Sidney McGill - HEALTHY SEX 101 HUMANS ARE one of several species that masturbate. Stimulating one's own genitals with the hand or an object is also common among the primates (monkeys and apes).
Many researchers have found that about 90 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women have masturbated at some time in their lives. Unlike most of the lower order species, human sexual behaviour is more controlled by the brain and less by hormones (instinct). Sex therefore for humans is greatly influenced by learning.
Our understanding and appreciation (or disgust) with masturbation is culturally learnt and varies from family to family, community to community and from one country to another. Individually, our moral values, which affect how we feel about masturbation, vary from the kind of religious or spiritual training received (or the lack of it) and perhaps the subconscious modelling of important persons in our lives. The law, media, folklore, popular artistic expressions and access to scientific knowledge also play a major role in the indoctrination process.
THE LEARNING PROCESS
Masturbation begins as a normal, natural sexual expression during childhood. In a number of studies, up to 50 per cent of persons recall engaging in some form of masturbation during kindergarten. It is not uncommon for one to observe infants fondling their own genitals. By age 2.5 to three years the manipulation of the genitals becomes more rhythmic. In some cultures the practice is so accepted that adults may fondle the infant's genitals as a pacifier to keep the baby quiet.
If the parents permit masturbation, most boys and girls will develop the habit from absentminded fingering of their genitals to more systematic masturbation by age eight. Since most parents prohibit the practice, children will stop the habit but a few may continue in privacy, especially at bed time. Orgasm from masturbation is possible even at this early age but does not include ejaculation in boys.
Sexual interest continues to increase as signs of puberty become more obvious. Boys and girls learn about masturbation in different ways boys learn from the sex stories of peers, whether true or false, and generally fantasise about sex with the aid of soft porn and, in some cases, hardcore pornography. Masturbation in boys sharply increases between the age of 13 and 15 (Kinsey), indicating that most boys begin masturbating to the point of ejaculation during this period.
PREVENTING HIV
According to Kinsey's data, 82 per cent of boys would have masturbated by age 15. A few girls begin masturbating shortly after puberty but the increase in the behaviour is more gradual than boys and may continue beyond adolescence. More recent data on sexual behaviour in children and adolescents suggest that masturbation may actually start a year or two earlier than in Kinsey's time (1940s).
Many people masturbate throughout their lifetime, some occasionally or regularly, whether it is because of the unavailability of a sexual partner, pregnancy, illness or just for the pleasure of it. In the 19th century and many centuries earlier, masturbation was believed to cause anything from warts to insanity but more and more persons in the late 20th and early 21st centuries view the activity as a possible cure for anxiety and an innocent way of learning about one's own genitals. In fact, it is a sure way of preventing HIV infection.
Attitudes toward sex vary throughout the ages and certainly throughout our lifetime. Although most Jamaican men will denounce the practice of 'backing their fist' so many can be seen posing with their hands at their crotches, masturbating in public!
Dr. Sidney McGill is a marriage and family therapist and executive director, Family Counselling Centre of Jamaica, St. Ann; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
