The annual “No Nut November” internet meme-fest may seem like harmless fun—or harmless lack of fun, because the goal is to make it through the entire 30 days of the month without masturbating—a closer examination of the rising anti-masturbation movement reveals that the pledge to abstain from auto-eroticism has its disturbing connections to the concurrent rise of far-right wing movements, particularly online, according to a report published this week by Rolling Stone.
In addition to “No Nut November,” the online NoFap movement is also drawing increased attention, even among women, as AVN.com reported.
But according to Rolling Stone, the anti-masturbation movement has suddenly given rise to a meme known as “Coomer,” a character who appears stereotypically Jewish, and is supposedly a compulsive masturbator.
The anti-Semitic overtones of the “Coomer” meme were the tipoff that the anti-masturbation movement has links to the online far right, according to the magazine.
The memes began appearing online shortly after, as AVN.com has covered, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang suddenly tweeted, “I believe rampant access to pornography is a real problem.”
It was an unexpected statement from Yang, who had generally not mentioned issues related to pornography on the campaign trail. Nor has Yang sought to follow up on the statement to any significant extent.
Far-right wing online personality Paul Joseph Watson, an outspoken Donald Trump supporter, then made the right-wing connection public, taking to his own Twitter feed.
“No Nut November and the Coomer meme represent a deeper meaning. Porn is evil. It literally re-wires your brain and causes erectile dysfunction. Take the pledge. Don't be a Coomer,” Watson wrote.
Right wing, anti-masturbation activists have also engaged in online harassment of porn performers, as Vice reported last year, during the 2018 “No Nut November.” At the same time, “No Nut” advocates also circulated anti-Semitic memes, linking Jews to pornography and declaring, “All Pornographers Must Die.”
The right wing, pro-Trump, “men’s rights” violent neo-fascist group Proud Boys bans its members from masturbating, as well. The group’s founder, Gavin McInnes considers masturbation to be a “feminizing” influence on men.
For the far right, it appears, swearing off masturbation and its companion, porn, is now seen as essential to a man’s machismo.
“It’s positioned as this epic battle between the weak beta masturbators and the strong, alpha NoFappers,” Alex Hawkins, vice-president of the porn “tube” site xHamster, told Rolling Stone.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
