The Real People of Brooklyn’s Sex-Positive Group House

Yes, there are orgies and orgasm workshops. But even more fascinating is how 14 strangers turned this brownstone into the most supportive co-living arrangement in NYC.

Photos by Daniel Krieger

It’s a Friday evening in April, and around a dozen New Yorkers are mingling at an underground event space in Brooklyn’s trendy Bushwick neighborhood. Helping themselves to chips, donut holes and nonalcoholic drinks, they make small talk. An air of anticipation fills the room. Something is about to happen here, but there’s little to clarify just what – aside from the six mattresses with lavender sheets on the floor.

“Make a friend,” says the organizer, Kenneth Play, as more guests trickle in. It’s a diverse bunch – twenties, thirties, forties; white, Asian, black – with couples outnumbering singles two to one. They are here to learn about tools and techniques for inducing female ejaculation, known colloquially as “squirting.” It’s a monthly live-action sex ed experience called a “Sex Hacking PlayLab.”

When the crowd swells to forty or so and its din hits cocktail party level, Play tells everyone to take a seat. A few couples get cozily entwined on the mattresses. …