For more information:
Betty Sullivan
Good Vibrations Public Relations
(415)974-8985 x224
bettys@goodvibes.com

Center for Sex and Culture Hosts 9th Annual Masturbate-A-Thon To Give A Rise To All Participants

San Francisco- (May 17, 2006) Carol Queen, the Center for Sex and Culture and the San Francisco Jacks hosts The 9th Annual Masturbate-A-Thon, an on-line safer-sex event being streamed through Bondage.com. Nina Hartley and Michael Soldier to M.C. the original Masturbate-A-Thon on May 27, 2006, 4:00pm, 398 11th Street (at Harrison) in San Francisco. Doors open at 5:00pm for regular participants and at 4:00 pm for those attempting to set this year's time record. The event will be podcasted by FetishFlame.com and available for viewing from Bondage.com.

This year we have a special live appearance by Tassy Pink. Also joining us this year for remote “eye-candy” is Adam and Eve’s contract star, Carmen Luvana, of Fallen Angels, Blondes DeluXXXe and Nina Hartley’s Guide to the G-Spot, to name just a few. The hot blond Latina bombshell will be masturbating live and counting orgasms for your remote viewing.

Like a Walk-A-Thon but different, the Masturbate-A-Thon lets your fingers do the walking! The Masturbate-A-Thon is a live group event at which participants will raise funds by getting others to sponsor them for each minute they masturbate.

Separate areas of the Masturbate-a-Thon site will be set aside for men who would prefer to masturbate together and women who want a single-sex space, with the rest of the room a mixed-gender venue. Only part of the room will be set aside for the web cast cameras, so less exhibitionistic attendees can participate somewhat more privately.

Participants can download a pledge sheet and begin collecting pledges right away; after the Masturbate-a-Thon they will let their pledgers know how much to remit. Pledges can be paid by check and sent to CSC; they can also be remitted via the event website. All monies raised will be used to support the Center for Sex & Culture's educational and sex-positive cultural programming. People who wish to participate but who can't find pledgers may pledge themselves at any amount plus pay a $20.00 entry fee. Pro-masturbation voyeurs may attend the Masturbate-a-Thon at $50.00, as space allows, and are encouraged to also pledge a participant of their choice. Supporters who live too far away to attend can tune in to the web cast that evening at www.bondate.com on May 27); interested parties who prefer a private Masturbate-a-Thon can download the pledge sheet, stay home and participate, and remit by mail.

Founded by Good Vibrations, San Francisco's legendary sex toy company in the wake of then-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders' firing for stating that masturbation "is perhaps something that should be taught" about when discussing youth sexual options, National Masturbation Month seeks to raise awareness and dispel shame about this most common and natural of sexual activities. Good Vibrations and its sister sex toy stores and sex-positive nonprofits have been celebrating National Masturbation Month since 1995.

Last year's Center for Sex & Culture Masturbate-athon raised almost $5000.00 from participants and sponsors, who pledge per minute to support their friends' efforts. One man and one woman participant won trophies for Longest Time Spent Masturbating (the longest spent nearly seven and a half hours), while one person was awarded Most Funds Raised (close to $1000.00) and another received the trophy for Most Orgasms.

The Center for Sex & Culture (CSC) received its nonprofit status in late 2002 and was declared "Best Emerging Sex Nonprofit" in the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay issue in June 2004. It is open by appointment and for events. (It does not yet maintain regular drop-in hours.) The Center for Sex & Culture is a volunteer organization that subsists on donations from the public, including donations of books, art, videos, archival materials, etc. CSC's mailing address (where donations can be sent) is 2215-R Market Street, #455, San Francisco, CA 94114. Website donations can be made at www.sexandculture.org. Telephone: (415) 255-1155.

Visitors to these sites and Masturbate-a-Thon participants should be 18 and over only.

MASTURBATION MONTH FUN FACTS

Why May?
Because "the merry, merry month of May" has long been seen as symbolizing sexual awakening. Also, because "May" and "masturbation" both start with "M" -- it's nice and alliterative.

Why talk about masturbation?
Because many people still feel guilty about it, or feel they do it too much, or feel it's a second-best substitute for "real" sex. We think it's important to bring self-pleasure out into the open and let people feel better about what they're doing -- and, for those who may not be doing it, we want to encourage it! Masturbation is, for many, the cornerstone to a healthy and good sex life. It is not second best -- it can give you the information and awareness you need to enjoy the rest of your sex life.

What about that Masturbate-A-Thon?
This is Good Vibrations' ninth year of celebrating with a pledge drive -- it's like a Walk-A-Thon, only different. Participants ask friends and loved ones to sponsor them for a certain amount of money for every minute they masturbate during the Masturbate-A-Thon. They send their pledges to Good Vibrations and GV distributes every cent of it to a worthy cause. This year, we're pleased to promote sex-positive education through our beneficiary organization, The Center for Sex & Culture. The first Masturbate-A-Thon raised $8500!

Over the past nine years participants from Nunavut to Key West and from Baja to St. John's have raised over $25,000 for an important group of women's health initiatives, HIV education and treatment organizations, sex education groups, and other worthy beneficiaries. Here's a collection of sultry and sundry statistics from the history of the Masturbate-A-Thon:

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