Did you know that a few years ago, there was a festival in Europe that was specifically advertised as having sex outdoors? The location is top secret for the last few days, the press is not allowed in and the participants have to leave their mobile phones outside. Understandable. And have you heard that a sex-positive society in London is working on installing sex booths at festivals? The concept is as follows: a detective mirror-like cube (so transparent from the inside, but looks like a mirror from the outside) would be available to the aroused parties and a trained staff would decide whether those waiting to be admitted have the capacity for discernment?
Well, the organizers of Hungarian festivals are not planning to take these… ahem… revolutionary paths for now. But so that sex can still be about liberation and joy, and so that your physical and mental health is preserved, it is worth following a few rules.
1.Spiritual security
Agree with your friends about how often and how you will communicate with each other, and where and when you will meet at the festival site. It is important that you know about each other and can count on each other.
- Physical safety
If you meet someone, let your friends know who they are, where they are going, and stay reachable. If someone is being aggressive towards you, such as pushing too hard, ignoring your no, pulling you, squeezing your arm, or exerting psychological pressure on you, cut off contact with them and, if necessary, seek help from others.
3.Consent
Sexual consent means that you voluntarily agree to any sexual activity. Anything that doesn’t happen that way is rape. Feel free to exercise your right to say no or change your mind at any time during the act. That’s okay.
- Responsibility
There are many ways to avoid unwanted pregnancy, but no device other than condoms protects against sexually transmitted diseases. It is therefore especially important to use condoms with casual sex partners! To dispel misconceptions such as “using a condom is a bad idea”, here are the statistics from recent years: the number of condoms sold increases by 15% during the festival season. It is not decreasing! It is increasing! In 2017, four million condoms were sold in Hungary in July-August. So many people think responsibly in order to protect themselves and their partners and use condoms during their casual sex. Be part of the majority!
The booming music, the immediacy that permeates everyone, and being in a crowd gradually loosens inhibitions and encourages bolder behavior. Spontaneous excitement and overwhelming desire can also lead to good experiences. But it is essential to think while gaining new experiences!
Party responsibly!
Katalin Katona
sexual psychologist
one of the founders of the Dámia Sexual Therapy Center