A guided tour of masturbation: 10 questions

For a long time, masturbation was considered disgusting, the mother of all vices. Even today it remains a taboo. Is it normal to masturbate? If so, how much? A lot? A little? Below, Doctissimo tells you all you need to know about this solitary pleasure.

1. Does everyone masturbate?

Not everyone but most men and woman have masturbated at one time or another in their lives. A survey on sexual behaviour, carried out in France in 1993, revealed that 84% of men and 51% of women admitted to having masturbated.

2. How do people masturbate? Is there a special technique?

There is no special method; everyone has their own way of doing it. Most often men use their hands to stimulate their penis, using a rhythmic up and down movement. Women caress their clitoris and vulva.

3. Is it normal for an adult to masturbate?

It's as normal to masturbate as not to masturbate. We often associate masturbation with the young; and it's true that many adolescents discover sex through masturbation but other people masturbate too.

Some people feel the need to masturbate at particular times of their lives, during a period of celibacy, for example. Others continue to masturbate even though they enjoy a full sex life with their partner. In this instance, masturbation isn't just a simple stopgap, or poor substitute but an entirely separate and significant sexual activity. Some partners get offended and feel betrayed; they believe that they should be their partner's sole source of sexual pleasure. Other people have never masturbated and instead enjoy the sexual experience in the context of a relation.

4. Is it normal to masturbate 3 times a day?

There are no statistics about the number of times men and woman masturbate per day, week or year ... It seems that some like to masturbate 2 or 3 times a day, others 2 or 3 times a week; and others still, once a month or never.

Those who worry about masturbating too much are often concerned that they've lost control and that masturbation has become a compulsion for them. They masturbate because they need to but they don't really enjoy it. The motivation isn't sexual satisfaction but rather to relieve tension, unconnected with sexual desire. If this is the case, it might be advisable to consult a therapist. Compulsive masturbation is a sign of someone who is ill or distressed.

5. Is it normal for a child to masturbate?

Children explore their bodies and learn how to enjoy them. Most children discover autoeroticism early on in life and then just carry on. Of course, if you see a child masturbating in public, it's important to explain that this is something that should be done in private.

However, we should be alert to certain situations. If a child is abnormally sexually excited, if he masturbates in a particularly violent or repetitive manner, it may be that he has been subjected to sexual abuse and he should be questioned about this.

6. Can masturbation damage your health?

That's exactly what generations of educators wanted us to believe so as to deter young people from masturbating. And there are numerous, deeply-held views on this subject.

However, we now have proof that masturbation can not be blamed for causing physical or mental problems. So, let's hear it again, loud and clear: masturbation doesn't make you deaf or blind. It doesn't cause sterility, cancer or mental illness.

7. Can masturbation change the size or shape of the penis?

No. Whether a man masturbates or not makes no difference to the size or shape of his penis. It won't grow bigger or get smaller or become curved. The penis reaches its definitive size at the end of puberty. It can't be altered by any "exercise." Penis curvature is congenital or linked to an illness.

8. Is there a link between premature ejaculation and masturbation?

Some men don't understand the cause of premature ejaculation and blame it on masturbation, saying that if they hadn't started masturbating, they wouldn't have this problem. In fact, it's got nothing to do with it. Masturbation doesn't cause premature ejaculation.

Quite the contrary, in fact. Delaying orgasm during masturbation can help reduce the risk of premature ejaculation. When masturbating, the man needs to stop all stimulation once he is sexually aroused. In this way, he'll learn how to understand and control his different levels of arousal. Of course, the problem of rapid ejaculation won't be resolved just like that. The man will have to continue learning to control ejaculation with a partner.

9. Does masturbation decrease a man's sexual potency? Can it cause erectile dysfunction?

No. A man who masturbates will be no less potent than one who doesn't. Of course, masturbating shortly before you have sex may dampen your ardour. Regular masturbation does not cause erectile problems. On the contrary, masturbating, during long periods of abstinence, ensures that the corpora cavernosa (erectile tissue) does not become desensitised, so it'll be easier to resume sexual relations.

10. Does circumcision reduce masturbation?

It was believed for a long time that circumcision would prevent men from masturbating. But it does nothing of the sort. There is no noticeable difference between circumcised and uncircumcised men.

Dr Agnès Mocquard

Copyright © 2010 Doctissimo

Posted 30.06.2010

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