Celebrating the Little Known International Masturbation Month
by brittany villegas
Did you know that this May marks the 25th annual International Masturbation Month? I didn’t until this past February after reading about the badass former and first Black U.S. Surgeon General, Joycelyn Elders.
A Surgeon General Ahead of Her Time
Dr. Elders served as the Surgeon General from 1993 to 1994 under President Bill Clinton. Her views on sex education and sexual health, at the time, were deemed extreme.
She advocated for teens, especially young Black women, to take control of their sexualities as soon as they hit puberty, and to learn about and practice using different kinds of contraceptives. In the context of abortion, she also believed that “We really need to get over this love affair with the fetus and start worrying about children.”
Dr. Joycelyn Elders in her official portrait / public domain
In 1994 at a U.N. conference on AIDs, Dr. Elders made valid comments on masturbation that led to President Clinton’s disapproval and her eventual forced resignation (ironically since we all know about President Clinton’s sexual misconduct with his intern Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. Which, by the way, didn’t even lead to his removal from office!!!! I just had this realization and I think my day is ruined).
“I think that is something that is a part of human sexuality, and it's a part of something that perhaps should be taught,” she said about masturbation. “But we've not even taught our children the very basics.”
Read more about Dr. Elders’ life and work in our blog: “The Crucial Roles Black Women Have Played in Gynaecology”.
The Mastermind Behind Masturbation May
After her firing, the staff of sex-positive adult toy company and sex education platform Good Vibrations decided to mark May as National Masturbation Month, which has since become International Masturbation Month.
“[We] struggled to make sense of this senseless situation,” said Good Vibrations staff sexologist Dr. Carol Queen in an interview with Salon.com. “[We] decided to create National Masturbation Month, now known as International Masturbation Month, to celebrate and provoke discourse about this so prevalent but often disrespected sexual practice.”
Dr. Carol Queen is an award-winning author, activist, advocate for the sex-positive feminist movement, and sex educator with a Ph.D. in sexology from the University of Oregon. She is considered the “mastermind” behind starting International Masturbation Month, not only to commemorate Dr. Elders but to also break the taboos associated with masturbation and self-pleasure.
Dr. Carol Queen, sourced from www.goodvibrations.com
“You could argue that this is a behavior that needs no boosters,” she said. “But it’s also a serious source of shame and opprobrium. That’s, in fact, a terrible mix... Ordinary people who do it think there’s something wrong with them, and it’s painted as a pathetic third choice if you can’t get someone to have sex with you. In fact…masturbation is amazing. It can provide extraordinary pleasure, or just help you get to sleep, teach you about your body and sexual responses, and help keep the blood flowing in the nethers…”
Read more about Dr. Carol Queen on Good Vibrations’ website. If you have any questions regarding Good Vibrations products or for general advice, she encourages readers to either email their team of highly-trained Sex Educator Sales Associates at customerservice@goodvibes.com or even email her directly with your questions at education@goodvibes.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @carolqueen.
How We Will Celebrate
This month, we plan on partnering with Stockholm-based startup Plentimacy to talk about traditional and alternative ways to seek pleasure while suffering from chronic pelvic pain and to also bring awareness to masturbation while menstruating on Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Plentimacy was founded this past February by Manuela Cabos and Sara Ma to help solve the “pleasure gap” often experienced by CIS women during sex.
“Pleasure is your birthright,” said Cabos during a call with Endometrix.
Plentimacy is currently in its testing phase, but once launched, it will serve as a sex-positive educational platform that guides you to explore your sexuality and wellbeing. It will also foster a community among its users to share with and learn from one another. You can sign up to be notified once their website goes live here.
If there is additional information you’d like to know about concerning masturbation, or if you have any suggestions on what else you think we should talk about, write about, and explore this month, feel free to email me at brittany@endo-metrix.com!