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Mongolian Vodka, May & Masturbation Month

May 11, 2007

Of Mongolian Vodka, May & Masturbation Month

I never knew there was such a thing . . . Masturbation Month. As it turns out, ‘tis true.

The year was 1994, and I sat in the convention audience at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association annual meeting in Minneapolis. The featured speaker was Jocelyn Elders, MD who had been fired some months prior from the position of U.S. Surgeon General . Why? She had said that masturbation should be a regular part of sexual education classes for young people.

Things do come full circle, don’t they? I remembered that speech by Dr. Elders when I learned recently of my opportunity to help promote Masturbation Month. Who knew?

Good Vibes responded, back then, to Elders’ dismissal by declaring the month of May to be the official “National Masturbation Month.” Has thus been so ever since . . . or every sense? May 2007 marks the 12th annual such celebration, so maybe they skipped a year? Do the math.

The celebration’s goal - as described in the GV news release I was found myself helping to create and disseminate - is to emphasize the importance of masturbation for nearly everyone as a safe, healthy and pleasurable thing to do.

GV staff sexologist Dr. Carol Queen reports, “Masturbation is an elemental component of healthy, happy sexuality for so many people.” The popularity of Masturbation Month and overwhelming customer response, she contends, “. . . reinforces the fact that everyone’s doing it. We’re just the only ones talking about it.”

What’s more, on Saturday, May 26th, Good Vibrations is supporting the work of The Center for Sex and Culture, a non-profit of which Queen is co-founder, by donating funds raised at the 9th Annual Masturbate-A-Thon.

As was pointed out to me, a Masturbate-A-Thon is similar to a Walk-A-Thon because participants seek sponsors to help raise funds in support of the benefiting organization. More information and details are to be found on the web site www.masturbate-a-thon.com.

Maybe that’s more than you wanted to know, but hey, I thought it worth telling about once I understood that a Masturbate-A-Thon differs from a Walk-A-Thon because this sex-positive event let’s your fingers do the walking.

It remains to be seen how much I plan to participate or not, but the voyeur in me was captivated to learn that a live web cast is planned from the site of the event. More details to come soon, pun intended.

Oh, before I forget, what’s this about the vodka? Writing here on the eve of the annual National Center of Lesbian Rights 31st Annual Gala at Fort Mason, I am planning a small gathering tomorrow of Betty’s List volunteers and friends to help crack the seal and sample one of three bottles of Chinggis Khan brand vodka.

The top executive of an international Freedom of Speech advocacy group, incidentally, presented this very popular Mongolian vodka to me some years ago upon her arrival from Ulaanbaatar. She did so love visiting San Francisco, and we were delighted to issue a special letter of invitation annually. The fact that I have three bottles of it in my collection of gifts from international visitors leads me to think she was here at least three times.

I shall give some thought to finding a correlation between the opening of this long-prized and much-horded stash of libation and my own observance of the month of May this year. Stay tuned for more details, or would that truly be too much information?