# Sex, light on or off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 5, 2000, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215 "2000-12-05T23:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/41 "2000-12-06T13:59:54Z")
Candles or a fire in the fireplace (I put a gas fireplace in the bedroom just for this reason). Another great mood enhancer - during a violent thunderstorm. If you get good lightning the effect is terrific. During the middle of the day is good, too. Just don’t turn on an overhead light. I hate overhead lights. ---
**Author:** ![poohpah\_chalupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/91b2a8/32.png) [@poohpah\_chalupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poohpah_chalupa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/42 "2000-12-06T14:20:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anti Pro \* > \*\*Just SEX would be quite nice, I don’t care if the lights are on OR off. \*\* I’m free tomorrow afternoon, say around 2:00…Motel 6 down by the 405 freeway, room 301… ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/43 "2000-12-06T14:44:15Z")
Mmmmm . . . On occasion, perfect darkness is required. Eliminate the sense of sight, and you must learn to communicate perfectly with just the subtleties of touch, the sound of your breath and the low whispers employed without immediate appraisal of receipt. The effect of your attentions known only by the motion of her body, the feel of her skin, the beat of her heart . . . On occasion, fucking demands the brightest sunlight in an open field. Light breeds laughter, warmth, playfulness and celebration of sex in all its beauty and silliness . . . On occasion, the low light of a candle can soften all appearances. The body becomes that much more inviting and forgiving. Her skin takes on a look of smoothness not achieved otherwise. Her eyes dart out of shadow to glimmer approvingly only for a fleeting moment – just long enough to make the heart race and fill. Every movement is made graceful. Every touch made a prayer . . . ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/44 "2000-12-06T15:08:02Z")
I have a Lava Lamp, so I never worry about this. Also, have you ever heard the expression “A Wiccan is the best friend you can have during a blackout because they never run out of candles”? It’s true for sex, too. Mmm. Lava lamp and candles. I don’t like bright artificial lights for sex, but I don’t like darkness either. Oh, and one time Eric and I did it in broad daylight at Mount Royal Park. That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/45 "2000-12-06T15:27:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monkeylucifer \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > Depends on the girl… sometimes all it takes is a paper bag! > > > > So do you usually tell them that they’re sleeping with the Unknown Comic? \*\* > > Or a Saints fan?? > \*\* Perhaps a misunderstanding…not on me. On her. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/46 "2000-12-06T15:28:07Z")
Mornings. No lights on, whatever’s outside is all the light. Or really anytime. Lighting isn’t too much of a concern. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/47 "2000-12-06T15:30:02Z")
Its been years, but i have great memory (I can remember every time). Lights on. Why not? Though once, me and my guy were attempting sex on the floor. We were at the ladies house where I was staying, and her two cats were just sitting there, next to each other, watching as if it were a training video! So funny. I still wonder what they were thinking… ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/48 "2000-12-06T15:38:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Medea’s Child \* > **[sub]Is this TMI?[/sub]** um… _cough_ where did you say you lived? I’m partial to low light, myself - I live far enough away from downtown that the lights don’t glare, but close enough so that I can see quite well when the lights are all off. It gives it a dreamy, almost forbidden quality. Which I really, _really_ like. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/49 "2000-12-06T15:39:32Z")
I have a big, oak bed with a top canopy (no cloth cover, just the wood). There is grape vine wreath with tiny clear lights and dried roses wrapped across all the horizonal top posts. There is a thin, peach colored silky mesh drapped across the bottom. Makes for purrrrrrrrrrrrfect lighting. Oh, and I can even make the lights flicker. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/50 "2000-12-06T16:09:50Z")
Candelight is best. The warm glow really enhances the mood, I find. ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/51 "2000-12-06T16:34:09Z")
Back in the day… Before I decided on a religion that condemned premarital sex, I was fairly promiscuous (but safe!) and I preferred lights on, at least the first time, so I could make sure there were no surprises lurking that I might be able to see. Of course, there are always the ones you can’t see, but that’s why you at least use a condom. Now, I’m celibate, but if/when I ever do have sex again, I don’t _care_ if the lights are on or off; outside or in; public place or private; night or day; kitchen table, floor, living room, couch, chair, front lawn, back yard, roof, hammock, desktop, bathroom, laundry room, kitchen counter, coffee table, t.v. table, picnic bench, sandtrap, desert floor, beach, middle of the street in the middle of the nigh, middle of the street in the middle of the day, on the bed, under the bed, beside the bed, out camping in a tent, out camping by the fire, in the car, under the car, on top of the car, in the bathroom at a girlfriend’s party with a line waiting outside, not knowing what’s going on in said bathroom… Oh, dear, I guess I should stop now. I would hate to give someone the wrong impression. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/52 "2000-12-06T16:51:29Z")
If I remember correctly, I think the lights were on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Pinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dr.Pinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Pinky)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/53 "2000-12-06T16:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dewt \* > \*\*I like it when a third person, dressed in a monkey suit, stands at the door and wildly flicks the lights on and off. > > \*\* Me too! With the giant rabbit, to slowly poke the Q-Tips in and out of my ears! …although I’ve had _some_ success with a third person dressed as a nun, with a clapper. (Lights On! Lights Off!) Plus, it has the added bonus of sounding like someone’s applauding, which is always appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Melpomene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/0ea827/32.png) [@Melpomene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melpomene)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/54 "2000-12-06T17:13:52Z")
Damn! **I** wanted to make the flickering-lights joke! Poop! _grumbles_ I am completely indifferent. If we’re using mirrors, I like the lights on. If I’m being blindfolded, I don’t care either way. If it’s an orgy, I like the lights off. If it’s with the family dog… uhhh…never mind… ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/55 "2000-12-06T21:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > \*\*Fluorescent light bad. Candles, fire, etc. good. \*\* absolutely… Whole heartedly agreee. also fog is nice… ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/56 "2000-12-06T22:13:44Z")
_ **Frogs?!** _ You sick bastard!! Oh . . . oops. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/57 "2000-12-06T23:26:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by oldscratch \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > > \*\*Fluorescent light bad. Candles, fire, etc. good. \*\* > > absolutely… > Whole heartedly agreee. > also fog is nice… \*\* I thought you might agree. 🙂 And yes, fog is nice. But so is haze… and the mist in redwood forests. ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/58 "2000-12-07T00:07:46Z")
I’ve gotten so used to the glaring overhead lights on the soundstage, and all the cameras, and… [sup]Ooops. That was supposed to be a secret.[/sup] Seriously, I don’t care what kind of lighting there is, as long as there’s enough for me to behold the beauty that is the naked female body. Candles are nice, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/59 "2000-12-07T00:41:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saint Zero \* > \*\*Mornings. No lights on, whatever’s outside is all the light. > > Or really anytime. Lighting isn’t too much of a concern. \*\* Anytime. Day, night, lights, none: as long as it’s with you. 🙂 I prefer light, though. I love to see my husband when we’re together. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215/60 "2000-12-07T00:47:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Juliana \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Saint Zero \* > > \*\*Mornings. No lights on, whatever’s outside is all the light. > > > > Or really anytime. Lighting isn’t too much of a concern. \*\* > > Anytime. Day, night, lights, none: as long as it’s with you. 🙂 > > I prefer light, though. I love to see my husband when we’re together. \*\* Aww! You say such nice things. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-light-on-or-off/44215.md?page=4)