The Scoop: Fantasy Match (FNTSY) is a polyamorous dating app and mobile sexual resource library, complete with icebreakers and conversation topics. The app connects folks for ethical non-monogamous or open relationships in select cities in the European Union, the United States, and Australia. The app is focused on creating sincere relationships where each person feels empowered to be their truest, fullest self. Fantasy Match recently released a conversation topic pack about sexual cultures across the world, so its users can learn more about sex and how they interact with it.
Just as with food, social norms, laws, and clothing, the way people are influenced by and engage with sex changes from place to place. Culture affects human sexuality in profound ways.
Even among Western cultures, how people view sex differs. For example, according to a 33,590-person survey across 24 countries, 89% of Swedish respondents said there is nothing wrong with premarital sex, while only 42% of Irish respondents agreed.
People who share a national identity can have distinct thoughts about sex. A study done in 1998 showed that the Spanish population was pretty split about gay marriage – 45% of Spaniards surveyed responded that homosexuality is always wrong, while 42% of study participants responded that it is never wrong; only 13% of those surveyed responded somewhere in the middle.
Each person has a unique experience with sex and sexuality and a unique way of expressing that experience. Fantasy Match (FNTSY)is a versatile app designed for dating based on sexual fantasies– and so much more. The app includes features that allow users to learn about sexuality, and world sexual cultures, plus connect with other people in person. The app is welcoming for monogamous and polyamorous individuals and couples.
Juliya Yaroshenko is a sexologist and Fantasy Match’s Chief Inspiration Officer. She told us about Fantasy Match, her interest in the diversity of sexual cultures across the world, and how the app can be a great resource for singles and couples– no matter their fantasies.
“Before starting a relationship, people don’t always know what they want sexually,” Juliya said. “I want it to be easy to find a partner with the same sexual wishes and desires.”
Exploring Fantasies With Sincere Relationships
Fantasy Match is a 21+ app that’s open to anyone and everyone interested in exploring their sexualities. The app is open to singles and couples, along with all kinds of ethical non-monogamous dynamics. Ethical non-monogamy, also called ENM, is a relationship style where multiple people are in a relationship.
ENM can take on so many different looks, and have virtually endless possibilities in terms of relationship setups. The most important aspect of ENM is informed and enthusiastic consent. All engaging parties are excited about opening their relationship, and strong and honest lines of communication are kept.
The dating app features of Fantasy Match cater to folks who want to participate in ENM. The great thing about ethical non-monogamy dating apps is they encourage a variety of users to join – whether a couple looking to open a relationship or a single looking to be added to an already existing relationship.
Creating an account on Fantasy Match is simple. Profiles look similar to the standard dating app profile, and users can put their photos, location, name, sexual identity, and preferences in their Fantasy Match profiles. All accounts on the platform are private until the user selects to go public.
Once connected with another person, users can use the icebreakers and conversation cards to get talking. These conversation starters are diverse and include sexual topics. Fantasy Match encourages its users to explore their sexual fantasies, and many testimonials for the app tout that the sex-positive atmosphere was easy to find.
The icebreakers and conversation starters can easily become engaging, sexy games for couples, throuples, or polycules to enjoy and grow in intimacy. Fantasy Match is more than a dating app. Juliya said she wants it to be a resource for sex information, plus a place for people to connect over shared sexual fantasies and desires.
Juliya urged Fantasy Match users to be open and honest on the app, and also spend time in self-reflection. “When people understand their fantasies, it’s easier for them to find a relationship that will fulfill those boundaries,” Juliya said. “This could be a monogamous relationship, or perhaps something with multiple people.”
One App Store review reads: “This app is so underrated. For the longest time, it was so awkward getting to the sex stage– we never even could talk about it. This app helped us understand that sex isn’t something to be scared of talking about. The only problem is how fast we ran out of fantasies and had to wait a whole day for more.”
Expanding Horizons With World Sexual Cultures
Juliya’s experience interacting with sexualities across the world inspired her to create Fantasy Match. “We must understand sexuality in a cultural sense,” Juliya said. “It’s so different from place to place, it’s impossible to make generalizations.”
Sex and sexuality are deeply influenced by culture and all of its trappings – including religion, gender roles, media, laws, and education, and the list goes on. Views on sexuality shift over time as cultural ideas change.
How people have sex and engage with sex will look drastically different in places where modesty and abstinence are strong values than it would in a place where sexual exploration is less taboo. Culture and sex always remain in conversation with each other.
Views on ethical non-monogamy and polyamory differ greatly from culture to culture. Even among cultures that practice polyamory, there are accepted and unaccepted ways of operating within this framework. Fantasy Match’s World Sexual Culture conversation pack helps users think about sex with a cultural lens.
It can be helpful for people to reflect on how their own cultural background shapes their sexuality and experience with sex. When people reflect on this and try to understand how their experiences affect how they navigate the world, they can learn a lot about themselves and their desires.
Juliya said she wants people practicing polyamory to really think about sex in a cultural sense and see how it can transform their lives.
Fantasy Match Creates Authentic Connections
Fantasy Match’s dating feature is designed to match up folks based on their sexual preferences, interests, and fantasies. Remember, Fantasy Match is about sexual, sensual, and emotional exploration and honesty. And it’s not just for polyamorous people. Juliya told us that people of all orientations and preferred relationship dynamics can use Fantasy Match to find sincere connections.
Juliya said that Fantasy Match’s core values are very apparent in the app’s dating feature. She said that she hopes the app helps users speak their truth, search for deep and sincere connections, and be liberated to sexually explore.
When people connect through Fantasy Match’s dating feature, they can use the icebreakers and conversation cards. This makes starting a conversation in the in-app chat easier than ever – people no longer have to think about the perfect opening line.
One of the best parts of Fantasy Match is that it fosters a sex-positive, accepting community. As Juliya mentioned before, many groups hold cultural stigmas and taboos around sex and sexuality. She said she strives for Fantasy Match to be affirming, inclusive, and a safe place to explore and reflect.
Sex education is vital to creating healthier communities. Sex is a pretty big part of being a human, after all, so it should be cared for like any other aspect of personal health.
Beyond sex education, Juliya said she believes firmly in the power of sexual fantasies to reveal truths about the self. “Fantasy Match helps people form sexual awareness, and creates a culture of tolerant sexuality,” Juliya told us. “With this sexual awareness, people can learn how to build better relationships with the knowledge of their inherent fetishes and fantasies.”
“A lot of people have trauma that’s been passed down, from never having any kind of sex education, and their parents not having any sex education,” Juliya said. “It can make it really difficult for people to talk about it, even though it’s so important.”
