The other day, I went to a small party at my friends’ apartment. I was mingling and minding my own business when…
…a woman walked over to me. “I have a story idea for you,” she told me, explaining that she read Cup of Jo.
“Oh, great, I’d love to hear,” I said, perching on the arm of the sofa.
“THE QUINN APP,” she said. “Everyone should listen to it, it’s life-changing — I want to shout about it from the rooftops!”
She told me that Quinn app is an erotica app (similar to Dipsea and BLANCHEstories) with sexy short stories you can listen to. You can search for whatever topics you’re feeling into — say, secret admirers, co-workers, or historical — and, interestingly, each short story is told as if the speaker is talking directly to you, so you can feel yourself in the scene.
Cut to the next morning: As I walked down the sunny street to get coffee, I downloaded Quinn to see what it was all about. The main page featured Irish stories for St. Patrick’s Day, and since who am I to complain haha, I chose one called “Irish Hospitality” and pressed play.
At first, the story made me laugh. It kicks off with the sound of rain and thunder and footsteps, then an Irish Airbnb host welcomes you inside. “Lovely Irish weather as usual, huh?” he says. “I hope you found the cottage okay, the GPS has trouble out here in the country.” It seemed like a spoof of something women would go nuts over. Good for her, not for me?
But then, you’ll never guess, the Airbnb guest bedroom springs a leak, and the ceiling over the sofa also gets a leak, so the only thing to do is…share the host’s bed. His Irish accent also kicks into high gear — think: “I’m grand” and “Darlin.’”
And.
Oh.
My.
God.
You guys.
As goofy as the story was, I can’t lie that it was also super hot. I realized I was literally biting my lip walking down the street and had to tell myself, “STOP BITING YOUR LIP OMG JOANNA.”
Afterward, I read a few articles about these kinds of erotica apps, and I loved how Gina Gutierrez, the co-founder of Dipsea, pointed out to the New York Times said that they’re are intentionally marketed as sexual wellness. Female pleasure has long been seen as gratuitous or trivial, so instead, she said, “we wanted people to feel like they were making a choice that was good for them.”
Thoughts? I’m curious to listen to more, like this one. Do you listen to these apps or similar ones? I’d love to hear if you have thoughts, recs, anecdotes, whatever! xoxo
P.S. My sex mixtape, and 15 great reader comments on sex.
(This post is not sponsored, I just wanted to share. Photo by Alexandr Ivanets/Stocksy.)