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there" where my pee comes from, etc. Thank goodness for the explicit
children's books about sex (Madaras, 1988a, 1988b).
If the young person going through puberty has never been told
"it's okay or even healthy to masturbate," the implication is that such
acts are too naughty for mom or dad to talk about. Indeed, many
people still think masturbation is bad. For centuries the Catholic church
has condemned masturbation as sinful; this church still calls it a
"seriously disordered act" (sounds like a mental illness!). Twenty years
ago about 50% of Americans actually said "masturbation is always
wrong" (Levitt & Klassen, 1973). That's amazing! But that percentage
may not have changed much. Surgeon-General Joyce Elders was fired,
in part, because she advocated including information about
masturbation in sex education courses. We must remember that only
60 years ago our society still believed the medical "science" of the
mid-1800's, namely, that masturbation caused insanity, mental
retardation, apathy, fatigue, poor memory, blindness, headaches, etc.
No kidding! This negative attitude towards a wonderful aspect of the
human body is a major problem. An innocent, harmless act which
relieves sexual tension, helps control sexual impulses, increases sexual
self-confidence, and provides great pleasure somehow becomes seen
as negative or bad by 57% of female adolescents and 45% of male
adolescents (Masters, Johnson & Kolodny, 1985). We are doing
something wrong.
Don't knock masturbation. It's having sex with someone I deeply love.
-Woody Allen
A Playboy (1976) survey showed that 75% of college males
masturbate at least once a month (in addition to 72% having
intercourse), 80% say they like to masturbate, and only 10% say they
refrain altogether. Other surveys show the average 16-year-old male
masturbates about three times a week. College females are less
enthusiastic about it, about 54% have masturbated sometime and
liked it, 13% have tried it and didn't like it, 8% haven't but would try
it, and 25% have never masturbated and don't want to. More recent
surveys found about the same results, namely, 60% to 80% of
females have masturbated at least once sometime in their lives.
Masters, Johnson & Kolodny (1985, p. 366) say men masturbate about
twice (other researchers say three times) as often as women both
before and after marriage (about 70% of husbands and wives
masturbate some). Masturbation and intercourse do not necessarily
replace each other.
People who enjoy masturbating are more likely to have climaxes
later in life (Kinsey, et al., 1953) while making love. Men usually
