- For the music group, see Orgy (band).
The term Orgy refers to a group activity involving "unrestrained indulgence." In contemporary usage, the term "orgy" typically refers to group sex, although it sometimes refers to other activities, e.g. dancing or violence. This article deals exclusively with group sex.
General overview
Orgies may involve people of any gender or sexual orientation. The events themselves may be characterized by sexual orientation; for example, a "straight" orgy would involve only heterosexual sex. Some venues for orgies may be intended for a particular group or groups of people; for example, many "sex parties" in the United States are restricted to women. Different types of orgies may or may not involve switching partners. Some sex clubs, for example, require entrants to come in pairs and do not typically involve actual physical contact between people in different "pairs." Orgies may involve a specific set of sexual activities: Some, for example, involve BDSM, while others are "vanilla" (i.e., they do not).
Orgies in contemporary culture
In many cultures, public sex is considered taboo, and is illegal (e.g., "indecent exposure"); many groups also frown upon sex that is not monogamous. As such, orgies often take place in private or clandestine locations, including homes, unpopulated areas like forests, abandoned buildings, or private clubs. "Sex clubs" are often "members only," while less formal locations (truck stops, wooded areas) may be semi-secret. Group sex also sometimes takes place in nightclubs, bathhouses, massage parlors, or bars, although such places (particularly those frequented by sexual minorities such as gays or lesbians in countries intolerant of homosexuality) are sometimes subject to legal repurcussions. Orgies may be a part of other social activities (e.g., parties), although some venues such as gay bathhouses tend to eschew talking.
The possibility for "awkwardness" among friends, significant others, or strangers at orgies is often cited as a problem with them, particularly in relatively spontaneous incidents of group sex (i.e., "drunken orgies" among friends). Among heterosexuals, the relative "availability" of men and women is also a concern for participants, as social stigma or other factors structures the extent to which many men or women feel comfortable being "promiscuous."
In spite of (or thanks to) the stigma against group sex, participation in orgies is a common fantasy, although regular participation in group sex remains uncommon in most cultures.
Orgies are stereotypically associated with gay men by many people; their status in gay communities remains extremely contentious. Some people, including some gays, argue that group sex is intrinsically unsafe and represents a juvenile and hedonistic aspect of some gay men's lives. Some heterosexuals argue that group sex among gay men is immoral or "decadent," leading some gays to argue against group sex as an "embarassment" for their community. Others note that group sex can, with a great deal of caution, be as safe as monogamy, that it is extremely pleasurable, and that social restrictions on public sex or sex with multiple partners stem from religious or ideological perspectives they reject (e.g., "purity"). (See "Safety," below.) Nevertheless, some bars, clubs, bathhouses, and parties frequented by gay men involve group sex; many of these are cultural holdovers from eras in which gay men were by necessity isolated and secretive and had difficulty finding partners. Other queer communities have also established spaces for group sex. They may be less contentious (and less popular) among lesbians, although many major cities have women-only sex parties, many coordinated by women aiming to de-stigmatize lesbianism and assertive sexuality among women.
Safety
Since the advent of the AIDS epidemic, group sex is widely considered a dangerous activity, precipitating crackdowns on venues where it takes place. In response to the threat of sexually transmitted infection, some people have begun to organize "safer sex parties," in order give people who enjoy group sex a risk-reduced way to participate in it. Such events typically do not involve intercourse or sex without necessary barrier methods (e.g., condoms), focusing on group masturbation, protected oral sex, the use of sex toys, or other activities involving minimal risk of STI transmission. Many venues where orgies often take place provide condoms, dental dams, latex gloves, lubricant, or other tools for safer sex to participants. However, sex involving potential fluid exchange (or sex between partipants whose judgement is affected by drug use) is considered a major risk factor for HIV or other diseases.
Sexual assault is also a risk involved in group sex; indeed, the term orgy (and some slang terms such as "gangbang") is often used to refer to sexual assault committed by a group, often as "punishment" or recreation. However, many organized forms of group sex impose restrictions or use customs to ensure that all sex sex involved is consensual; for example, some groups have specific non-verbal "cues" (eye contact, hand gestures) used to communicate consent or lack thereof. Again, alcohol and other drugs may be seen as risk factors for sexual assault during group sex.
Terminology
The terms ménage à trois ("mix of three") and threesome refer to group sex between three people, which may or may not be considered an orgy.
Orgies in fiction
There is an infamous high-speed orgy scene in the dystopian adaptation of the novel A Clockwork Orange, as well as a scene of group rape by several men against a woman.
The movie Caligula has several orgy scenes, not all of them erotic, intended to illustrate the "decadence" of the setting.
Orgies serve a central ceremonial role in the futuristic society described in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World; Huxley presents them with a degree of moral ambiguity.
The comic book "Asterix in Switzerland" depicts several pastiches Roman 'orgies', from wild drunken feasts, to Fondue parties with forfeits.