point where people are so desperate for human connections that they are willing to give up prime Saturday afternoon brunching hours & $40 to hug strangers.
Luckily, I haven’t reached that point yet. Sorry, this girl will not be attending the next G-rated orgy.
(And if I do, trust me you’ll hear about it.)
What do guys think? Would you consider cuddling with strangers?
How far would you go for a great story/blog entry?
