Would You Masturbate With a Group of Strangers?

“Am I a bad feminist because this makes me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE?” I asked my coworkers before sending them this story from NY Mag‘s The Cut about attending a women-only masturbation class with “Lilith Fair, hippie vibes.”

I was kidding, but what I meant is that while I love the idea of 83-year-old sex educator Betty Dodson’s communal orgasm workshop in theory — what’s not to love about the concept of women learning and talking about how to best experience sexual satisfaction? — I would NEVER, EVER, do this. Some excerpts:

When I entered the main room there were seven nude women lying on towels and cushions casually chatting. The décor was an interesting mix of shabby chic and dildo museum. There was cozy wall-to-wall carpeting and tons of huge pillows, but also fake penises everywhere you looked. The message was clear: Relax, make yourself at home… and then penetrate yourself.

The next thing we did was called “Genital Show and Tell” which was like kindergarten, but with way more vulva. Each woman took turns sitting next to Betty, legs spread with a mirror and light pointed at their ya-ya. It was our vagina’s big moment in the spotlight. Betty gave each person a detailed explanation of their particular anatomy and then everyone would give your punani a compliment. We all agreed that this would have been an amazing experience to have as a teenager.

Finally, it was our turn. Betty set the mood by lighting candles and turning on classic rock radio, because nothing says “arousal” like Aerosmith. With a set of tools next to each of us including Almond Oil, a metal barbell, and a wand vibrator, seven eager ladies put the metal to the petal. Every so often a woman would start breathing really loudly and let out little squeals and squeaks and Betty would yell, “Another one down!”

We’re wondering; what’s your comfort line with jilling off? Do you do it in front of your partner? Would you do it in front of SEVEN OTHER STRANGERS? Tell us.