Welcome to The Weekend Sexperiment! Each Friday, I alternate between The Weekend Sexperiment and Reader’s Request Fridays. In TWS posts, I offer a simple sex therapy homework assignment to try out over the weekend. Some experiments are geared towards couples, but others are suitable for single folks. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have a certain topic you’d like to see covered. If you’re interested in counseling, call (415) 658-5738 or visit my Appointments page to schedule a consultation.

This week marks the beginning of International Masturbation Month, brought to you by Good Vibrations. The sex shop created Masturbation May back in 1995.

Earlier that year, then-Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders was fired for saying that masturbation should be discussed as part of young peoples’ sex education. 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! We started National Masturbation Month — now International Masturbation Month with people celebrating across the globe! — to raise awareness and to highlight the importance of masturbation for nearly everyone: it’s safe, it’s healthy, it’s free, it’s pleasurable and it helps people get to know their bodies and their sexual responses. 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!

Good Vibrations continues the masturbation love with a great list of reasons why you should masturbate this month (and every month, for that matter):

• Because masturbation is immensely pleasurable, invigorating, rejuvenating and fun.

• Because sexual pleasure is each person’s birthright.

• Because masturbation is the ultimate safe sex.

• Because masturbation is a joyous expression of self love.

• Because masturbation offers numerous health benefits including menstrual cramp relief, stress reduction, endorphin release, stronger pelvic muscles, reduction of prostate gland infection for men and resistance to yeast infections for women.

• Because masturbation is an excellent cardiovascular workout.

• Because each person is their own best lover.

• Because masturbation with a partner can be educational and hot.

• Because masturbation increases sexual awareness.

I’d like to add to that masturbation is a great way to discover your own body. It helps you learn what works and doesn’t work for you sexually, which in turn can make it easier to have better partnered sex. It’s also an easy way to explore new sexual techniques and practices.

I’ve already written a Weekend Sexperiment about masturbation, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to recognize this offbeat holiday. In honor of International Masturbation Month, think back to the very first time you masturbated. Really fill in the details of the experience, and share the story in some way. You can tell it to your partner, share with a close friend, create an art project, or post it anonymously on the internet. Take the time to celebrate your relationship with masturbation!