Solitary pleasures under the spotlight
Masturbation may be as old as time but observing this practice is clearly problematic. Consequently, it's difficult to have a clear understanding about this most solitary of pleasures.
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Masturbation has many negative social and psychological associations which make it taboo, or if not taboo, at least very difficult to talk about. To find out more, scientists and religious officials with an interest in this area have resorted to surveys and confessions.
Although most people no longer consider masturbation a "sin", it is still somewhat regarded as a shameful practice. Perhaps we could say that masturbation represents a kind of secret garden where you go to enjoy private fantasies. Talking about masturbation would mean thinking about the garden and the fantasies that you want to keep secret. So, is it masturbation that's the taboo or the fantasies associated with it?
Different masturbation techniques
Women's anatomy allows them to masturbate in two ways: either by stimulating the external genitalia (the clitoris and the labia) or the internal (the vagina). Men can only masturbate by stimulating the penis. Most of the time both sexes masturbate manually although they may sometimes use other objects (7% of men and women).
Learning about the female orgasm
Alfred Kinsey was the first researcher to carry out a systematic study on human sexual behaviour in the middle of the 20 th century. Through direct questioning, he discovered that 92% of men and 62% of women masturbate or have masturbated.
Kinsey observed that women who achieved orgasm through masturbation before marriage, experienced more orgasms during sexual intercourse. Learning to orgasm through masturbation served as a kind of training for achieving orgasm during sexual intercourse.
Masturbation: a supplement to sex
A study carried out in the United States in 1994 by Laumann, Gagnon, Michael and Michael, produced other interesting results: individuals who masturbated more than once a week nearly always achieved orgasm. Men and women who lived together masturbated less often than people living alone although a significant number of couples continued masturbating. It would appear that, for some, masturbation is a supplement to, rather than a substitute for, sexual intercourse.
Age and educational level
There were similarities in all the surveys: for example, as with all other sexual activities, frequency of masturbation decreases with age. Perhaps we become less responsive to sex as we get older. In all countries, men and women who have the highest levels of education, admit to masturbating most often. Perhaps they acquired the habit during those long years of studying, may be they had less time for relationships or perhaps, because of their education, they were better able to create their own erotic, secret garden.
Copyright © 2009 Doctissimo
Posted 30.06.2010
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