“Jax”* was a suburban Philadelphia kid in the 1980s when he started taking the train to college and discovered the Parallel World of the station’s men’s room.
“Almost always”, he says in an interview with the website Hornet, dedicated to the queer community, “there were some ‘friendly’ men ‘playing’ [pô, que difícil traduzir isso] with your sticks. And I was a horny 16-year-old brat, so I loved it. It was kind of because of that circumstance that I ended up enjoying masturbating with other men.”
Soon after, he remembers, came AIDS. And all of a sudden, ‘playing’ wasn’t so fun anymore — or safe. “When I founded the club [em 1993]there were no effective treatments for AIDS, and creating a place where men could gather and have sex together in a totally safe way was really vital.”
Today, nearly 30 years later, each weekly Philly Jacks meeting brings together a few dozen men to fraternally crash one together. Among the requirements (and there are many, as we will see), only people “fully vaccinated” against Covid-19 are admitted. Masks, while not mandatory, are recommended.
According to the specialized site Bator’s Blog (bator, mastur-bator, bag), Philly Jacks is one of 18 masturbation clubs or “jack off clubs” active today in the United States. The pioneer, New York Jacks, has been operating since 1980. In the world, there are about 30, in addition to an unknown number and probably very profusion of informal groups.
***
While the “yankis” lead the world ranking of such venues, Europe has just won its second club – and the first in Spain – in Madrid, one of the most gay-friendly cities in the known universe.
(the first on the continent was born in London)
With the frank name of “Pajas entre colleagues” (“jerk between colleagues”), it began as a traveling meeting in 2015, and since the end of March of this year it has had a fixed address in an old bar in the Alcorcón neighborhood, in the discreet south zone. from the city, far from the buzz of famous LGTBI-friendly strongholds like Chueca.
I’m going to skip here the part where collective masturbation is more common than the Attic vase of Ancient Greece with homologous scenes. Etc. The modern and, shall we say, institutionalized form of clubs is still considered ‘new’ here in Nazoropa. So much so that, as you can imagine, the news of the creation of the Madrid club has been reverberating locally and elsewhere in a thousand ways among a thousand people and tones of mental masturbation, etc. What así camina la humanity (cojeando, of course).
Calling itself “a traditional masturbation club”, that is, “a fantastically mixed community of authentic men who connect around the common ground of social masturbation”, Pajas Entre Colegas is a non-profit corporation, “a 100% social organization volunteer”.
The main motivation is to provide “a unique environment where any man can share masturbation with like-minded men”, eliminating the “real drawbacks” of group sexual events –aka sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted interactions or extra-exposure.
GRAPHITE, JAZZ AND LUBRICANT
Upon entering, the light is dim. There’s a place to leave your belongings — and your clothes, since the idea is todomundonu (always with shoes and, if you want, something else, like underwear or a t-shirt).
In the 100 m2 venue, with space for about 70 people, there is graffiti on the walls, ambient jazz playing from the boxes, videos of men masturbating nonstop, comfortable armchairs. Several tables with tissues, lubricants and talz everywhere.
In general, meetings last 2 to 3 hours. There are no drugs, no alcohol (only in gel, for hygiene), no poppers, no penetrating toys and, for sureno penetration.
At each event, optional wristbands signal the degree of interaction allowed: yellow is ‘don’t touch me’; white, ‘you can enjoy me!’; and green, ‘you can touch, but ask first’. Any undue advance can be punished with expulsion.
Becoming a member can go from 25 euros (R$ 130) for a meeting to 200 (R$ 1,038) per year to gain VIP access as a handjob (‘pajillero‘) of Honor :). The money raised is used to guarantee the continuity of the club and finance the materials: bracelets, lubricants, sanitary towels, etc.
‘NOTHING WITHIN ANYONE’S NOTHING’
The rules are clear.
First: yes, only men are admitted. Some older clubs, such as NY and Los Angeles, even organized mixed events, without much success. “They noticed that there wasn’t enough sustainable interest from women to turn it into a long-term project,” according to Philly’s FAQ.
(yeah, a whole other theme here, but anyway)
Like other clubs, like the one in Seattle, which conducts periodic surveys among members, it is estimated that the majority of patrons are gay, but there are also around 10% straight and 20 to 25% encore or curious. “We do not judge and welcome all men in our group”, says the introductory text.
The motto “nothing inside nobody’s nothing”, taken from the top commandments of American clubs, differentiates jack offs from other social contexts where more, hmm, interactive flanders flonders are allowed.
What can: solo or mutual masturbation, always consented; touching, frottage (body to body, no penetration), C2C (“parallel penis-to-penis masturbation”) and above-the-waist oral contact.
It cannot: put nothing-into-nothing, as previously stated, including itself; anal contact; lips below the waist; and touching other people without consent.
***
In a highly publicized interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, the club’s founder, Nacho G., 43, self-declared heterosexual, says:
“Everyone is free to think what he wants (…) Many men our age will remember when they masturbated with their peers. [na adolescência]. Group masturbation is a form of male connection.”
“Before, finding porn was very difficult, (…) and a magazine or video was something so special that you couldn’t help but share it with your school friends”, he recalls. “Now, [os adolescentes] learn about sex only through the internet”.
“For some [e, aqui, já prevejo uns leitores tiques miques com tabus feridos ficando com raivinha do texto, de mim e da ideia dos clubes, cheios de ódio pra dar, ô, paaaaja sin leche, que seáis felices, que corra el aire!]the idea that men masturbate in groups can seem like ‘gay’ or a bizarre sexual fetish,” he says.
“Most people see masturbation as failed sex, as [coisa de] lone trolls. [Mas] It has nothing to do with sex; we’re guys having a good time, and that’s how my partner sees it, as colleagues who share leisure time. At the end of the day, we all masturbate, and the same gesture, but in company, is a way to connect with like-minded people.”
“You can enjoy any sexual act when you know your own references and limits”, he concludes. “Otherwise, you’ll have a lot of bitter moments between the sheets.” And beyond them, and beyond them.
