• In an excerpt in Vanity Fair from her new book, “Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley,” the reporter Emily Chang details secretive sex parties in Silicon Valley.
  • The parties are something of an open secret in the Valley, Chang says, writing that their influence extends into the business world as well.

Secretive sex parties are becoming the norm in Silicon Valley.

That’s according to an excerpt from the Bloomberg reporter Emily Chang’s new book, “Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley,” which details the inner workings of the Valley’s freewheeling sex culture.

Chang writes of several investors and entrepreneurs who shared stories of sex parties that encourage open relationships, heavy drug use, and “cuddle puddles.”

  • Chang writes that the parties are fueled by drugs like MDMA, aka Molly, with tablets that are sometimes shaped like the logos of tech companies.
  • Venture capitalists, founders, and aspiring entrepreneurs participate in these parties, which Chang says take place anywhere from a mansion in the San Francisco suburbs to a yacht off the Spanish island of Ibiza.
  • But it’s the powerful male tech elite who have all the power at these sex parties, Chang writes. Women who choose to participate in the parties are often stigmatized and can lose the respect of others in the Valley.
  • One female founder told Chang: “If you do participate in these sex parties, don’t ever think about starting a company or having someone invest in you. Those doors get shut. But if you don’t participate, you’re shut out. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

The misogynistic effects of sex parties are just one facet of Chang’s book, which she’s been working on for the past two years.

While "Brotopia" delves into years of sexism and "bro culture" in Silicon Valley, its release comes as sexual harassment is dominating the national conversation. Several incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct at high-profile tech companies have been exposed in the past year, beginning with Susan Fowler's explosive blog post about workplace discrimination and harassment at Uber. Well-known investors and CEOs were also accused of sexual misconduct in 2017.

Chang's book is set for release in February (you can preorder it on Amazon), but you can read the full except over at Vanity Fair.