{"id":4961,"date":"2018-05-23T12:11:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T09:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playlab.uta.fi\/?p=4961"},"modified":"2018-05-23T12:11:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T09:11:47","slug":"group-sex-game-or-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/group-sex-game-or-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Sex \u2013 Game or Play?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The paper \u201cGroup Sex as Play: Rules and Transgression in Shared Non-Monogamy\u201d by J. Tuomas Harviainen and Katherine Frank approaches its topic from the angle of game studies. At its core, the article argues that group sex, as practiced at recreational group sex events (hereafter \u201cGSE\u201d), straddles the border between adult play and a game.<\/p>\n

The paper combines data from two studies, conducted separately by the authors in Finland and USA over the period of about a decade. The studies had different ethical considerations and methodological decisions. The approach is generally described as radical-ethnographic, considered necessary because people are notoriously poor at giving honest information about their sex lives, and relying solely on interview data would be unreliable.<\/p>\n

After summarizing the details of Harviainen\u2019s and Frank\u2019s respective approaches, the paper moves on to describe what it is that they are actually researching. In both USA and Finland, the community and lifestyle around GSEs and swinging appears to have developed around the 1960s and 70s when free love was in vogue, though there is little in the way of proper historiography on the topic. The American community is obviously much larger, large enough to support commercial events. In America, the mainstream culture is much more conservative than in Finland, though sleeping around outside of one\u2019s committed relationship is somewhat stigmatizing in both countries. It\u2019s also noted that rules carry a greater weight in the smaller community of Finland, as news travel more efficiently than in America.<\/p>\n

GSEs are usually organized at resorts, hotels, or cruise ships. In the American community, it is sometimes possible to take over an entire hotel, but in Finland, again, the smaller size of the community imposes its limits. There are a variety of possible ways the guests are picked, such as invitations through informal networks or open event sign-up. Generally, single women are allowed to attend, but men must bring a partner. Limiting single men is believed to reduce male aggression and generally to lead to an ideal mix. There are special events for women seeking the company of multiple single men.<\/p>\n

There is a great deal of negotiation involved in and around a GSE. It is very important that everybody involved is on the same page so that the event may feel safe and pleasurable to all involved. This negotiation is divided into \u201chard\u201d and \u201csoft\u201d negotiation. The \u201chard\u201d negotiation is about things like scheduling and the basic rules of the event, as well as who can attend. Requirement that condoms be used, theme for the party, allowed sexual acts, such things. This manages expectations and streamlines negotiation during the event. \u201cSoft\u201d negotiation, then, is during the event and about specific interactions, often conducted implicitly, which leaves room for misunderstanding. While most interactions go smoothly, especially as members of the community learn to navigate these negotiations even in new communities \u2013 forming what is termed procedural literacy<\/em> \u2013 there is always the potential for miscommunication.<\/p>\n

In addition to procedural literacy, there are other things that make up the \u201cideal orgiast\u201d. Physical attractiveness is obvious, as are sexual stamina and skill. Additionally, there is the ability to quickly and effectively communicate interest while maintaining a degree of emotional distance and not arousing jealousy. A good team presents as a couple with a strong emotional bond, and the other participants may feel safe their extradyadic escapades do not pose threats to their own or others\u2019 relationships.<\/p>\n

There is a magic circle around a GSE, an environment where the rules of the quotidian social reality are changed or relaxed. The magic circle is described as porous, and the participants remain aware of the social, psychological, and physical repercussions their actions would have outside of the magic circle.<\/p>\n

As an aside on the magic circle, it is noted that while female-on-female intercourse happens both sides of the pond, playful male-on-male intercourse is much more common in Finnish events than in USA, where there may even be a hard limit on it. At Finnish events, it is described as \u201cbi-playful\u201d rather than \u201cbi-curious\u201d, quoting and interviewee: \u2018\u2018I suck cock here because it\u2019s a good show if I do so, not because I have any significant interest in man-on-man sex.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The authors argue that though GSEs have many gamelike attributes such as their hard rules and negotiation, the core nature of the activity remains playful. The rules are not so much impositions as a starting condition that makes the transgressive behaviours safe to undertake.<\/p>\n

Original article:<\/strong> Group Sex as Play: Rules and transgression in shared non-monogamy, by J. Tuomas Harviainen and Katherine Frank, originally published August 11, 2016 in Games and Culture<\/em>. http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1555412016659835<\/a><\/p>\n

Header image: detail from \u201cStill Life with Dressed Game, Meat, and Fruit\u201d by Alexandre-Fran\u00e7ois Desportes, 1734, National Gallery of Art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite the explicit rules and limits, group sex is closer to play than a game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":4962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[823,556,345],"class_list":["post-4961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-research-highlights","tag-adult-play","tag-english","tag-game-research","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}