OneTaste

OneTaste is a business dedicated to researching and teaching the practices of orgasmic meditation and slow sex. Though it embraces certain tenets based in Eastern philosophy, OneTaste's central focus is female orgasm and sexuality.[1][2]

OneTaste was founded in San Francisco by Nicole Daedone in 2001. OneTaste originally operated two communal-style "urban retreat" centers, one in San Francisco’s Soma District and the other on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The organization's stated goal is "to create a clean, well-lit place where sexuality, relationship, and intimacy could be discussed openly and honestly."[3] OneTaste produces media, workshops, weekend retreats, and a coach training program.

Orgasmic meditation

Orgasmic meditation or OMing is a term coined by Nicole Daedone to signify a mindfulness practice in which the object of meditation is finger to genital contact.[1] OMing is practiced in pairs, with one practitioner stroking the genitals of the other, and both focusing their attention on the sensation with the stated goal of developing connective resonance between them. Although the practitioners can be of either sex, the focus of orgasmic meditation seems to be on the female orgasm through subtle and deliberate stimulation of the clitoris.[1] Both partners, however, are said to share in the sensation and fulfillment via a kind of "pleasure by proxy."[4] Proponents state that orgasmic meditation encompasses more than just orgasm and that it encourages greater emotional awareness, connected relationships, and sense of fulfillment.[5] Others describe the sensation as "a heady buzz, mixed with equal parts wooziness and intensity of focus."[6] This experience may be comparable to what is described in scientific literature as Expanded orgasm.

In press accounts, orgasmic meditation has been compared to tantric practices. "The idea, similar to Buddhist Tantric sex, is to extend the sensory peak."[1] Daedone has stated in interviews that OMing also borrows from other traditions including yoga, and other forms of meditation,[7] and she describes it as a central element of what she terms the "Slow Sex Movement".[4][8] She states that OMing brings consciousness to sexuality in the same way that sitting meditation brings consciousness to stillness and yoga brings consciousness to movement.[7] Proponents maintain that the practice leads to more intense and profound orgasms,[5] expands one's capacity to feel pleasure and other sensations, and promotes greater personal awareness and interpersonal connectivity.[1] Others describe more limited effects, such as simply "getting in touch with one's body."[9] Some who have participated in or witnessed the practice report feeling a sense of discomfort or inappropriateness. "I tried with great futility to make the connection between an austere Zen monastery filled with silent monks meditating on emptiness, and what I had just seen."[10]

The practice of orgasmic meditation is done with a partner. One person lies down, unclothed from the waist down, while her fully clothed partner sits alongside. The one sitting uses his or her index finger to slowly, deliberately stroke the clitoris of the other. Typically this safe sex practice involves the wearing of gloves. The session lasts for 15 minutes and is timed precisely. Both partners focus their attention on the point of contact or stroke, simply feeling the sensation that is present.[11] If the mind drifts, attention is brought back to the point of contact and immediate sensations. Practitioners of orgasmic meditation maintain that the practice nourishes the limbic system, the part of the brain shared with other mammals and associated with emotion, empathy, and motivation.[4] When the OMing session is over, both partners share their experiences verbally.[1][6]

OMing requires a partner, and so is distinct from masturbation, for two reasons. First, the voluntary mind must be given a rest, surrendering to the experience rather than seeking to produce the desired sensations. Secondly, the resonance between two partners is essential to the experience of shared sensation.[12] OM is usually practiced separately from sex and often in a location other than the bedroom; as distinct from foreplay, Daedone describes it as a practice "designed to keep a woman on a plateau of sensation." A visiting UK columnist surmised that "OM is a form of recalibration that prepares the body for better, more intense sex."[13]

Slow sex

The New York Times portrays Daedone as leading a self-described "slow sex movement, one that places a near-exclusive emphasis on women’s pleasure — in which love, romance and even flirtation are not required."[1] Daedone draws parallels between slow sex and the Slow Food movement associated with chef Alice Waters.[4] With sex as with food, she says, people can overindulge without getting nourishment, or go from one extreme of consuming mindlessly to the other extreme of self-denial.[7]

In an interview with San Francisco's 7x7 magazine, Daedone states that slow sex encompasses orgasmic meditation and mindful sexuality generally.[14] She says that slow sex is not defined by speed or the amount of time spent, but rather these three ingredients: 1) developing attention to what's actually present rather than fixating on a goal, 2) simplicity, a stripping away of extraneous elements down to the level of pure sensation 3) cultivating desire by learning to acknowledge and articulate it.

In 2011, Daedone published Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm, described as elevating "the female orgasm to a level of religious and spiritual practice."[15] A review in Salon.com explores whether these ideas and practices will appeal only to "alternative circles" or to a larger mainstream audience. Salon notes the demand for "female Viagra," with an estimated market of $2 billion US, and numerous studies that document women's dissatisfaction with sex and low frequency of orgasm. The review concludes "Daedone's philosophy is a refreshing counterpoint to the porny mainstream, but it's certainly hard to picture Middle America embracing orgasmic meditation."[15]

Science

Barry Komisaruk, a neuroscientist at Rutgers University and author of The Science of Orgasm, was interviewed about slow sex for ABC news. At the time Komisaruk characterizes the premises of slow sex as a kind of semantic reshuffling: "What Daedone calls orgasm is what most people would call pleasure and bliss; what most people call orgasm is what Daedone calls climax."[16] However, since then Komisaruk's lab has undertaken studies on Orgasmic Meditiation and its benefits to practitioners[17] and he has revised his previous opinion to say "I now better understand and appreciate several main claims of OneTaste....I think to the extent that OM can increase those participating individuals' awareness of their bodily sensations, it can be a physiologically healthful practice".[18]

Related work

In The Four Hour Body, a New York Times Best Seller[19] described as "a lab report on more than a decade of diet, exercise, and sexual trials that Tim Ferriss carried out on himself,"[20] two chapters are devoted to "The 15 Minute Female Orgasm" in which Ferriss describes his quest to learn to facilitate the experience of orgasm in any woman.[21]

Press and controversy

In March 2009, The New York Times featured OneTaste on the front page of its "Style" section. The article describes the organization as "the latest stop on this sexual underground, weaving together strands of radical individual freedom, Eastern spirituality and feminism." An Indiana University sociology professor who has studied San Francisco’s sexual subcultures, Elizabeth A. Armstrong, is quoted as saying “The notion of a San Francisco sex commune focused on female orgasm is part of a long and rich history of women being public and empowered about their sexuality.”

The article also notes, "as with many a commune before it, the leader of One Taste, Ms. Daedone, is a polarizing personality, whom admirers venerate as a sex diva, although some former members say she has cult like powers over her followers... Much of the community’s tone revolves around Ms. Daedone, a woman of considerable charm, although detractors regard her as a master manipulator."[1] In the New York Times interview, Ms. Daedone insists she does not aspire to guru status, while acknowledging that "there’s a high potential for this to be a cult."[1]

The New York Times article led to several blog and opinion columns. Salon.com ran an essay that referenced the Times piece and discussed the merits of women joining a community dedicated to female orgasm, concluding that "within a mainstream sexual culture defined almost exclusively by dudely desires" that it might be healthy.[22]

A number of press accounts have since offered different perspectives on the organization including a 2013 Gawker article, also referencing online cult accusations, which documented the reporter's experience at a weekend conference hosted by OneTaste.[18]

Men who depend on the primitive accumulation [23][24] of women and women who support a patriarchal hierarchy may feel threatened by the prospect of the empowered female sexualality that this practice claims to encourage. In January 2015, a public school substitute was terminated from his employment after allegations that he created a hostile environment with one of his colleagues by describing this practice to her during a meal break when no students were present. This topic was considered inappropriate for conversation in a historically Puritanical state school. [25]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Patricia Leigh Brown; Carol Pogash (arch 15, 2009), "The Pleasure Principle", The New York Times, retrieved 2009-05-05 Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ Tracy Clark-Flory. "All hail the female orgasm". Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  3. ↑ "The OneTaste.us website". OneTaste. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Mary Spicuzza (April 4, 2007). "Sex and Sensuality". San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Daphne Gordon (6 May 2008), "More to sex than intercourse", The Toronto Star, retrieved 2009-09-21
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justin Silverman ("March 31, 2009"). "ORGASMIC MEDITATION COMES TO NYC". "The New York Post". Retrieved 2009-04-14. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Cometto, Maria Teresa (April 20, 2008), "Vuoi fare OMing con me?", Grazia: 93–94
  8. ↑ Ashley Harrell (April 14, 2009). "Slow-Sex Movement Picking up Speed". "The San Francisco Weekly". Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  9. ↑ Berton, Justin (July 30, 2009). "Mara Altman turns quest for Big O into a book". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications Inc.). Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  10. ↑ O’Connor, Maura (March–May 2009). "Their Stroke of Insight". EnlightenNext. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  11. ↑ "[Businesses Find Growing Market Among Women]". ABC News: Nightline. August 12, 2009.
  12. ↑ Nicole Daedone (25 May 2011). Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm. Hachette Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-0-446-56719-0. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Pelling, Rowan (July 18, 2011), "The orgasm that lasts FOUR months..", The Daily Mail, retrieved 2011-09-04
  14. ↑ Ladoceour, Lauren (2011), "The Big O", 7x7, retrieved 2011-02-15
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Clark-Flory, Tracy (21 May 2011). "The worship of female pleasure". Salon.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  16. ↑ James, Susan Donaldson (2011-07-19), "Slow Sex Practice Promises Female Orgasm in 15 Minutes", ABC News, retrieved 2011-12-02
  17. ↑ http://www.medicaldaily.com/meditation-methods-what-orgasmic-meditation-and-how-can-it-help-improve-your-sex-life-video-249455. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Tiku, Nitasha. "My Life With the Thrill-Clit Cult".
  19. ↑ Taylor, Ihsan. "Hardcover". The New York Times.
  20. ↑ Wolf, Gary; Watercutter, Angela (November 29, 2010), "Tim Ferriss Wants to Hack Your Body", Wired: 156–163, retrieved 2011-01-23
  21. ↑ Ferriss, Tim (2010). 4-Hour Body. New York: Crown Publishing Random House. pp. 226–253. ISBN 978-0-307-46363-0.
  22. ↑ Clark-Flory, Tracy. "All hail the female orgasm".
  23. ↑ "Caliban and the Witch".
  24. ↑ "Theory of Primitive Accumulation".
  25. ↑ "Employee Terminated After Sharing An Unwelcomed Topic".

Further reading

External links