Masturbation Clubs: A Bit of History
Masturbation groups have existed for a long time and did not suddenly emerge, as commonly believed, after the AIDS crisis made safer sex a necessity. Men have been gathering to masturbate in groups, large and small, long before written history began. It is very likely that it was once a natural element of nomadic and pre-agricultural humanity. Today, we organize these private clubs with one purpose: to masturbate with other men.
“... These clubs originated during the seventies and were often a consequence of private parties organized by homosexual men who masturbated. They invited others who shared this interest to orgies where there were no blowjobs or penetrations, only kissing, caressing, and masturbating. The group expanded, was called Jacks (meaning 'those who masturbate') and attracted not only exhibitionists and men with large penises (especially members of the eight-inch club), but also those who were attracted to them. The JO clubs soon became so crowded that they had to move their biweekly parties to large lofts.” (from The Joy of Gay Sex, third edition, 2002, by Silverstein and Picano).
It was in the 1970s when groups of homosexual men began to regularly gather for masturbation parties. As urban gay culture was expanding in the decade following Stonewall, groups of masturbators emerged as just one of the many gay culture niches. It was only after the horrific revelations of 1981 that AIDS began to precipitate a new influx of men to JO clubs: men who were interested in group sex without the risk of disease. It was when the term “safe sex” was coined.
Therefore, there were two distinct main motivations for seeking out masturbation groups: a specific fetish or desire to masturbate with other men, and a search for safer alternatives among men who would otherwise choose riskier activities.
The first large organized groups of masturbators in the U.S. appeared in major cities, alongside all the other gay cultural phenomena of the seventies. New York and San Francisco host the venerable Jacks clubs. They established the model that has been copied and spread worldwide since then.
These two groups maintain a simple set of common rules: "No lips below the hips" and "Nothing goes inside anyone". These remain the central parameters of all traditional JO clubs that exist. We can masturbate together, touch, caress, kiss, and exhibit, but we never engage in oral or anal sex in the group.
Masturbating is the defining activity of each JO club, as expressed in the words: “... Masturbating is the raison d'être of the club. Pajas entre Colegas is a gathering of men who want their primary sexual outlet to be JO in the company of like-minded men…”
Initially, curiosity seekers were discouraged. “One of the hottest aspects of our club is the reciprocity of interests that prevails. Proud as we are of our club, it is up to all of us to discourage visitors whose interest arises simply out of curiosity... ” These early sentiments expressed by the original Masturbators came from a time when a wide variety of same-sex play options were widely available, and men who truly deeply engaged in the scene imagined a sort of purity.
Of course, as members began to flood JO clubs as awareness of the low risk of disease transmission grew, those more elitist ideals gave way to a more open attitude, and new members were welcomed to develop a taste for safer sex rather than arrive with a well-developed mutual masturbation fetish.
As the dark days of AIDS faded into new treatments and prevention protocols, the fear of HIV waned, while JO clubs continued to attract members as long as their organizers had the resources to host them.
Now, over 35 years after that first club formally took on the name "Jacks," the emphasis is once again on desire. Yes, many of us are legitimately motivated by the need to play as safely as possible, more and more members show up simply because they love masturbating together and crave the friendly sexual play they reliably find in the clubs. Single, married, open, or secretly, of all races, ages, and sexual orientations, masturbation clubs attract men who fantasize about sharing masturbation and specifically appreciate and are satisfied with it.
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