Guests in cuddle party can hug, touch and massage, but have no sex

Wellington, Sept 9 (ANI): A woman named, Janeen Sonsie, paid 35 American dollars to snuggle with a group of strangers on a chilly Saturday night last month.

Sonsie was just one of 20 people attending the "cuddle party" which is a strictly non-sexual gathering in which guests hug, touch and massage one another.

Two American relationship counsellors created this strange party.

The first party was held in New York in 2004, after which a Melbourne chapter opened two years later, which was closed shortly after it's founder became ill.

However in 2008, relationship and life coach Marus, who goes only by his first name even on his business card, reopened the Melbourne arm, recently expanding to New South Wales and Queensland.

The first such event attracted two dozen people, while a recent gathering drew almost 100.More than 1000 have attended one somewhere on the east coast.

"They're growing fast. I've got my first Sydney party in October and I'll be taking them to other states soon," Stuff.co.nz quoted Marus, as saying.

Marus explained that cuddling is a bothersome, but a mandatory precursor to sex.

"We're living in a touch-starved society. People are not sure how to be loving and nurturing towards one another without it being sexual,"

"It's not about sex, it's not about sex," Marus stated.

This gathering has been accredited as a "cuddle party facilitator" by the U.N parent organization. (ANI)

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