The Barometer Online

Issue date: 1/6/09 Section: Forum

But remember all the rumors and assumptions that floated around about masturbation in grade school? People who admitted to doing it were considered perverts. Some said you'd go blind. Even worse, some were told by parents or religious leaders who "caught them in the act" that masturbating was a sin that would send them straight to hell.

The myths might be broken by education, but the stigma still lingers. As easily as we engage in dialogues about intercourse and oral sex, how many of us are openly willing to admit to having healthy sexual relationships with ourselves?

Not many. While it's socially assumed and accepted that virtually all men masturbate, on average, 60-70 percent of women admit to partaking in self-pleasure (key word: admit). When it comes to masturbation, the subject still makes us shift in our seats.

But masturbation is a healthy expression of sexuality, and the physical and psychological benefits of it deserve recognition. It can relieve stress, pain (such as menstrual cramps or migraines) and increase self-awareness; it has even been linked with decreasing the risk of cancer. And yes, when incorporated into sex with a partner, it can make foreplay and intercourse better. But best of all, it simply feels good.

So why aren't we doing it more often and talking about it more openly?

Until we're ready to engage in open dialogues about it, the association of it as a deviant, pathetic and shameful activity will never break, and that's a shame in itself.



Rose Hansen is a junior in recreation resource management. The opinions expressed in her columns do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily Barometer staff. Hansen can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.

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