Feature image of Halo the GxdBody and La Muxer Diosa in Crash Pad Series episode 305. All of the photographs in this NSFW Sunday are from the Crash Pad. The inclusion of a visual here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the model’s gender identity or sexual orientation. If you’re a photographer or model and think your work would be a good fit for NSFW Sunday, please email carolyn at autostraddle dot com.
Welcome to NSFW Sunday!
Daisy Ducati and Ella Nova in Crash Pad Series episode 186
Going on dates (or to orgies) and simultaneously being alone in your home: together at last? Though potentially sexually frustrating, going on dates over video can give you different insights than you’d normally get on a first date, has lower stakes than meeting in person, and can still be a perfectly fun way to spend 45 minutes to six hours. Shoot your shot, get ready like it’s an in-person date, and be honest about quarantine but don’t talk only about quarantine:
“COVID-19 is bound to come up at point. ‘It’s okay to admit that this time in the world or your life is vulnerable,’ Syrtash says. ‘But there’s also no need to spend the whole date talking about quarantine. A good question to ask is, ‘When you’re allowed to be out in the world, what do you like doing?”
Still, talking through your fears could help you bond through trauma. This is one situation where you can take your date’s lead. ‘I think talking about your coronavirus anxiety is either going to bring you together or it’s going to be a super turnoff,’ DeGeare adds.”
Scout and Lew Pine in Crash Pad Series episode 227
You could also try a walking date:
“Lindsay admits she normally would’ve just gotten drunk at a dive bar and ‘fucked out of boredom,’ but the pandemic forced more of an old-fashioned approach. People are more open, vulnerable and emotionally available than ever before, and though no one is happy about the state of the world, the novel coronavirus has made dating novel again, too. Because while video chatting can feel like way too little, and going to someone’s apartment can feel like way too much, going for a distanced stroll — though risky — has the potential to feel just right (and a little hot).”
Chocolate Chip and Emperatrix in Crash Pad Series episode 278
No matter your approach, “it feels like a strangely fertile time to explore new ways of having relationships,” writes Allison P. Davis at The Cut:
“Maybe, in this period of darkness, we’ll stumble upon an improvement on the way we dated before. Maybe the way we communicate about sex will be clearer and better than ever. Maybe every relationship will have the hazy-dusk glow of a summer-camp romance, when none of the rules or timelines of real life apply.”
Cinnamon Maxxine and Kissy Burgundy in Crash Pad Series episode 288
Here are some sex tips for the pandemic.
Here’s how sex workers are handling the coronavirus.
What happens when you’re used to feeling really horny and have that as part of your identity and then… don’t? At Oh Joy Sex Toy, Ariel Vittori writes about accepting the life stuff that affects libido and learning to see desire as a spectrum.
Here are some self-care tips from queer healers.
Does sex boost your immune system?
Everyone is hornier in the spring. (Usually.)
Sex toy sales remain high.
Barbary Rose and Rion Rhodes in Crash Pad Series episode 277
