We're a hot button topic': is intimacy coordination the most misunderstood job in film-making?

"When intimacy coordinator Adelaide Waldrop gets asked about her job at parties, she contemplates lying. I've considered saying I'm an accountant, she says. When she reveals the truth, the response is almost always seedy. There are questions about erections, merkins, and inappropriate celebrities. Or it's a lot of, Oh we could use one of you at home with me and the missus', and questions about my sex life, Waldrop adds. We're a hot button topic. Lately, the heat has been on high."

"To some, intimacy coordinators are an auspicious part of a post-#MeToo industry, one that protects cast and crew while providing crucial creative input Michelle Williams, Alexander Skarsgard, and Emma Stone are among those to have gushed about their experiences. To others, they're the sex police, impeding artistry for the sake of avoiding an HR headache. Mikey Madison didn't want an intimacy coordinator for her Oscar-winning sex worker film Anora."

"Part of the problem is that, in the words of Florence Pugh, intimacy coordination is still figuring itself out. While some versions of this work have existed for decades sex educator Susie Bright was brought in to choreograph intimate scenes in the 1996 film Bound it didn't become an industry mainstay until after #MeToo. Now, intimacy coordinators are unionised in the US with Sag-Aftra and the UK has its own registry for intimacy coordinators under Bectu."

Intimacy coordinators manage and choreograph intimate scenes to protect cast and crew while contributing creatively. The role provokes mixed reactions, with some performers praising the safeguards and others criticizing perceived interference with artistic freedom. High-profile remarks and anecdotes have fueled skepticism and sexualized responses toward practitioners. Demand for intimacy coordinators surged after the #MeToo movement, outpacing available trained personnel and prompting questions about standards. Some practitioners note the field is still developing. Historically, versions of the work existed earlier, but formal adoption expanded post-#MeToo. Coordinators have become unionised in the US and are registered in the UK.

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