The History (and Importance) of Masturbation May.
As with all good Holidays Masturbation May is one that can be celebrated world wide, with just what we have in our homes. There is no need to rush out to the stores to purchase mass amounts of food, or gifts for loved ones, just drop your pants and seek out pleasure. But let’s take a look at why this month is so important.
Lets go back in time to 1994, to when Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the Surgeon General in the States. Elders was very progressive for her time and strongly advocated for sexual and reproductive education, especially in African-American communities.
In 1994 Elders was invited to speak at the UN conference on AIDS. It was questioned whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in risky forms of sexual activities. Her reply has been quoted many times over. “I think that it is part of human sexuality, and should be taught. But we’ve not even taught our children the very basics.” In this, she indicated that kids should be taught that masturbation is natural, but of course the media took her words and twisted them. Her bold statements rubbed people the wrong way and she was forced to resign. Not everyone agreed with this decision.
In 1995, the Adult Store Good Vibrations took action and declared May National Masturbation Month. It has picked up steam and is now known internationally as a Month to educate and take pride in/no longer shame masturbation. Here’s a quote from Good Vibrations:
“We started National Masturbation Month — now International Masturbation Month with people celebrating across the globe! — to raise awareness and to 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. 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. Masturbation Month lets us emphasize how great it is: it’s natural, common and fun!”
Thank you Good Vibrations and Dr Joycelyn Elders! For your contributions to Sexual Wellness, we salute you!
