The History Of Masturbation

Of all sexual practices masturbation remains one of the most controversial. Recommended by scientists to minimize the occurrence of prostate cancer and just as enthusiastically banned by religion, masturbation is a volatile subject at best. Despite the greater media acceptance of the subject—one has only to look at the success of American Pie to appreciate the comedic brilliance of that double edged sword, masturbation—masturbation remains a touchy subject that is more often than not avoided at home despite the media bravado brought on by the success of the Sex and the City series, Rabbit Vibrators and by the American Pie movies. The question remains: how can such a popular media subject commended by the medical community be so taboo?

Let us begin with a definition. Masturbation generally refers to bringing oneself to orgasm using manual stimulation and if accomplished with the assistance of a partner, masturbation is then referred to as mutual masturbation, petting, or foreplay according to Brenda Love. It should be noted that masturbation is considered a "normal" process in sexual development and maturity, often beginning at a young age when children begin to explore their genitalia and 'happen' upon the pleasures of masturbation. Boys generally first ejaculate between the ages of 10 and 13 years and an authority on the physiological benefits of masturbation, James Weinrich states that: "experiments in primates show that if this sexual rehearsal play is interfered with, the result can be an adult who cannot or does not function sexually as well as other individuals who were permitted such play" (Sexual Landscapes, p. 244).

Given how normal masturbation is for proper emotional and sexual development, it is odd to discover that the early 18th century marked the beginning of a two hundred year period where masturbation came to be viewed in Western societies as a form of unhealthy self-abuse by the morally degenerate or mentally ill. Brenda Love writes that: "the Puritans condemned the practice [of masturbation] because sex was for procreation. However, the Victorians were concerned more because of [masturbation]'s perceived health risks. These fears arose from books that were written warning that almost every sort of ailment could be caused by men wasting their vital life energy [during masturbation]. Physicians erroneously assumed that losing semen [during masturbation] created the same effects as seen in castrated men. John Todd wrote several books, wherein he quoted the superintendents of an insane asylum as saying that masturbation is not only "the cause of bringing many of their patients there, but an almost insuperable obstacle in the way of their recovery" (The Horrors of the Half-Known Life, Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America, by G. J. Barker-Benfield, p. 166)." This shift in mentality concerning the validity of masturbation is shocking in view of the correlating medical benefits we know of today. However, this public phobia of masturbation explains why many parents of the Victorian era imposed cruel punishments upon their children to negate their urge to masturbate. Many parents used painful penis harnesses to prevent erections in their sons or in the case of a young girl was reported in an 1894-5 edition of International Medical Magazine, at the insistence of her family, a doctor in Ohio tried to eliminate the girl's desire to masturbate by first cauterizing the clitoris and when this failed, he infibulated the area with silver wire she tore loose. In a final effort he cut out the clitoris. The public phobia of masturbation ran rampant and even adults were castrated. For instance a man in 1897 was documented to have had his penis amputated as a last resort cure for masturbation.

Thankfully masturbation no longer headlines public phobias, but it is still a delicate subject especially where religion is concerned. Roman Catholics and other Christian sects are often strongly discouraged, if not forbidden, to masturbate and regardless of one's relationship with religion, masturbation is not a regular dinner table topic of conversation.