SAN FRANCISCO — Good Vibrations is celebrating International Masturbation Month with two mid-May events: a book launch for author Jenny Block's new book, "The Ultimate Guide to Solo Sex," in San Francisco and the workshop "Love Yourself, Literally: Empowerment Through Masturbation" in Brooklyn, Mass. Both events are free and open to the public.
Block will appear at Good Vibrations' San Francisco store, located at 1620 Polk St., on Sun., May 15 from 4-6 p.m. that day. Before Block's appearance, Good Vibrations will offer a free 3 p.m. tour of the Antique Vibrator Museum.
The Brookline event, to be held on Mon., May 16 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., will feature sex educator and sales associate Allyssa. Good Vibrations' Brookline store is located at 308 Harvard St., Ste. A.
Carol Queen, Ph.D., staff sexologist for Good Vibrations and author of "The Sex & Pleasure Book: Good Vibrations Guide to Great Sex for Everyone," said, "Too many people still feel uncomfortable about masturbation and guilty about doing. If only so much of U.S. culture were not so burdened with ideas that masturbation is shameful, a sin or a poor second choice to partner sex!"
Good Vibrations founded International Masturbation Month in 1995 in the wake of the controversy surrounding the firing of former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, who offended social conservatives when she stated that discussion of masturbation might have a place in sex education curricula. A Good Vibrations spokesperson said, "Realizing that one simple, sensible mention of solo pleasuring was enough to lose this prominent woman — the country's first African-American surgeon general — her job convinced Good Vibrations' staff that this most basic and accessible form of sex needed a serious image boost. Since that time, others have followed suit and helped us spread the word."
For more information on Good Vibrations, visit their official website or follow them on Twitter.
