by: Mégane Bellerose

According to the study by Hogarth and Ingham, conducted in 2009, many young women report feeling guilt and shame about their masturbatory practices. This reveals that masturbation, particularly female masturbation, remains a disparaged and taboo practice today (Kaestle and Allen, 2011). 

This is problematic insofar as viewing masturbation as negative can potentially undermine sexual health.

*Masturbation is defined as manual stimulation of the external genitalia for the purpose of producing sexual pleasure (Larousse, 2017). 

A religious discourse, a beginning 

Since the sixteenth century, religious writings condemning masturbation and anyone who dared to practice it can be found. The only sexuality considered “natural” was that limited to the reproduction of the species. All other practices were considered “abnormal” and “deviant.” However, several theologians recognized that masturbation was a common and habitual sin that people were not afraid of. 

A medical discourse that intensifies this prescription 

Nevertheless, fear of masturbation emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century, when physical harms were associated with masturbation for the first time in a pamphlet entitled Onania. For example, the pamphlet mentions ulcers, convulsions, paleness of the skin, impotence, and even giving birth to sick children. Physicians of the time unanimously agreed that masturbation was responsible for several illnesses and could even be fatal (Stengers and Van Neck, 1998/2001).  

However, until this point in history, no one had questioned the veracity of the claims reported in the pamphlet Onania, even though no empirical medical observations existed.  

A feminist discourse in response to optimal sexuality 

Thanks to the most important feminist qualitative study on women’s masturbation, conducted by Shere Hite in 1976, several feminists remain highly critical of the obligation of coitus within heteronormativity. According to Hite, since only 30% of women regularly achieve orgasm during coitus without clitoral stimulation, insisting that women have orgasms during intercourse through the sole virtue of the penis forces them to adapt their bodies to inadequate stimulation.

A sexual double standard

Most participants in the study by Kaeslte and Allen, conducted in 2011, mentioned the perception that male masturbation is more acceptable than female masturbation. Explicitly named in the participants’ accounts, the sexual double standard refers to the phenomenon whereby behavior typically considered “masculine” is acceptable when adopted by a man, whereas when a woman adopts the same so-called “masculine” behavior, she is reprimanded, explicitly or implicitly.

Kaeslte and Allen (2011) point out that 63% of men maintain a discourse presenting masturbation as beneficial to sexual health, whereas only 16% of women express the same view. 

A family context that reinforces the taboo 

The contexts in which people have their first experiences of masturbation, as well as their family’s discourse on masturbation, influence the perception an individual develops of it. Indeed, difficulty talking about sexuality with their families seems to go hand in hand with the negative perceptions women develop of their masturbatory practices (Hogarth and Ingham, 2009; Kaestle and Allen, 2011).

Negative social judgments

Most participants in the study by Kaestle and Allen, conducted in 2011, remember their first attempts at masturbation with shame and discomfort. They witnessed derisive humor, stereotypes, and humiliation, which taught them that masturbation was taboo. Other participants even denied themselves the right to enjoy masturbation because they did not want to face potential social judgments. 

The positive side

Despite the many studies revealing that a taboo surrounding female masturbatory practices still exists, statistics on the prevalence of women who masturbate regularly or who have masturbated at least once in their lives are increasing (Kraus, 2017). 

These studies are positive because masturbation may be beneficial in several ways: self-examination of the genitals, promoting relaxation and/or stress management, promoting sleep, compensating for a lack of overall sexual satisfaction, and enabling positive learning about one’s body (Bowman, 2014). 

Masturbation also improves feelings of sexual competence and sexual self-esteem. In particular, Hite (1976) states that “the most fulfilled women are those who have learned to adapt their masturbatory techniques, without embarrassment or shame, to their sexual relationships with others.”.   

The invisibility of female masturbation

The invisibility of masturbation seems to be an advantage because there do not appear to be precise norms regarding how often women should masturbate or the methods they should use. This is an advantage insofar as women are freer to explore their own pleasure without precise norms concerning the scripts used in their masturbatory practices.

References: 

• Bowman, C. P. (2014). Women's masturbation: Experiences ofsexual empowerment in a primarily sex-positive sample. Psycho/ogy of Women Quarter/y, 38(3), 363-378.
• Hite, S. (1976). The Hite Report on Female Sexuality. New York : MacMillan Publishing Company, Inc.
• Hogarth, H. et Ingham, R. (2009). Masturbation among young women and associations with sexual health: An exploratory study. Journal of Sex Research, 46(6), 558-567.
• Kaestle, C. E., et Allen, K. (2011). The role of masturbation in healthy sexual development: Perceptions of young adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(5), 983-994. 
• Kraus, F. (20 17). The practice of masturbation among women: the end of a taboo? Sexologies, 26, 191-198.
• Morin, V. (June 2018). Female masturbatory practices and sexual health: a qualitative exploration of women’s perspectives and experiences. Université du Québec à Montréal. https://archipel.uqam.ca/11742/1/M15705.pdf 
• Stengers, J. et Van Neck, A. (1998/2001). Masturbation: the history of a great terror, New York: Palgrave Publishers.