The San Francisco based sex shop Good Vibrations started Masturbation Month in 1995, in response to the firing of then-Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders who suggested masturbation be included in youth sex education programs. “We were astounded. It was one of the most sensible things we’d ever heard a government official say—and it cost Elders her job!” They also write, “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!”
