Betty Dodson (b. 1929) is to many their mama of masturbation; I know she is to me. Dodson has informed and inspired my intimate and loving relationship with myself since I first approached her work.

A trained artist, Dodson recognized the need for more attention to women's genitalia and masturbation early in her career. In the seventies and eighties, she became a significant voice as a sex positive artist, feminist, and masturbation activist, hosting regular masturbation workshops for women.

Dodson's self-published book Liberating Masturbation (1974) has become a feminist classic. Reprinted several times (also under the name Selflove), it is now best known as Sex for One: The Joy of Selfloving.

Dodson has also made several sex pedagogical documentaries featuring masturbation and masturbation workshops available for purchase at her site:

Self-Loving:Portrait of a Woman’s Sexuality Seminar (1991)
Celebrating Orgasm:Women's Private Selfloving Sessions (1997)
Viva la Vulva: Women’s Sex Organs Revealed (1998)

Most recently, Dodson has partnered with Carlin Ross and created an online sex information site under the brand Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross. Watch Dodson and Ross' discussion about the importance of Masturbation Month in this featured video.