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Cuddle party

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A cuddle party is an event workshop instructing adult participants in the art of consensual and boundary-appropriate touch. They generally use a set of rules to set up a safe space and keep things from heating up too much, such as no nudity, hands under clothes, dry humping, or other sex. Erections are considered natural (not problematic), but should not be acted upon.


History

Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski founded the organization "Cuddle Party" in New York City. Reid Mihalko's CuddleParty.com website has been operating since April 2004.

Philosophy

The central tenet of the cuddling philosophy is that adults retain the same physical need for touch they had in their early childhood. Adolescence and its subsequent effects upon this need for "pre-sexual" touch are typically unaddressed by cuddle proponents, who instead believe that it is possible, and therapeutically beneficial, for adults to engage in non-sexualized touching.

Parties are often led by trained Cuddle party facilitators (often called "cuddle lifeguards") who coordinate group activities, lead the workshop, maintain the safety and integrity of the space, and serve as "cuddle lifeguards" if necessary.

In many cases, cuddle parties are ticketed events for which participants pay for admission. Initially, women were allowed free admission, but this policy was gradually replaced with an equal fee system. Given the trend's growing popularity, however, a small but growing number of "open-invitation" cuddle parties are free of admission, or operate under a love-donation system.

The Rules

Participants are encouraged to wear pajamas or other comfortable clothing. Liquor is not permitted. A complete list of rules is available at the CuddleParty.com website.

Media

  • A Cuddle party was featured on an episode of CSI: New York titled "Grand Murder at Central Station".
  • Columbia News Service article about cuddle parties [1]
  • NYDailyNews.com "Gimme a hug!" [2]

See also

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