During the period of adolescence, masturbation is often a major source of sexual outlet. However, some adolescents never masturbate (Sorensen, 1973, p. 129ff). I knew of masturbation but never thought of trying it myself. I don't know. For some reason I have never really done it. Well, I guess you don't have to masturbate. You can think about it. I have wet dreams. Boy! Doesn't everybody? What do you have to masturbate for?
One time I began to rub my thighs together and all at once a
strange feeling came over me deep in my groin. I had achieved
orgasm and an ejaculation for the first time in my life.
Some of the more mature group in my class in school said that if
you stroked your penis you would get a great feeling.
Every night I noticed my cousin manipulating his penis. When I
returned home at the end of the summer, I practiced masturbation
in my room. I repeated this every night.
A friend of mine of the same age showed me what masturbation
was all about and the technique that was employed.
I (a girl) did not masturbate very frequently, probably not over six
times per year at the most; usually using an external object such as
my pillow or a washcloth folded up.
Although, in the United States, masturbation is not currently as severely
proscribed as it was some decades ago, it is still not generally accepted as a sexual
outlet for adolescents, thus causing concern for some adolescents. In Sorensen's
sample, 49 percent of all adolescents who were currently masturbating reported
frequent guilt, anxiety, or concern-45 percent of the boys and 57 percent of the girls
(Sorensen, 1973, p. 443). Sorensen encountered no superstition about possible ill
effects of masturbation. Some do show up in the case data of this volume, however.
Of boys and girls who are currently masturbating, only 11 percent of the boys
and 7 percent of the girls say they never daydream or fantasize during masturbation
(Sorensen, 1973, p. 135). It has been said that the major users of pictorial erotica in
the United States are adolescent males; they use it as an aid to masturbation (Gagnon
and Simon, July and August, 1967).
Sorensen found that girls also quite frequently
looked at pictures while masturbating. Twenty-two percent of the girls who were
currently masturbating looked at pictures some or most of the time; the figure for boys
was 30 percent. Pictorial erotica can also provide dream fantasy accompanying
nocturnal emissions. In the absence of hard-core pornography, boys create their own
stimulation from men's magazines, mail-order catalogues, et cetera. However, there is
no evidence that the availability of sex pictures increases masturbatory rates among
adolescents.
I found that my father kept copies of Playboy and other comparable
magazines in the bathroom, so I used these to arouse my sexual
desire behind the bathroom door.
In middle-class circles, some females grow up without ever having seen hard-core
pornography (Gagnon and Simon, 1967), but romantic literature can also be
stimulating in masturbation.
In the eighth grade, I (a girl) became quite interested in romantic
magazines. I would become very aroused sexually, for after reading
a story I got great pleasure, excitement, and satisfaction out of
caressing my breasts.
Masturbatory rates are relatively high for adolescents who are incarcerated, and for
adolescents who live in communities that do not provide easy access to sex partners,
or that do not have norms supportive of casual sexual encounters.