LOS ANGELES — In celebration of National Masturbation Day today, the online masturbation community Bateworld.com is hosting a "Bate-a-Thon" for gay, straight and bisexual men by opening its premium-membership VidChat feature to all men over the age of 18.
"While donations are not required, participants are encouraged to contribute to an organization supporting COVID-19 relief," a rep explained.
Bateworld launched in 2009 and currently counts over 70,000 active members. Its mission is to "promote and encourage men's masturbation as a fun, healthy and vital part of life," said the rep, as members interact through instant messaging, chat rooms, video and other features which focus on both individual and communal masturbation activities.
The masturbation marathon draws inspiration from similar events hosted by Good Vibrations adult retail outlet from 1998 to 2003 that raised money for HIV/AIDS prevention, education and treatment.
"People are masturbating more now than ever before," said Peter R, BateWorld founder, "because they have so much time on their hands. Others are doing it to relieve stress from these uncertain times. We view BateWorld as a respite from all the craziness in the world. There are people in need of help and we wanted to do something for them."
"There are no rules for the 24-hour 'Bate-a-Thon,'" he continued. "Men can participate or not, any way they wish. They can watch or be watched. We simply aim to dispel the shame and taboo that exists over masturbation and promote it as a healthy activity that helps release anxiety."
Find Bateworld online and on Twitter with the hashtags #MasturbateForGood and #NationalMasturbationDay.
