Touch Yourself, It�s Masturbation Madness
Awareness Month Begins with Fundraising Drive
BY BILL LASCHER

Bored? Lonely? Stressed? None of the above? Why not masturbate?
And what better time to do it than National Masturbation Month. That�s right. For the sixth year in a row, the month of May has been dedicated to one of the most common, but least acknowledged, forms of recreation in human history. 
Some groups and businesses have even set up masturbate-a-thons � one of which was held on Sunday, May 6 (which has unofficially been dubbed National Masturbation Day). Just like your grade school jog-a-thon, participants were encouraged to collect pledges from friends and family for every minute they spent touching, rubbing, fondling and caressing themselves. The proceeds � coming from all over the U.S. and Canada � will be distributed among a number of groups promoting sexual health and wellness.
�Masturbation is a nearly universal practice,� said Carol Queen, the Media Liaison for Good Vibrations, one of the campaign�s sponsors and organizers of last Sunday�s event. �Most people do it at least some time in their lives, and for many it is an absolute basis for their sexuality, whether or not they are in a relationship.�
A cooperatively-owned business that not only sells sexual toys such as vibrators and dildos, Good Vibrations also promotes sexual health education and pleasure (the store was founded by Joani Blank, OC�59). Queen, who has a doctorate in sexology and is one of 60 of the company�s worker/owners, is now Good Vibrations� Staff Sexologist.
�Masturbation is a great way to maintain your sexuality when you�re not in a relationship or when separated from a monogamous partner,� she said. �It keeps your genitals functioning and healthy; it�s a wonderful stress reliever; it�s a way each of us can take care of ourselves.�
At Oberlin, there haven�t been any events planned to recognize National Masturbation Month, although the Sexual Information Center has posted a list of reasons to masturbate outside its door. Sophomore and SIC counselor Nate Tobin said that the center discusses solo sex along with other sexual activities.
�We are big boosters of masturbation,� Tobin said. �I hope that by being self-pleasure-inclusive and -positive in our education and counseling, by making masturbation a visible aspect of the educational materials in our office, and by keeping around an extra copy of Betty Dodson�s fabulous book Sex For One, we help people think about and explore masturbation.�
Thursday afternoon, one of the seasonal flock of hell-and-damnation preachers who descend upon Tappan Square spent some time telling sun-bathing spectators why he believed masturbation was wrong. This prompted a brief discussion before first-year Jeremy Lane�s philosophy class. Although he doubted the preacher�s claim to be �intellectually enlightened,� Lane made clear his opinions on self-pleasure.
�I�d rather masturbate than be intellectually enlightened,� Lane said. He wasn�t aware it was National Masturbation Month until he spoke to the Review, but said the campaign was a good idea. �That�s cool. People need to be aware [of masturbation],� he said. �They are very close-minded about it, at least in public.�
Lane isn�t the only Oberlin student to be pleasantly surprised about National Masturbation Month. �I think [it] is a fantastic idea,� Senior Sara Field said. Field�s honors thesis largely focused on female sexual desire.
�I definitely think masturbation is still stigmatized in society,� Field said, adding that if it isn�t totally stigmatized here at Oberlin, it is �definitely seen as shocking or titillating or hush-hush. Masturbation shouldn�t be stigmatized or shameful or shocking or titillating. It should just be fun.�
�It�s important to increase awareness about masturbation,� she said, �because of my personal belief � and what I�ve found in my research � that women who are comfortable touching their own bodies and know how to give themselves pleasure are often more comfortable in sexual situations with partners and have better sex in general. This makes sense. How can you expect your partner to know how to touch you if you don�t even know yourself?�
Queen echoed the sentiment that people don�t address masturbation in a straightforward way. Despite the fact that it is a part of most people�s lives, she said that it is not as comfortably acknowledged as it should be. �It�s much more common to hear sniggering, dismissive, joking comments than acknowledgements of masturbation as pleasurable or healthy,� she said. �As a result, lots of people who masturbate feel guilty or bad about it. We�d like that to end. Whether or not a person uses a sex toy or the shower massage or just their hand, we�d like everyone to feel comfortable about it and understand its importance.�
While society may be far from a Hallmark card reading �Been thinking about you, I hope you get off soon,� if you�re alone and reading this, why not spend some time getting to know yourself? Hey, nobody says you have to be alone. The weather is nice, everybody�s stressed, what would be a better way to take a break than to have a few orgasms, get some great exercise, and compete with your friends to see who can make the most money for some cool charities?
According to Queen, the last two masturbate-a-thons raised thousands of dollars from the participation of just a few hundred people, and she expects even more support this year. If you missed-out on Sunday�s event. Good Vibrations will be accepting pledges until June 15th, and the Seattle and New York based Babes-in-Toyland isn�t holding its masturbate-a-thon until May 20. �We figured people might appreciate a little more time to be in training, so to speak,� Queen said. �The whole point of the masturbate-a-thon is to raise consciousness and put a new spin on what most people still think of as a very private activity, so just talking to other people about this event could be thought of as a fairly radical act. The eventual aim, though, is for that not to be the case.�
Tobin, the SIC counselor, said that masturbation can mean many things to many people, and that it can be experienced in many different ways.

�Everyone has the right to sexual expression and sexual pleasure, and masturbation is the simplest, most readily accessible form of it,� he said. �I hope that this May, everyone will take the time to explore masturbation in whatever way strikes their fancy, and see how great it can be.�

(Pledge forms and details are available at www.goodvibes.com and www.babeland.com).