Virtual sex parties are keeping people occupied during the coronavirus lockdown (Pexels)

Sex in the time of coronavirus is undoubtedly trickier than it was before, but like all great certainties in life, the orgies must go on.

Ever adaptable, many queer people cut off from their communities by the coronavirus lockdown are finding new ways to have casual sex while maintaining social distancing restrictions.

According to Slate‘s Andrew Kanh, queer New Yorkers are turning to the video conferencing app Zoom to host socially responsible sex parties from a safe distance.

Kanh said that when he received an invitation to an “inclusive and consent-minded” queer sex party on Saturday, the day after governor Cuomo announced the lockdown, he almost didn’t open it.

Then he saw that the party had swapped its usual venue – a semi-secret “dungeon” – for an interactive one. So he decided to dial in, for journalistic purposes, of course.

The party began with polite small talk, but by 15 minutes in, “the d**ks came out of the pants”.

As more and more people joined the call, some from as far as Buenos Aires, a gallery view showed “a grid of dicks, slack jaws, bellies, and butts, mine included”.

Unlike most Zoom meetings there was no pressure for participants to show their faces on camera, but inevitably some conference call pitfalls just couldn’t be avoided.

“Once in a while, someone would offer a compliment, whimper, or flick open a bottle of lube, prompting Zoom to showcase them as the featured speaker,” Kanh said.

“By the half-hour mark, all conversation had ceased, save frequent requests from the host to ‘please mute’ when there was disruptive background noise. Some things don’t change.”

Nevertheless, the party ploughed through the technical issues (if not each other), coming together in a heartwarming display of the ingenuity of the human spirit in the face of a citywide sexual drought.

“There was a sweetness to it, real sustenance, mixed with the painful awareness of uncertainty and separation,” Kanh said.

To read his full account, click here.