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{{Short description|People freely engaging in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex}}
]
{{About||the religious rites of ancient Greece|Orgia|the American alternative metal band|Orgy (band)}}
{{otheruses}}
{{wiktionary}} {{Pp-semi-indef}}
]'' by ]]]An '''orgy''' is a ] where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained ] or ].
An '''orgy''' is a group activity involving unrestrained indulgence. In contemporary usage, an ''orgy'' typically refers to ], although it sometimes refers to other activities such as ] or ].


]s' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swinger parties the ]s may all know each other or at least have some commonality among economic class, educational attainment or other shared attributes. Some swingers contend that an orgy, as opposed to a sex party, requires some anonymity of sexual partners in complete sexual abandon.<ref name="differences cited in Swinger Survey Results on Difference Between Orgies and Group Sex">{{cite web | url=http://www.swingersocial.com/the-swinger-blog/orgies-and-group-sex/ | title=Swinger Survey Results on Difference Between Orgies and Group Sex | publisher=The Swingers Blog | date=October 2010 | access-date=April 26, 2012 | author=Wojick, Helen}}</ref> Other kinds of "sex parties" may fare less well with this labelling.
==General overview==


Participation in an "orgy" is a common ], and group sex targeting such consumers is a subgenre in ]s.
An orgy may involve four or more people of any ] or ]. The events themselves may be characterized by sex; for example, a ] orgy would involve only ] sex. Some venues for orgies may be intended for a particular group or groups of people; for example, many ] in the ] are restricted to women or couples. In the gay male community, there are nightclubs, bath houses, and internet groups that organize and participate in group sex. Different types of orgies may or may not involve switching partners. Some ]s, 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; for example, some involve ], while "vanilla" do not.


The term is also used metaphorically in expressions, such as an "orgy of colour" or an "orgy of destruction" to indicate excess, overabundance. The term "]" does not generally connote group sex and is closer to the ] and this metaphorical usage.
==Orgies in contemporary culture==
In many cultures, public intercourse is considered ] and is illegal (see ]); many groups also frown upon sex that is not ]. Orgies often take place in private or clandestine locations, including homes, unpopulated areas like forests, abandoned buildings, or private clubs. ]s are often open to members only, while less formal locations (truck stops, wooded areas) may be semi-secret. Group sex also sometimes takes place in ]s, ]s, ], or ]s, although such places (particularly those frequented by sexual minorities such as gays or lesbians in countries intolerant of ]) are sometimes subject to legal repercussions. Orgies may be a part of other social activities such as parties, although some venues such as s tend to eschew talking.


==Ancient ''orgia''==
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 such as drunken orgies among friends. Among ]s, 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 ].
{{Main article|Orgia}}
]]]
In ], '']'' (ὄργια, sing. ὄργιον, ''orgion'') were ] characteristic of the ]. Unlike public religion, or the private religious practices of a household, the mysteries were open only to initiates, and were thus "secret". Some rites were held at night. ''Orgia'' were part of the ], the ], and the cult of ], which involved the ] in a frenzied trance. Because of their secret, nocturnal, and unscripted nature, the ''orgia'' were subject to prurient speculation and regarded with suspicion, particularly ], who attempted to ] in 186 BC. ''Orgia'' are popularly thought to have involved sex,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Shipley |first=Joseph T. |year=1963 |title=orgyan |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofearl0000ship_q7b8/page/472/mode/2up |url-access=registration |encyclopedia=Dictionary of Early English |location=Paterson, NJ |publisher=Littlefield, Adams & Co. |isbn=0-8065-2926-1 |pages=472–473}}</ref> but, while ] and fertility were cultic concerns, the primary goal of the ''orgia'' was to achieve an ecstatic union with the divine. The ] were also accused of participating in orgies.<ref name="Fudgé 2016 p. 192">{{cite book | last=Fudgé | first=T.A. | title=Medieval Religion and its Anxieties: History and Mystery in the Other Middle Ages | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | series=The New Middle Ages | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-137-56610-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KO5NDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA192 | access-date=2023-06-20 | page=192}}</ref><ref name="Goodare 2016 p. 171">{{cite book | last=Goodare | first=J. | title=The European Witch-Hunt | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-317-19831-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eM4mDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 | access-date=2023-06-20 | page=171}}</ref>


⚫ ==See also==
In spite of (or due to) the stigma against group sex, participation in orgies is a common fantasy, although regular participation in group sex remains uncommon in most cultures.
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References==
Certain characteristics typical of human beings in general severely limit group sex participation. Women may be less likely to admit an attraction to impersonal sex, multiple sexual partners, and sexual variety for its own sake, whereas men are more likely to admit interest in these sexual possibilities. Accordingly, in most situations, the number of men who want to participate in orgies greatly exceeds the number of women. Additionally, most men and women are subject to sexual ], an emotion that can be intensely uncomfortable, and sometimes evokes hostility or aggression. Although the fantasy of group sex can be titillating for many couples, it should be noted that enactment can result in irreversible emotional trauma or damage done to the relationship, and for this reason many couples prefer to use sex toys rather than live partners.
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}


'''Bibliography'''
===Prevalence===
* Adkins, Lesley and Adkins, Roy A. (1998). ''Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece''. {{ISBN|0-19-512491-X}}.
* Alexander, Timothy Jay (2007). ''Hellenismos Today''. {{ISBN|978-1-4303-1427-1}}.
* Alexander, Timothy Jay (2007). ''A Beginner's Guide to Hellenismos''. {{ISBN|978-1-4303-2456-0}}.
* Burnet, John (2005). ''Early Greek Philosophy''. {{ISBN|1-4021-9753-5}}.
* Dillon, Matthew (2002). ''Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion''. {{ISBN|0-415-20272-8}}.
* Maffesoli, Michel (1993). ''The Shadow of Dionysus: A Contribution to the Sociology of the Orgy''. {{ISBN|978-0-7914-1239-8}}.
* Persson, Martin (1970). ''The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion''. {{ISBN|0-8196-0273-6}}.
* Wilson, Nigel Guy (2005). ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece''. {{ISBN|0-415-97334-1}}.


⚫ ==External links==
There isn't much reliable information about orgy-related behavior in the United States in recent times. Information about remote times and places is even more scanty. The ] represent one of the better known data sets. This information, collected between 1948 and 1953, from interviews with about 10,000 people suggests that this kind of sexual activity is uncommon. Many forms of sexual behavior were reported by Kinsey's subjects, but the official Kinsey Reports web site does not mention threesomes, group sex or orgies in the summary of Kinsey's findings. Presumably, such reports were too scanty to mention.
* {{Commonscat-inline|Group sex|Orgy}}


⚫ {{Human sexuality}}
A web site summarizes a survey conducted by ABC PrimeTime News in 2004. Fifteen percent of the subjects reported that they had participated in a threesome on at least one occasion, though no other survey information is mentioned.


===Safety===

Since the advent of the ] epidemic, ] is widely considered a dangerous activity, precipitating crackdowns on venues where it takes place. In response to the threat of ], some people have begun to organize ] in order to give people who enjoy group sex a risk-reduced way to participate in it. Such events typically do not involve ] or sex without necessary barrier methods such as ]s, focusing on group masturbation, protected ], the use of ]s, or other activities involving minimal risk of ] transmission. Many venues where orgies often take place provide condoms, ]s, ] ]s, ], or other tools for ] to participants. However, sex involving potential fluid exchange is considered a major risk factor for ] or other diseases.

] is not a risk involved in consensual group sex, although the term orgy (and some slang terms such as "gangbang" or "pulling a train") can be used to refer to sexual assault committed by a group, often as punishment or recreation. Most organized forms of group sex impose restrictions or use customs to ensure that all sex involved is ]; for example, some groups have specific non-verbal cues (], hand gestures) used to communicate consent or lack thereof. Again, ] and other drugs may be seen as risk factors for unwanted sexual contact during group sex.

==Further Reading==

Partridge, Burgo ''A History of Orgies'' 1960

⚫ ==See also==
*]

⚫ ==External links==
*{{ cite journal
| last=Weinberg
| first=Martin S.
| coauthors = Williams, Colin J.
| title=Gay Baths and the Social Organization of Impersonal Sex
| journal=Social Problems
| volume=23
| issue=2
| date=December, 1975
| pages=124-136
| url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-7791%28197512%2923%3A2%3C124%3AGBATSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V
}}

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Latest revision as of 11:15, 2 January 2025

People freely engaging in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex For the religious rites of ancient Greece, see Orgia. For the American alternative metal band, see Orgy (band).

Illustration of an orgy from De figuris Veneris by Édouard-Henri Avril

An orgy is a sex party where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex.

Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swinger parties the sexual partners may all know each other or at least have some commonality among economic class, educational attainment or other shared attributes. Some swingers contend that an orgy, as opposed to a sex party, requires some anonymity of sexual partners in complete sexual abandon. Other kinds of "sex parties" may fare less well with this labelling.

Participation in an "orgy" is a common sexual fantasy, and group sex targeting such consumers is a subgenre in pornographic films.

The term is also used metaphorically in expressions, such as an "orgy of colour" or an "orgy of destruction" to indicate excess, overabundance. The term "orgiastic" does not generally connote group sex and is closer to the classical roots and this metaphorical usage.

Ancient orgia

Main article: Orgia
Bacchanal with a wine vat (c. 1475) by Andrea Mantegna

In ancient Greek religion, orgia (ὄργια, sing. ὄργιον, orgion) were ecstatic rites characteristic of the Greek and Hellenistic mystery religions. Unlike public religion, or the private religious practices of a household, the mysteries were open only to initiates, and were thus "secret". Some rites were held at night. Orgia were part of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Dionysian Mysteries, and the cult of Cybele, which involved the castration of her priests in a frenzied trance. Because of their secret, nocturnal, and unscripted nature, the orgia were subject to prurient speculation and regarded with suspicion, particularly by the Romans, who attempted to suppress the Bacchanals in 186 BC. Orgia are popularly thought to have involved sex, but, while sexuality and fertility were cultic concerns, the primary goal of the orgia was to achieve an ecstatic union with the divine. The Adamites were also accused of participating in orgies.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Wojick, Helen (October 2010). "Swinger Survey Results on Difference Between Orgies and Group Sex". The Swingers Blog. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  2. Shipley, Joseph T. (1963). "orgyan". Dictionary of Early English. Paterson, NJ: Littlefield, Adams & Co. pp. 472–473. ISBN 0-8065-2926-1.
  3. Fudgé, T.A. (2016). Medieval Religion and its Anxieties: History and Mystery in the Other Middle Ages. The New Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-137-56610-2. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  4. Goodare, J. (2016). The European Witch-Hunt. Taylor & Francis. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-317-19831-4. Retrieved 2023-06-20.

Bibliography

External links

  • Media related to Orgy at Wikimedia Commons
Human sexuality and sexology
Sexual relationship
phenomena
Sexual dynamics
See also
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