HOOKING UP AT FESTIVALS
I figured this would be a good companion to the rave bae article (which if you haven’t read you should go check it out), because let’s face it, festivals tend to be one of those weird places where you let go of inhibition and are often kind of sequestered in a place with a bunch of strangers (some of who are super hot) for a few days with zero cell service, so things are going to happen. I haven’t mentioned it anywhere here, but I have actually spent a lot of time as an advocate for sex education and safety, so since this has turned into a little valentines day series on this blog I thought it would be a little remiss of me not to talk a little bit about…well, sex at festivals.
So first things first, the most important thing to put out there is that if you are going to get it on at a festival: Be safe! This one is always going to be one of the first things that comes to mind when I start talking about anything involving ‘hooking up’ with literally anyone, male or female. Make sure you have any protection with you that you think you are going to need. If you are going to a festival near a town or a city where you have access to pharmacies then you probably don’t need to be planning as intensely, but if you are heading to an even like Desert Hearts, way out in the middle of nowhere you should make sure you are bringing everything you need to make sure you are being safe (*cough cough* Condoms *cough cough*).
Now when I say be safe, I don’t just mean insist on using protection (WHICH YOU SHOULD ALWAYS DO), I also mean that you need to be smart when it comes to strangers. Anytime you are getting involved with strangers; there is a bit of a chance that things can go wrong, this is especially true if you are going to be under the influence of anything. I would say that if you are meeting up with someone you met on tinder or another ‘dating’ app, that you do it at the festival where there are going to be lots of people and security around in case they are an actual crazy person or just a creep. I am not going to tell you how to live your life, but I would highly suggest that if you are meeting up with people, you do so while you are still sober, because with a clear mind you are much more likely to pick up on any weird vibes. Again, I am not saying you can't drink and have fun, but when you have a lot of unknowns, it is probably best to go into everything with a clear mind.
Speaking of which let's take a second to talk about drugs. If you are planning on being under the influence of any substances that are going to be mood altering or lower inhibitions, then you especially need to make sure that you are being safe. Alcohol and other substances tend to put you in a state of mind where you aren’t thinking about protection, which is a recipe for all sorts of infections and just bad stuff, so better safe than sorry. If you are going to go through with hooking up with someone who you aren’t together with a festival, always make sure you have protection with you. No excuses.
Now that I have put that out there into the universe lets go back to meeting up with strangers. If you meet up with your tinder date and the two hit it off and make plans to reconnect later, or go to their hotel if it isn’t a camping festival, or wherever they are staying, make sure that you are sharing your location with your friends and that a friend is checking in with you periodically. If you have horrible service make sure you have given them the address you are going to as well. I want to say that the world is all sunshine and rainbows, but it isn’t, so it is essential to make sure you are taking steps to make sure you are safe. Nothing is more important than your safety. If at any point you change your mind or aren’t feeling like the vibe is good then trust your guy and get out of there.
On a completely different note, let’s talk a little bit about keeping it clean. This one is way easier if you are at a hotel then if you are camping, but it is essential to try and keep things squeaky clean because no one wants an infection. Sexy right (lol)? Yeah, hygiene and infections are the least sexy things to talk about, but it is also important to note that festivals are kind of dirty, and that dancing for days tends to lower your resistance to bugs and viruses, soo….keeping clean is super important. If you are planning on sleeping with someone at a festival you have to try and keep everything clean afterward. As I have mentioned in previous posts about festival essentials, I think it is important to make sure you have cleansing baby wipes on you for the porta-potties, but it doesn’t help to have some on hand if you plan on getting…frisky? (god sorry I hate myself).
At the end of the day festivals should be about fun, and if that means finding love or lust at one then you do you girl (or boy), but it is important to make sure you are prepared and staying safe. It can be really easy to get swept up in the high of a festival but try and stay smart about it.
