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<\/p>\nRich Juzwiak Heads into the New York Gay Sex Party Scene<\/b><\/p>\n
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Jezebel\u2019s Rich Juzwiak takes a long journey<\/a> inside the New York gay<\/a> sex<\/a> party scene and the history of such gatherings in the city, observing whether PrEP has changed attitudes toward promiscuity or just brought them out into the open at parties like Harder Golden Boys University, and American Whorer Party.<\/p>\n Juzwiak describes in vivid detail how he dropped his inhibitions at the latter and navigated it with his boyfriend (read the piece), concluding:<\/p>\n I found that there is an electric, immense thrill to being in a room with a bunch of horny<\/a> dudes when you know you could do just about whatever with any of them. The collective energy all focused on pleasure creates a palpable singularity, a carnal brotherhood that is a force beyond the sum of its parts. But, fastened into my own head as I almost always am in public spaces, I soon began to wonder what the point was of having all of these brief encounters with guys<\/a> that I might not have any interest in if I could actually, you know,\u00a0see<\/em>\u00a0them.<\/p>\n I would like to say that gay<\/a> men<\/a> have carved out a utopia for themselves in these spaces, it\u2019s not quite the case. I do believe that some guys<\/a> navigate these spaces purely for fun and leisure, without negative effects on their mental and physical health.<\/p>\n Juzwiak talks with the party promoters (who now push them on Facebook rather than the back of local gay<\/a> rags), the attendees, and\u00a0the acting deputy commissioner of disease control at New York City\u2019s Department of Health and Mental Health, who talked about the changing policing of the parties:<\/p>\n \u201cFor many people who have historically linked disease with their sex<\/a> lives, they have now unlinked disease from their sex<\/a> lives,\u201d said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the acting deputy commissioner of disease control at New York City\u2019s Department of Health and Mental Health, by phone. \u201cIt\u2019s not even a question of public health. I think it\u2019s human nature that if you have a pleasurable activity that was associated with a bad outcome, and you\u2019re making that bad outcome nearly impossible, then all of the sudden that activity looks better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2026The Department\u2019s policy has evolved. Its current attitude toward sex<\/a> parties seems way more in tune with the realities of how actually prevent disease transmission. \u201cWe\u2019re not designed to be a surveillance machine for venues,\u201d the DOHMH\u2019s Dr. Demetre Daskalakis told me. Instead of witch-hunting, the Health Department\u2019s emphasis is on making sure \u201cNew Yorkers are equipped with ways to keep themselves healthy however they want to pursue their own pleasure,\u201d venue notwithstanding.<\/p>\n Pharmaceuticals have catalyzed a revolution, to be sure:<\/p>\n Public gay<\/a> sex<\/a> in New York, too, never really went away, even during the plague years of the AIDS epidemic\u2014it just got pushed into gym steam rooms and the odd bar back room. Sex parties targeted at men<\/a> who have sex<\/a> with men<\/a>, though, tell a story about gay<\/a> history and its present: In 2017, men<\/a> who have sex<\/a> with men<\/a> are f**king in a new age of liberation. These parties are remarkable expressions of sexual security within a population of men<\/a> that, for decades, had reason to feel insecure\u2014if not terrified\u2014of sex<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read Juzwiak\u2019s full, graphic adventure HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post Rich Juzwiak Heads into the New York Gay Sex Party Scene<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n