No Nut November is an
internet challenge Internet challenges are a genre of videos in which users record themselves performing an action, usually daring others to repeat it. They play a role in Internet meme culture, with many challenges spreading through such memes. Examples include the ...
revolving around male
abstinence
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc.
...
from
masturbation,
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
and
ejaculation
Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential compone ...
(or colloquially "to nut") during the month of
November
November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. Nove ...
.
It originated in late 2010 and grew in popularity on social media during and after 2017.
History
Although No Nut November was originally intended to be satirical, some participants claim that abstaining from ejaculating and not watching
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, has health benefits.
An
Urban Dictionary
''Urban Dictionary'' is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases. The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, ''Urban Dictionary'' was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural wor ...
entry for No Nut November was published in 2011, and, in 2017, the movement started to gain popularity on social media.
It is associated with the
NoFap
NoFap is a website and community forum that serves as a support group for those who wish to give up pornography and masturbation. Its name comes from the slang term ''fap'', referring to male masturbation. While reasons for this abstinance v ...
community on
Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news news aggregator, aggregation, Review site#Rating site, content rating, and Internet forum, discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") subm ...
, which encourages its members not to masturbate.
The Reddit community /r/NoNutNovember grew from 16,500 subscribers in November 2018
to 52,000 subscribers in November 2019.
After some far-right public figures, including
Paul Joseph Watson
Paul Joseph Watson (born 24 May 1982) is a British far-right YouTuber, radio host, and conspiracy theorist. Until July 2016, Watson embraced the label "alt-right", but he now identifies as part of the new right. In May 2019, Facebook and Instagr ...
, promoted the campaign, E. J. Dickson of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' suggested that the movement had been co-opted by the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...
.
''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
'' criticized the challenge in 2018 after adherents sent threats to
xHamster
xHamster is a Cypriot pornographic media and social networking site headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. xHamster serves user-submitted pornographic videos, webcam models, pornographic photographs, and erotic literature and incorporates social n ...
on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, similarly saying it had been co-opted by far-right figures.
Destroy Dick December
Destroy Dick December is a related internet challenge following No Nut November which serves as a counterpoint, encouraging participants to take part in sexual activities such as intercourse and masturbation, after abstaining from them during the previous month. Each day, participants in the challenge ejaculate a number of times equal to the day's place in the month, starting with one "nut" on the first of December, and ending with 31 "nuts" on the final day. In total, that is 496 "nuts" in December.
See also
*
The Contest
"The Contest" is the 51st episode of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hold a contest to determine who can go for the longe ...
, a ''Seinfeld'' episode about abstinence from masturbation
* ''
Coitus reservatus
''Coitus reservatus'' ('' coitus'', "sexual intercourse, union" and ''reservatus'', "reserved, saved"), also known as sexual continence, is a form of sexual intercourse in which the man does not attempt to ejaculate within his partner, but instea ...
'', a form of sexual intercourse in which a man attempts to remain at the moment before ejaculation for as long as possible
*
Movember
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...
, the growing of moustaches in November to raise awareness of men's health issues
*
National Masturbation Day
National Masturbation Day, also known as International Masturbation Day, is an annual event held to protect and celebrate the " right to masturbate". The first National Masturbation Day was May 7, 1995, after sex-positive retailer Good Vibrati ...
, originally held on May 7, 1995 as an event to honor
Joycelyn Elders
Minnie Joycelyn Elders (born Minnie Lee Jones; August 13, 1933) is an American pediatrician and public health administrator who served as Surgeon General of the United States from 1993 to 1994. A vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissi ...
, it was later expanded to the month of May as International Masturbation Month
References
External links
NoNutNovember on Reddit
Challenges
Internet memes introduced in the 2010s
Internet memes introduced in 2011
Sexuality and computing
November events
Anti-pornography movements
Sexual abstinence
Opposition to masturbation
Orgasm
{{Internet-stub
Internet memes