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Self-love at the Big Box Store

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Thanks to my Science peeps Twitter feed I came across this recent story from Gawker Love of Wal-Mart Moves Man to Masturbate in Public. I was sure it couldn't be a real story, but it seems it might be.

A 28 year-old in Louisiana was arrested for driving around a Wal-Mart parking lot with his penis exposed and leering at women entering and exiting the store. When stopped by police and asked about his state of undress, Travis Keen "stated he did have his penis out because of past experiences he had at Wal-Mart. Keen stated when he comes to Wal-Mart he gets aroused."

Wow, it's like this guy was either THE inspiration for or was at least inspired by Mr. Ghetto himself for this behavior. (Video, may not be safe for work is at this link for Mr. Ghetto.)


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His sexual behavior is quite stirring. However, research in sexual behavior indicates that masturbation can be therapeutic. Yet, his behavior seemed to be a reaction to seeing something arousing, kind of like watching and self-loving when watching porn. Either way, it's just plain strange to me.

And if you watched the video, the answer to the question you are asking yourself is YES. Yes, I can come up with a rap song to explain everything.

DNLee is a biologist and she studies animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology . She uses social media, informal experiential science experiences, and draws from hip hop culture to share science with general audiences, particularly under-served groups.

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