May is National Masturbation Month!

America's Masturbating!

Portland, Oregon is doing it and, of course, San Francisco too!. National Masturbation Month is fast approaching, and it climaxes on the 26th with the 12th Annual Masturbate-a-thon, in San Francisco, and May 19th, in Portland, Oregon.

America began celebrating National Masturbation Month in 1995. The purpose of National Masturbation Month to raise awareness, and highlight the importance of masturbation for nearly everyone: it's safe, it's healthy, it's free, it's pleasurable and it helps people get to know their bodies and their sexual responses.

Masturbation is the gold standard to which all other forms of sex are compared to. Of all the kinds of sex people can have, masturbation is the most universal and important, yet few people talk about it freely -- worse, many people still feel it is "second best" or problematic in some way. National Masturbation Month lets us emphasize how great it is: it's fun, it's natural, and it feels terrific!

Here's some simple suggestions as to how members of this forum can fully celebrate this very special month:

- Accept and embrace masturbation as a wonderful, life-long, addiction. You will never outgrow it.
- Masturbate with a friend or lover.
- If you have a lover, make an effort to spend more time masturbating together.
- Masturbate outdoors, in a private, wilderness setting.
- Masturbate in a ritualized fashion. Light candles -many candles, incense, etc.
- Check in with your local, cozy mom and pop sex shops and find out if any masturbation celebration events are happening in your area. If so, take the opportunity to connect with other masturbators, in such semi-public settings. And we don't mean masturbation orgies (we certainly don't!). But simple gatherings, where everyone welcomes each other and freely and openly talks about the joys of masturbation.

Here are just a few of the events that are planned for May:

Event: Women's Masturbation Day
Date: 5/29/2007
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Hutch, University of Chicago
Contact Name: Katie DeBoer
Phone: (773) 573-4098
Email: ktdeboer@uchicago.edu
Join the Feminist Majority to hear speakers for a fun and positive discussion of female masturbation and a vibrator raffle.
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Babeland will be hosting a free erotica reading sometime in May. Featuring local authors as well as employees reading from their personal erotica favorites.
Toys in Babeland (New York and Seattle)
Babeland, 7007 Melrose Ave., L.A., (323) 634-9480. www.babeland.com
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Nothing planned as of yet, but stay posted:
The Pleasure Chest, 7733 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 650-1022. www.thepleasurechest.com
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National Masturbation Month masturbate-a-thon:
San Francisco on May 26
www.masturbate-a-thon.com
The Masturbate-a-Thon 2007!
Come Change the World - Come for a Cause
May 26, 2007
San Francisco
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www.masturbate-a-thon.org
Saturday, May 19, 2007
7:00 pm - 2:00 am
Opening Ritual at 9:00pm
Portland, Oregon
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"The Sperm Bank of California is excited about participating in Masturbation Month," enthuses Sperm Bank of California Executive Director Alice Ruby. "We hope this event will encourage men between the ages of 18 and 40 to masturbate for another excellent cause -- helping women's dreams of building a family become a reality, by becoming donors."
Visit The Sperm Bank of California or call 510-841-1858 for more information.
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Come As You Are (Toronto)
http://www.comeasyouare.com/masturbate/
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http://www.masturbate-a-thon.co.uk//
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This listing is far from complete. And if you hear of any in your area, please post them in this forum, and let's all make the month of May a month to remember.

And send us your blessings, as both of us intend to masturbate throughout the month of May -to the exclusion of all other forms of sex! Last year, we started the month by undressing, from the waist down, and popping the cork on a bottle of champagne!

Let us know how you plan to celebrate the month of May.