Aural Erotica During Social Isolation
Audio stimulation gets people tuned into their bodies at a time when we’re very much in our heads.
A friend and I had drinks over video chat the other night, as you do these days.
A single woman living in a one-bedroom apartment, with no one but her dog for company, she told me of how she often scrolled aimlessly through Tinder where, in a world gone screwy, she was sometimes matched with men in Europe, even though she lives in New Jersey.
We chat anyway, she said, because why not?
She told me also of all the guys who now post selfies of themselves in masks, tagging their profiles “#covidfree.” We both knocked back our drinks. Rolled our eyes. Who were they fooling? we seemed to be saying to each other. Who was going to hook up with someone new during a pandemic?
But we also couldn’t help but think of how lonely we’d felt lately. For those who live alone, that loneliness is even more acute.
I, meanwhile, have been married for nearly 13 years. At the moment, my husband and I are juggling both our work-at-home jobs and distance learning for our 5-year-old daughter.
Tensions are high. I feel like I’m suffocating. The situation…
