Source: Carol Queen PR
By: Company Press Release
The Center for Sex & Culture Announces the 2013 Live Masturbate-a-Thon – Come for a Cause while supporting CSC’s operations and programs at an old-school Jack-and-Jill-Off
Mark your calendars and get ready to drop your pants (or skirts). The Center for Sex & Culture, San Francisco’s unique sexuality information resource, has scheduled this year’s Masturbate-a-Thon for Saturday, May 25, from 7pm to 11pm. All genders and all orientations are welcome to explore self-pleasure in a supportive group environment at this one-of-a-kind sexy event. By hosting this annual event, the Center for Sex & Culture strives to break the silence and shame that clouds masturbation. Come for us, loud and proud.
A Brief History
The Masturbate-a-Thon began as part of Good Vibrations’s National Masturbation Month. Started in 1995 after then-Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders was fired for saying that “masturbation… Is perhaps something that should be taught” about in the context of sex education classes, NMM was intended to get people to talk about self-pleasure, which is so frequently a silent element in our sex lives. Every year Good Vibrations added something new to the mix: The Masturbation Hall of Fame, lists of favorite masturbation euphemisms and places to masturbate, and finally the Masturbate-a-Thon was born. In that context a private event (one person, or a couple, would get pledges from appropriate people) in which money was raised based on how long people spent masturbating (comparable to the way a Walk-a-Thon is based on distance). Good Vibrations disbursed 100% of the money to its NMM charities, which focused on sex education and sexual health.
A few years later, after CSC director — and also Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist — Dr. Carol Queen had been doing morning drive-time radio interviews with shock jocks who all wanted to come be judges at the Masturbate-a-Thon, and having to protest that it was not a group event, she and Robert (her life partner and co-founder of the Center for Sex & Culture) looked at each other and said, “We could hold one.” the live Masturbate-a-Thon, while not administered by Good Vibes, has the originating organization’s blessing, and has been an annual event since 2000.
This year the Masturbate-a-Thon will join together with the Jack-and-Jill-Off to create one sexy event. The Jack-and-Jill-Off was developed in 1987 as a collaboration between the San Francisco Jacks and women from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Intended to be a safer sex event that made it possible for people of every gender and orientation to enjoy a group sex environment without concern for HIV status, it is also a fabulous zone for honoring masturbation — and for celebrating National Masturbation Month.
Details of the Event
The Masturbate-a-Thon can be participated in from anywhere — people do not have to come to this CSC event. 18 and over only, please.
To participate, download a pledge form from masturbateathon.tumblr.com/post/49050859942/official-pledge-form-for- center-for-sex-and and get pledges. Your pledgers can give based on the duration of time that you masturbate; number of orgasms you have; or they can agree on a flat pledge rate. Pledges are tax-deductible. On May 25, masturbate — either with us at the Jack-and-Jill-Off, or elsewhere (at home, for instance). Then let your pledgers know how much to remit. If you have gotten pledges, you can come to the CSC event for free. If you wish to try breaking the world time record (currently close to 10 hours), you will have to do that from home or another appropriate location this year; we recommend enlisting a friend or partner to monitor your time. We will give prizes at the group event for most orgasms, most money raised, and an ejaculation distance contest if we have participants who want to go for this onsite record. CSC will still announce record-holders and – breakers, so people who participate offsite are encouraged to report in after the event.
Participants may come to the JJO for a $30 minimum entry fee, or bring a sponsorship form with pledges they have collected from others (pledge form here: masturbateathon.tumblr.com/post/49050859942/official-pledge-form-for- center-for-sex-and). We strongly encourage pledge gathering. The idea of the Masturbate-a-Thon is to get people to break the cultural taboo of talking about masturbation. All funds go to support CSC, a non-profit which subsists on event fees, donations, and fundraising events. Participants are responsible for collecting and remitting all pledges.
The Masturbate-a-Thon is a comfortable and good-humored event which attempts to create a safe and friendly space for self-pleasure. Co-founder Queen says, “We try not to take this event too seriously; I like to tell people that it’s like a walk-a-thon, except at the end your feet don’t hurt… unless you masturbate in a very unusual fashion! If so, we’d like to interview you about it. But we are utterly serious about the rights of people to masturbate and to feel comfortable about it.”
Part of the room is blocked off for women only and the larger part of the room will welcome all genders. A stage at one side will feature entertainment off and on through the day. Most participants say they attend the Masturbate-a-Thon because they love to masturbate and want to be in a space that validates that; others say they are so nervous about doing it, that they realize it might really help them break through fears.
If space allows, a voyeur section may also be included. Please see CSC’s Twitter feed on May 25 for updates: @CentrSexCulture. If you’re going to participate in the Masturbate-a-Thon, Tweet about it! Hashtag #comingforacause.
About the Center for Sex & Culture:
The Center for Sex & Culture is a three-time winner of the SF Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay award (Best Emerging Sex Non-profit, 2005, Best Erotic Resurrection for its Erotic Reading Circle, 2007, and Best Contest for Wankers, 2009) and was included in SF Weekly’s 2005 Best of San Francisco listing as “Best Place to Watch Pornos (and be Considered Intellectual)” and as its 2011 winner as “Best Palace of Self-Pleasure.” CSC hosts educational and cultural events having to do with sexuality for adults of every orientation and gender that span the continuum from didactic to experiential. It maintains a sexuality library, archive and gallery, and supports sex-related research projects. CSC is a 501(c)(3) educational organization; for more detail, to sign up for twice-monthly e-mailed event updates and/or its press list, please email carol@sexandculture.org. To peruse the events calendar or learn more about the Center for Sex & Culture, see www.sexandculture.org or visit our Tumblr site: centersexculture.tumblr.com/. CSC is on Facebook and tweets at @ CentrSexCulture.
Event in Brief:
The 2013 Live Masturbate-a-Thon
Saturday, May 25, 7pm-11pm
Arrive by 10pm
Bring sponsorship form with pledges (form will be available soon at www.sexandculture.org), or sponsor yourself for $30. Participation can be done either at the CSC (1349 Mission Street, San Francisco) or at home. Anyone striving for longest masturbation record (record currently set at near 10 hours) must be done at home.
All genders, all orientations welcome to explore self-pleasure in a supportive group environment. Come for a Cause! All donations and pledges support CSC’s operations and programs. Questions: mail@sexandculture.org
