No Nut November, often abbreviated to NNN, is an annual internet challenge of sexual abstinence and not masturbating during the month of November.[1] It originated in 2011 and grew in popularity among male users of social media during and after 2017.[2] Destroy Dick December serves as a counterpoint.
Although No Nut November was originally intended to be satirical, some participants claim that abstaining from ejaculating and not watching pornography has health benefits.[3][1] An Urban Dictionary entry for No Nut November was published in 2011, and, in 2017, the movement started to gain popularity on social media.[2] It is associated with the NoFap community on Reddit, which encourages its members not to masturbate.[1] The Reddit community /r/NoNutNovember grew from 16,500 subscribers in November 2018[4] to 52,000 subscribers in November 2019.[3]
In 2017 a related internet challenge, Destroy Dick December, was started serving as a counterpoint to No Nut November, encouraging participants to take part in sexual activities such as intercourse and masturbation, after abstaining from them during the previous month.[5]
After some far-right public figures, including Paul Joseph Watson, promoted the campaign, E. J. Dickson of Rolling Stone suggested that the movement had been co-opted by the far-right.[3] Vice criticized the challenge in 2018 after adherents sent threats to xHamster on Twitter, similarly saying it had been co-opted by far-right figures.[6]