Free Republic

San Francisco's Center for Sex and Culture played host on Saturday to the city's annual "Masturbate-a-thon," an event its organisers said could draw up to 120 people from across the United States aiming to have a good time with themselves. Carol Queen, director of the center, acknowledged that the event is unusual -- even by San Francisco's standards. The permissive city, which helped ignite a debate on gay marriage last year, tolerates many sorts of sexual behavior but masturbation seems a topic that is off-limits, she said. "Even people who are sexually frisky might have the bias that many Americans...

ITHACA--Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller, experienced sex educators who co-founded the Alternatives to Marriage Project, discussed the myths and truths of the female orgasm in front of a packed crowd at Robert Purcell last night. Solot began with a narrative of her experiences with masturbation, from her teenage years, when her mother gave her a brochure entitled "What Every Teen Should Know," to her college years at Brown, where she attended a one-time class on self-stimulation. Solot and Miller proceeded to ask students what they had heard about the female orgasm from their parents, friends and the media. Responses ranged...