So as with life, sometimes things take time and/or take over your life. For me, I have been going through some major life changes and on top of that my life has never felt busier. JackALL Club that I started this time last year is going through a period of growth and is starting to take up more and more time as well.

But enough with the excuses and back to what you came here for, a place in which we can share some thoughts about our masturbation. I admit that I am masturbating more these days, but that it is often only a lack of time which prevents even more. I also have had a few hot moments with others in which we have masturbated each other in very hot ways, in a sauna (not a gay one). It is amazing the way connections with others happen in seemingly random ways and before you know it you are wanting to spend more and more time with them. 

If you're not already apart of the Man Tools member chat on Telegram, I highly recommend joining. It is a very vibrant community with plenty of dick pics and conversation to keep you going. Or if you are an avid Instagram user make sure to follow the Man Tools Page where I post daily thoughts as well. 

This month we are going to explore how we all (even when we don't identify as such) are bators. If you identify as a Bator or any other sexuality this doesn't have to be your entire sexual identity and that is what we will be exploring today.

If you're subscribed to this newsletter, then there is probably an assumption to be made that at some level you can identify as a Bator. Usually when we talk about sexual identities we talk about what it is you primarily identify with and where do you get your primary sexual satisfaction from? We would say that a Bator is someone who gets their primary sexual satisfaction from the act of masturbation. Intersecting this is some other related sexual identities, solosexual - that is someone who gets their primary sexual satisfaction from themselves, and pornosexual - that is someone who gets their sexual satisfaction from pornography. 

This is a great definition if we are wanting to understand someone's main sexual identity. But we are all complex human beings which can, and do, get sexual satisfaction from many different ways. In some ways the way we identify might actually be a hinderance to us exploring some sexual part of ourselves if it does not fit within the boundaries of that sexual identity. Today what I am going to explore, therefore, is how every man is at some level a Bator. We all enjoy spending some time masturbating in some part of our lives and usually continue this throughout them. Being a Bator is as much part of our everyday lives as doing other activities is. 

Why is this important? It is important as this means we can and should be able to have a conversation about our bate practices that exist outside of the bate community. I have started to see conversations and memes pop up about gooning that indicates to me that there is an opportunity for us to talk about these things more broadly. Gooning is one form of masturbation practice and has many different expressions. Men who might not identify directly as a Bator may be drawn to and want to experience gooning. 

Another important aspect is that we also don't talk about how our Bator identity intersects with our other sexual selves. When I create Bator specific communities I usually go for a strict interpretation of what a Bator is. I don't allow other forms of sexual stimulation, such as sucking, as I don't want guys who are not into those things, primarily straight and bi men, to feel excluded from these spaces. I want to be inclusive by creating a space which has strong boundaries to allow all men to be able to participate in them no matter what they are into. The unintended consequence of that is some men may not feel included as I am not allowing them to express their entire sexual selves. Acknowledging that we can and will have sexual experiences which are not bate specific allows us see all of our sexual identity. 

There is an intersection where we all, as men, can enjoy masturbating ourselves and this is where I want us to spend some time. Within the bating community there are certain things we do and explore that I think we can include other men in. Gooning is the obvious example right now as it is enjoying a bit of popularity across social media. For many men, the idea that they can spend a few hours, deep in porn, sniffing poppers, just deeply enjoying their cock, is a new concept. But to us this is just an extension of something we have known for a long time, that edging for hours is very pleasurable. 

It is our shared experiences of masturbation that can help us talk to one another. I have long advocated for men to discuss their practices more broadly. By doing so we can teach one another new ways of bating and we can learn about new feelings and experiences that will teach us about ourselves. Ultimately bating is a solo experience but in being about ourselves and our own pleasure we can learn that which we would like to share with others. 

My goal with Man Tools, always, has been how can I provide a way in which men can learn about themselves through masturbation. Today I want to acknowledge that for most men they may masturbate, but they don't identify as a Bator. It is our responsibility as Bators to ensure that people outside of the bate community can also benefit from the things we talk about and practice, such as edging and gooning. These have the ability for men to explore their sexual pleasure in new and exciting ways, but which can sometimes seem out of reach to them if they don't identify themselves as a Bator.

We all start our sexual exploration with ourselves. We start to play with ourselves and learn how to give ourselves pleasure long before we have any real experiences with what we would traditionally call sex. For some of us we continue to seek out these experiences long after others have turned away from it as their primary sexual preference and satisfaction. Others return to it after not being able to get the kind of sexual satisfaction or sexual experiences they wanted through other means. But we are all still Bators and it is up to us to teach non Bators our ways. 

Well I hope you enjoyed this month's issue and if it raised any thoughts please send me them through. If you want to support the work of Man Tools then you can always sign up to the VIP Club. This newsletter continues because of the awesome support I get from all of you so thank you. 

Till next time Bators
Benno