Ask: What Is an Intimacy Coordinator, and How Are They Making Sex Scenes Look More Realistic?
By Patricia Puentes
Ita O’Brien — intimacy coordinator for Normal People, Sex Education and I May Destroy You and a pioneer in the industry — likens her profession to that of a dance choreographer or a stunt coordinator. “An intimacy coordinator is a practitioner who brings a professional process and professional practices to the intimate content,” she says during a video chat interview. “[We’re] dealing with the intimate content in a professional way, with open communication, agreement and consent inherent within the process — and that’s of touch, of simulation of sexual content and of nudity. Whereas in the past, it was just like: ‘You’re an actor, get on with it.’