By Juliette Tang
The amazing Dirty D at the Air Sex World Championship in NYC
Have a hot imaginary date and don’t know where to go? Head over to the Air Sex World Championships, which will be held at the Independent (628 Divisadero) this Wednesday, June 24, and get up on stage. You’ll be sure to score.
What began in Austin, TX, has become a nationwide phenomenon, as it appears a lot of people really, really like pretending to have sex in front of a live audience. The ASWC has been snaking its way around America and finally lands in our sexy city after stops that have included DC, New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Portland, and Seattle. Frankly, I’m surprised this hasn’t arrived to SF sooner — although the whole idea of fake sex is sort of PG-13 in a city known for its unapologetic love of outdoor nudity and inappropriate public sex/masturbation/orgies.
After a year of sold out shows at the Alamo Drafthouse and the Paramount theater in Austin, TX, the World Air Sex Championships are taking it to the road. “Air Sex is sort of like Air Guitar,” said Tim League, founder of the Air Sex World Championship, “except instead of pretending to play an invisible guitar on stage, contestants get up there and pretend to have sex with someone who isn’t there. With their clothes on, typically. They pick a song to perform to and then have two minutes to impress the judges with their overall Airness.”
Like many things that have to do with sex without actually featuring real sex (sex video games, hentai, Dutch Wives, host/hostess clubs) the concept of air sex comes from Japan, where it began as an outlet for sexually frustrated men to act out their desires.