Chattanooga’s First Facilitated, Platonic Cuddle Event! Register Here
Saturday, March 8th from 5:45-10:15pm
Location: Harrison Bay area (event address will be emailed two weeks prior to event to registered participants).
This first offering is donation-based with freedom to pay as little as $1 and as much as $10/person. Please fully review our guidelines before registering!
CURIOUS? Keep reading….
This is a non-sexual, touch based event exploring platonic intimacy in a safe environment with like-minded people. You will be guided through a series of learning and practice exercises that maximize safety and create a space of easy openness and compassionate connection.
This experience invites you to normalize touch and intimacy with clear boundaries; it is a space for respectful, consent-based touch. We allow ourselves to be seen. We have fun. We get our touch needs met.
We welcome people of all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, economic statuses, races, spiritual or religious beliefs, sizes, and ages (18+).
THE RULES
1. Clothes stay on for the whole event.
2. You do not have to touch anyone at this event.
3. You must ask permission and receive a verbal YES before you touch anyone. Please be specific in your requests.
4. If you feel a yes, say YES. If you feel a no, say NO. If you’re a maybe, say NO. You can always change your mind.
5. Get your facilitator if you have a question or concern, or if you need assistance with anything during the event.
6. Talking, laughter, silence, silliness, stillness, and crying are welcome.
WHY CUDDLE?
Touch is a basic human need, and many of us do not get enough; most people don’t even know they are missing touch, or have a way to ask for touch without sexualizing it. We believe deeply in the power of touch, and the importance of communication and consent in creating a safe space for touch.
CUDDLING WITH STRANGERS
Cuddling with strangers sounds weird or scary to most people. “Will I like it?” “What if someone wants to touch me and I don’t want to?” “What if I say yes and it’s not what I want?” “What if I really want to touch someone and they say no?” These are all normal questions. The answer is that this is a space created to ask for exactly what you want, and receive NOTHING you don’t want. Many people start out nervous at a cuddle event. Most are really, really glad they came.
Schedule:
5:45-6pm: Arrive with snacks to share! Get comfortable, meet, mingle, & snack. (No alcohol- this is a sober event).
6:05pm: Welcome Circle- its mandatory. We will set our container, talk about personal boundaries, communication, & consent.
6:15pm: Icebreakers and connective activities.
7:00pm: Open cuddling! You MUST ask and get a verbal ‘yes’ before touching or cuddling with anybody at this event. If you are not sure how to do this – great! – we will talk about it during the welcome circle.
9:50pm: Closing Circle, cleanup our space and head home.
ETIQUETTE
ARRIVE ON TIME: It is important that all participants arrive before the Welcome Circle. The Welcome Circle serves the purpose of creating the safe space for consensual, non-sexual touch between participants and making sure that everyone is informed about consent.
Please be free of strong scents; many folks would rather not be close to someone who smells of cigarettes, perfume, or essential oils. Your clean self is a good smell!
BE SOBER: Please do not drink or smoke before or at this event.
WHAT TO BRING: personal water bottle and snacks to share, a friend, a date – whatever cuddle accessories you like! The only thing that you are required to bring is a clean and sober you.
These events are not "gender balanced" meaning there will be humans of as many genders as sign up organically.
We take individual and group safety seriously! If you experience, see, or know that one of our participants is not safe to be at this event, we want to know about it. We are committed to doing our best to create a safe environment which means that if someone is causing harm (physical or mental) that person is not welcome here (this includes harm that takes place outside of our events). We stand behind survivors and know that some of our participants are here to heal from touch based trauma.
YOUR FACILITATORS:
Naomi Griffin Self (she/they/we) is an open-minded and always curious human who is consistently seeking to push boundaries, expand horizons, and challenge the status quo. Authenticity is one of her highest values and much of this life has been about learning to understand and express vulnerability, intimacy, and connection in ways that build community and feel really good. As a Life Coach, Self-Expression Advocate, Singing Circle Facilitator, and mother of 3, Naomi is delighted to be adding Cuddle Party Facilitation to her wheelhouse of opportunities to bring people together for sometimes scary, always brave, and mostly groundbreaking experiences.
Aline Defiglia (she/her) is a licensed psychotherapist and coach and owns Ascend Coaching and Therapy, a dynamic group practice based in Chattanooga, TN. In addition to her clinical work, she leads a local conscious sexuality cohort and develops programming for conscious relating in various contexts. She deeply believes in the power of experiential learning for growth and transformation and the importance of accessing positive, safe, authentic connection with others. She is delighted to support the creation of platonic cuddle events in Chattanooga!
Additional Reading:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/16/nonsexual-cuddle-parties-catching-on-in-utah/
Cuddling and Therapy https://cuddlist.com/for-therapists/
Gentle Touch Soothes Pain of Social Rejection https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2017/oct/gentle-touch-soothes-pain-social-rejection
Emotions and Touch https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40504
Touch Protecting Against Stress and Infection https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/december/december17_hugsprotect.html