#open

Lets talk about date night during a global pandemic…

Some parts of the country may be starting to open back up, but for many, the risk of resuming social activities seems a little too high. Personally, full-contact dating is not something I’m doing in the foreseeable future so I’m continuing to find ways to engage through technology. Working for #open, I get the opportunity to speak with our community members and have heard some great stories on how our users are continuing to safely date during this time.

From Netflix parties, online card games, virtual swingers parties, and sexy cyber stripshows, I’ve heard (and checked out 😉) a great range of date options. But when community member Riley* reached out saying they’d planned a private, virtual concert that had their date crying the “(good kind of) tears”, I HAD to know more. Lucky for me, #open user Riley, was willing to hop on a video chat to indulge my curious mind and give me a rundown of the details you need to plan your own sweet serenade.

Rachel Lark, singer/songwriter

Maile: Can you tell me more about how you found Rachel and thought to hire her?

Riley: I was familiar with Rachel’s work (she’s amazing!) from her appearances in Bawdy Storytelling and really enjoyed her sex-positive and humorous pieces like ‘Text Me the Fuck Back’ and “The Unicorn Song”. Following her social media, I saw she posted that she was doing private bookings for online performances and thought it was a great idea so I set it up!

A private & socially distant date night concert for 2

Maile: I’d love to hear more about the actual date night, how was it set up, how many songs did Rachel play?

Riley: I was able to book Rachel online, where she has a range of options to choose from. After coordinating the logistics with my date, Kit*, I booked a 10 minute performance and at the scheduled time, Rachel hopped on the video chat Kit and I already had in-progress. We got to see Rachel perform Things Oughta Make Sense and Mature Adults for us from her own home while Kit and I each watched from ours.

Why not?!

Maile: With all the virtual date night options available, what made this stand out?

Riley: Due to social distancing, many performers are out of work and being able to support a musician like Rachel while planning something unique for myself and Kit seemed like a great option. Plus, Rachel’s slightly naughty but not too over-the-top music let us have a cyber date that was sex positive without having to jump into the more sexualized programming going on right now like online swinger’s parties or going straight to cyber sex.

How did date night go?

Maile: You mentioned that your date was moved to tears, why do you think this was so meaningful for them?

Riley: I knew Kit liked Rachel Lark but I had no idea what a huge fan they are. Rachel’s ability to be open and no-nonsense in her music had actually inspired Kit to start exploring their own interest in songwriting and performing.

Maile: What an incredibly romantic, yet sexy and fun date idea! Thanks SO much for sharing Riley!

The #open team absolutely LOVES the creativity that planning this date involved, the crossover with supporting sex-positive performers and the pay-it-forward attitude that Rachel employs as she’s transitioning to virtual formatting (she’s donating half of the revenue she makes to worthy causes!). What an excellent reminder that social distancing does NOT have to mean social isolation. If you’re interested in meeting other creative iso-daters, join us on #open and search for the #isodate or #cyberdate hashtags & get connected!

Do you have fun and exciting iso-Date ideas? Wanna share your steamy cyber stories? Reach out on social media via DM or match & message Maile in-app (@myohMai) for a chance to be featured!

And remember, if you haven’t found your date night companion yet… there’s always masturbation May

*names have been changed for privacy

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