If you have at least one sexually liberated and vocal friend on social media, you may have see them encourage the push for accurate, realistic, and nationally unified sex education courses in schools. Yes, there are general requirements, however not all states mandate these requirements! There is more to Masturbation May than just an excuse for us adult toy retailers to advertise ‘harder’ than before – it is a month of protest. To have a month celebrating masturbation is certainly a weird way promote sex education, but once you know the history of how and why it started, it will make sense.

Meet Dr. Joycelyn Elders

Back in 1994, when former President Bill Clinton was in the White House, Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the U.S. surgeon general at the time – not to mention the first female AND black surgeon general in US history. During a United Nations conference on AIDS, she had suggested that masturbation should be taught as part of the sex education curriculum in schools to help prevent early partnered sexual activity. This caused an uproar and ultimately forced the resignation of Dr. Elders from her position – in hindsight, seems hypocritical coming from someone who was not ‘faithful’ to their own spouse.

Start of an Era

A year later, San Fransisco based store Good Vibrations decided to keep her conversation going and originally dedicated a day to masturbation. Yes, it could have been considered one of the greatest and most strategic ways for an adult store to advertise their product, but realistically they recognized that there was still too much stigma surrounding healthy discussions of sex and masturbation. The Bay Area was already familiar with GV’s ‘antics‘, but as years passed and shock jocks (Howard Stern for example) became interested in the movement, the day grew into a month-long celebration and was being celebrated (or criticized) nation-wide.

Epitome of Health and Wellness

Masturbation is more than just a temporary fix to your curb your sexual hunger and provide sexual pleasure, masturbation can: improve your mental health, increase your self-esteem, encourage you to engage in healthy emotional and social relationships, and can overall better the quality of your life. Masturbation can reduce stress, can work as a preventative factor of STI’s and unplanned pregnancy, can help someone understand their likes and dislikes when it comes to their sexual preferences, and can even help prevent cancer in men, So what are you waiting for? Grab your favorite toy and lube from Fantasy Gifts and go f*$% yourself (don’t forget a toy cleaner either).