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Finally: A Public Masturbation Booth Just For Men!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 16, 2016
Modified May 30, 2017
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 16, 2016
Modified May 30, 2017
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Times Square may have cornered the market on romantic love, but the corner of 28th Street and 5th Avenue has become the go-to place in NYC for fans of onanistic self-love. London-based sex toy company Hot Octopuss opened the "GuyFi" booth at that location this week as a way for men to "relieve stress" in the middle of the workday. Next thing you know, food carts will be selling sex toys.
The masturbatory marketing scheme was inspired by a Time Out NY survey which found that 39% of NY men questioned had masturbated at some point while at work. The out-of-service telephone booth has a black curtain, a folding chair, a laptop computer, and a Hot Octopuss ad along the side.
Here's how Hot Octopuss co-founder Adam Lewis explained the booth in a press release. See how many "subtle" references to masturbation you can find!
There’s no denying that working a nine to five job can be stressful on both your mind and body, especially in a non-stop city like Manhattan. It’s really important for guys to look after themselves so that they can stay healthy and focus properly on the task in hand. We’re told time and time again how beneficial it is to have a break away from your desk. At Hot Octopuss we are all about looking for new solutions to improve everyday life and we feel we’ve done just that with the new GuyFi booth. We hope the city’s men enjoy using the space we’ve created in whatever way they want. It’s completely free of charge… all that we ask is they thank us when they get their promotion!
The company told Mashable that approximately 100 men used the booth on Tuesday, its inaugural day. A representative added that, "We may be insinuating that these booths could be used in whichever way anyone would like to 'self soothe,' but the brand is not actively encouraging people to masturbate in public as that is an illegal offense."
Of course, public masturbation is an illegal and pernicious offense that has become an unfortunate regular part of many innocent straphangers' daily commutes. In December, it was reported that there had been 699 such incidents reported in the last five months of 2015 (up from 593 in the same period in 2014)—and while the NYPD and MTA have gotten much better at policing and investigating such incidents, there are plenty of instances of city officials not taking some claims seriously.
So will these booths siphon off some of our scummier subway masturbators and prove to be a reasonable outlet for men who can't control their impulses, or will they stand as a tone-deaf and distinctly gross marketing scheme that never should have made it past the brainstorming phase?
Tagged
dudes
guyfi
manhattan
masturbation
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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