Casual sex increases in casualness with new dating sites

Have you thought about downloading Grindr and then remembered you’re not a gay man? Are you tired of cruising OkCupid, only to find that there are just too many gentiles? Are you exhausted from trying to impress someone on the first date when you know they’re already looking for is marriage? Now two Brooklyn-based dating sites are offering us what we really want: casual sex.

Elissa Shevinsky, founder of MakeOutLabs.com has been relentlessly surveying Brooklyn singles under 40 to find out what it is they want. And, unsurprisingly, what they want is sex. In addition to MakeOutLabs, Shevinsky is also launching JoinJSpot.com, a site for Jewish singles. That’s right, just in case running into your co-workers and baristas on OkCupid wasn’t enough, now you can also enjoy the added pleasure of stumbling across a member of your family’s synagogue!

What’s perhaps the most impressively intuitive aspect of Shevinsky’s site is its acknowledgement of the fact that there’s more than one type of casual sex. Users will be able to convey the type of hookup they’re after, using the options “Casual Sex (Emphasis on Casual)” and “Casual Sex (and you can stay for breakfast). No word yet on whether or not there will be a “Casual Sex (and I will write about you on the Internet)” forthcoming.

For a site that emphasizes the no-pressure hookup, however, things sure can get a little personal. Although Shevinsky insists that “I am here to help Brooklyn get together. And I don’t judge what they do,” potential members are allowed accounts only once she analyses their Facebook profile to ensure that they are not “jerks,” making her seem less like a matchmaker or a madame and more like your judgey aunt who’s always asking why you’re single before insulting all of your life choices.

But despite skepticism, criticism and general online snarkery, both sites will launch next month, and since Valentine’s Day is going to be coming up by then, it’s important to remember that there are plenty of fish in the sea — and that those fish are becoming increasingly honest about what they want out of a first date.