5/25 masturbate-a-thon SF

Greetings, everyone!
It's time for the 2008 Masturbate-a-Thon!

The info below gives you details about how it works. We're also taking this one last opportunity to invite volunteers who want to help out; let us know if you do;
[or if you would instead be available to help out at the Eagle Beer Bust benefit going on 5/25 at *exactly the same time*]!! We also found out we could do some of our set-up Saturday night; perhaps that affects your availability.[...]

[ If you already replied that you want to help, but you haven't heard from us or our new volunteer coordinator Gene, please E us again -- it's because I lost a list of folks who'd emailed in! I'm so sorry! There's a meeting on 5/15 at 7 pm, we'll get you the details if you can make it.]

We are still seeking Featured Masturbators (see below) and also entertainers -- people to do sexy acts to inspire others and to be webcast. Let us know if you want to do either of those! [...]


OK, on to the Thon!

EVENT IN BRIEF
WHAT: The Live Masturbate-a-Thon
WHEN: Sunday, May 25, 2008,
doors (for time contestants) 12:00 pm,
general admission 3:00 pm.
WHERE: 1519 Mission, San Francisco, CA 94103

HOW MUCH: Suggested minimum donation $20 at the door (a filled-out pledge sheet with at least $20 in pledges counts);
limited voyeur seating is $40

MORE INFO for the San Francisco event:
http://www.masturbate-a-thon.com
(not dot-org -- that's the one based in Portland)

WHAT'S THE MASTURBATE-ATHON?
It's a fundraising, and consciousness-raising, event featuring masturbation -- just like a Walk-a--Thon, except your feet don't hurt when you're done (unless you masturbate in a fascinating way that we would like to know more about!).

The event is one of many National Masturbation Month events
planned around the US [especially Oregon], Canada, and Europe.
Unlike most of the others, the CSC's Masturbate-a-Thon is a live group event at which participants will raise funds by getting others to sponsor them for the length of time they masturbate.
CSC will hold the event at 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco.
Special celebrity guests and MCs include Nina Hartley, gay porn start Robert Black, and performer Tom Orr (of "iTom Shuffle" and "Dirty Little Showtunes" fame!).

Founded by San Francisco's women-focused sex toy company Good Vibrations 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. The Masturbate-a-Thon became the centerpiece of National Masturbation Month when it was added to Good Vibrations' slate of activities a few years later. GV has historically sponsored the Masturbate-a-Thon as a private event, as most masturbation is;
the Center for Sex & Culture followed the lead of a private organization in Salt Lake City in celebrating it as a group activity.

If you have a question you don't find the answer to here,
look at
http://www.masturbate-a-thon.com
.. If that doesn't answer your question, email us!

HOW DOES IT WORK? WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
If you want to break the "longest time spent masturbating" record (currently 8 hours and 40 minutes), you can arrive at 12 noon on May 25. General admission starts at 3. We'll go on til everyone is done -- probably sometime between 9 pm and midnight.
Everyone will need to show ID (to prove they're over 18) and sign a release. Payment is up front at the door,
or after the fact if you have a filled-out pledge sheet. (More on that below.)

One room will have a stage, cameras, and voyeurs sitting in chairs (for more about being a voyeur, see below). To enter that room, participants MUST sign a release and bring two forms of ID. From that room we'll webcast people masturbating AND Carol and Nina's MC chat AND interviews and more.
Besides the stage and the voyeurs' platform, we'll have space for
women to congregate together,
for men to congregate together,
and for all genders to occupy.
Except for the voyeurs,
anyone entering that room might show up on our webcast.

There will be a separate room for the people who DON'T wish to be on the webcast but who do wish to masturbate together. Again, it will be separated into women's, men's, and mixed space. There will be no voyeurs in this space.. People from the webcast room may enter this room to masturbate out of the limelight, but people from this room won't be allowed into the webcast room unless they go back to the front desk and sign the webcast release.

We'll provide a secure clothes check area and a
"chill space" room with refreshments.

You might want to bring:
your fave lube and toys;
a towel;
a kimono or robe.
We'll have plenty of padded space.

FAQ: Can I appear on the webcast in a mask?
YES! We especially favor Groucho Marx noses; we think he would approve.
No George Bushes, please, we do not want an honorable activity like wanking to get mixed up in that sort of thing. If you're worried about your mom recognizing you, don't forget to cover your tats.

FAQ: Can I attend with my partner/s?
YES! Masturbating together is fabulous.

FAQ: Can I masturbate my partner?
NO! At least, not for long. You can stay involved physically with your partner, but think of yourself as a sex toy, an addition to their masturbatory experience. There are sex parties for partner-play -- there's only one Masturbate-a-Thon (in SF at least), and its purpose is to honor SOLO sex.

FAQ: What's an "energy vampire," and how do I avoid people thinking I'm one? EEK! An energy vampire is a person who, instead of settling down and getting busy, wanders the rooms looking for people and scenes to stare at. This can make other people feel uncomfortable, especially outside the exhibitionist room, and in a packed room, you risk invading others' personal space. Please voyeurize respectfully and at a distance (though if someone is urging you closer and egging you on, fine! Enjoy!).

WHAT IF I WANT TO COMPETE?
Let us know at the front desk when you sign in, and make sure you let us know when you're done. Our staff members will keep an eye on your progress and document time lasted, orgasms (let us know if you want an orgasm counter, or bring your own), and distance. The distance competition will be held at 7 pm. (Current distance record to beat is 36 inches.)

WHAT IS A FEATURED MASTURBATOR? CAN I BE ONE?
A Featured Masturbator is anyone who signs up in advance and provides a photo, image, or bio that might inspire people who visit the Masturbate-a-Thon website to sponsor you. It's especially good if you want to be on the webcast, though that's not required; we can report on your progress throughout the evening. Featured Masturbators are especially encouraged to alert their friend or fan networks to encourage sponsors, which can be made through the website. Want to do it? Let us know!

HOW DOES THE PLEDGE AND/OR MONEY THING WORK?
To get in, you must EITHER pay $20 at the door
OR bring a pledge sheet (and you must agree to let the people who pledged you know how much money they're expected to remit based on how long you masturbated). We urge you to get at least a few sponsors, because that's the way community involvement in the Masturbate-a-Thon grows, as well as pro-masturbation discussion -- the whole point of this endeavor! If you get sponsors but they don't pledge $20 or more, you can pledge yourself to make up the difference.

IF you don't want to participate but wish to attend as a VOYEUR, the cost is $40 at the door (though more is always appreciated!). You may keep your street clothes on, but you can only enter the refreshments room and the voyeur platform. (If you get really inspired and want to masturbate too, come on over to the front desk and let us know, and then visit clothes check.)

WHAT IF I'M JUST REALLY SHY?
You can always participate in the Masturbate-a-Thon from home. You can still download a pledge form from
http://www.masturbate-a-thon.com
, get friends to sponsor you, masturbate all alone or with your partner, and send in the pledges to us at 2215-R Market #455, SF CA 94114 or via the PayPal account on the website.

WHAT IF I'M A JOURNALIST OR WANT TO WRITE ABOUT IT?
Great! Just let us know in advance so we can mark you as Press.

BLOG ABOUT IT!
Dedicate a blog entry or two to masturbation or the Masturbate-a-Thon. In fact, if you want, you can blog about it FROM the Masturbate-a-Thon -- we have wifi! Make sure you let us know so we can link to you.
......

AND!! NEW THIS YEAR:

THE TWITTERGASM!

Twittergasm: a post to your twitter profile indicating
that you just had a real orgasm:
ICSW (I came, so what?)
JOSW (jacking off, so what?
[related term to indicate you are jacking off])
By typing the character string: ICSW to your twitter profile, you say with pride: I Came! Prudes of the world will be forced to realize once and for all that no one really cares what adults do with themselves, and everyone does it.

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform accessible from the web, instant messenger clients, and mobile phones, which allows people to post brief messages to share their activities and interests with friends and fans. It links to people’s blogs and Facebook and Myspace pages, too, so it makes possible the updating of many social networks with one entry of 140 characters or less, allowing the sharing of links to websites with brief commentary on why the site is interesting. A short video on twitter explains it very clearly:
http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter

What does Twitter have to do with Orgasms and Jacking Off?
The 2008 Masturbate-a-thon is participating in twitter in an historic way. In partnership with GameLink.com, one of our sponsors, we have created the twittergasm. It’s a way of coming out of the closet as someone who masturbates by posting to your twitter profile whenever you come. A secret handshake of sorts, only others who follow the twittergasm profile, or who have read about the campaign will know, so your prudish friends will be left alone until they, too are enlightened.

We will be using the popular service
http://www.tweetscan.com
to track twittergasms in May and we will publish the results on the Masturbate-a-thon.com site and related blogs and sites.

Twitterers can participate in national masturbation month in several ways. Become a follower of one of these profiles:
http://www.twitter.com/jackingoff
(the profile off the masturbate-a-thon.com)
http://www.twitter.com/thebiggesto
(a profile that tracks the orgasms of twitterers)
2) Use this code on your twitter profile to indicate whenever you have an orgasm:
ICSW or JOSW when you jack off. (hint, multiple orgasms can be indicated by using a colon and a number to indicate how many: ICSW:3
(…If you are tempted to fake a twittergasm, read our blog for info on why you shouldn’t.)

3) Ask your friends and twitter followers to pledge to donate a certain amount to the Center for Sex and Culture for every orgasm you have in May. Visit
http://www.masturbate-a-thon.com/twitter.php
to register your twitter profile for participation in National Masturbation Month (May 2008)
and send emails to your friends to ask them to make a pledge on your behalf..
Send a link to that same page where they can sign up to donate as much as they chose for each time you come. Donors do not have to be on twitter to participate. [...]
......

[ also] JULY 23:
Plus here's your first Save-the Date notice for the huge Candye Kane benefit which LadyMonster is putting together and we are honored to be co-sponsoring: For The Love Of Candye! It's at El Rio on Wednesday, July 23rd.