Nobody ever told me how or why to masturbate – my dad, my sex-ed teacher, and my friends must have all been in some kind of denial on the subject – so my first time was kind of a lucky accident. It happened back when I was a kid of 13, only newly endowed with a full-size penis and a crop of pubic hair. I woke up in the middle of the night one night, face down in bed, with an erection poking out the fly of my pajama bottoms and pressing against my belly. I raised and lowered my backside, trying to find a more comfortable position. My penis told me it liked that, so I repeated the motion a few times and suddenly let go with what felt like a gallon of semen. It was too fast, too clumsy, and way too messy, but you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. I was like a kid at Christmas who's just opened the best gift ever – one that has kept on giving for 50 years.
- age 63, Massachusetts
This Week's Wackiest Response:
I wish I could have had the foresight to put my parrot in the other room. After 5 years it still won't stop saying, "Oh, Marissa"!
- age 15, New Mexico
I'd be less scared. I didn't have a clue what was happening, and I didn't enjoy it at all; I was frightened. If I could go back and change it, it would be the most wonderful experience...by candlelight. I'd take my time, use some lube, and my orgasm would be the most memorable, incredible moment of ecstasy. I wouldn't try it sitting on the toilet. I wouldn't be frightened by the result, and I wouldn't feel guilty afterwards. For me, at least, the second time was much better.
- age 23, United Kingdom
I was having a mutual experience with a friend. He was 14; I was 12. He actually taught me about masturbation. At the time, I had never experienced an orgasm. About a year later, while masturbating alone, I had my first one. It would have been nice to share that first experience with him. That was 54 years ago!
- age 67, California
I wouldn't change anything. I was about 7 when I began masturbating to orgasm, though I had no idea then that was what I was doing. I would get on my stomach while in the bathtub and rub myself against the bottom until I climaxed. I only knew that it felt good and I wanted to do it again.
- age 23, Tennessee
The first time I masturbated was with a boyhood friend of mine. It was the first time for the both of us. Even at that age (around 11) I wanted to reach out and touch his penis. I didn't do it then, but several years later we touched each other and continued to do so for several years. He moved away and I never saw him again, but I have often wondered what it would have been like if we had touched each other that very first time.
- age 41, Florida
The first time was with my cousin, who masturbated in front of me to show me how to do it. He was a bit younger than me, so he had no semen. When I reached orgasm, I saw this strange white stuff coming out, and it felt very weird, since I had never heard of semen. My cousin was much interested by this and followed me into the bathroom to have a closer look as I cleaned up with toilet paper. I wish that I had heard about semen before.
- age 29, France
I would change the fact that I was playing with myself while reading a book on the different species of primates. It was weird; I was sitting home alone by myself, just reading a book for no good reason other than the fact that I was bored, and I ejaculated for the first time. I feel so...bestial now.
- age 15, California
I would have used some lube and not rubbed myself raw, almost to the point of bleeding.
- age 26, Arizona
I was 11 when I first masturbated to orgasm and had only had "wet dreams" until then. One of my good friends, who was my age, had asked if I knew how to masturbate, and I said I didn't. So we both got undressed and he grabbed my hand and showed me how to do it to him until he had an orgasm, and then he did it to me. Now this was all right, but I just wish I could have done it myself the first time instead of having someone else do it.
- age 23, South Carolina
When I experienced my first orgasm around age 8, I didn't know that it had a name or that anybody else did it. I just knew that when I rubbed the loose skin on my penis between my thumb and forefinger, it felt very good and would keep feeling better until I almost couldn't stand it. Then my butt would start to twitch, and the feeling would go away. Not long afterward, my friend across the street started talking to me about masturbation (he used the J-term), described how it was done, and said that it would make my penis grow larger (but not anything about how good it felt). So, I didn't connect what he described with what I had been doing until several years later, when another friend showed me the "fisting" technique, and so I added it to my nightly practice of feeling good. I would like to have had a trusted, older friend or relative introduce both me and the boy across the street to masturbation. Things would have made much more sense that way.
- age 62, New Jersey
I would change the fact that I ever learned to masturbate! Don't get your pitchforks and shovels yet...I just think that it consumes my life sometimes. I wish that I had never learned how.
- age 18, Georgia
I would change the first time I ejaculated. We had been in our new house for about 3 months, and one day I had to stay home from school because I had the flu. I decided to take a nice bath in our jet tub, which is like a hot tub only it's for one person. I was just soaking and discovered a knob that adjusts the pressure of the jet. I turned it to full blast, and I felt a sensation on my penis that I had never felt before. Then I turned over and began to feel the full force of the jet over the head of my penis. I ejaculated and didn't think much about it, other than that I must have been in puberty, because I had found JackinWorld before I started to ejaculate. The next day it really hurt to urinate and I saw blood in my urine. I had to tell my parents to take me to the doctor, and I discovered that that I had a urinary tract infection.
- age 15, Colorado
I wish the special friend I was with at the time could have been awake to see me have my first orgasm. I learned from him how to masturbate on a previous sleepover. I had been trying to masturbate to orgasm for weeks but was not successful. However, practice makes perfect, and I did it on our next sleepover. He was too tired and had gone to sleep when I finally did it. I was so excited that I woke him. He just rolled over and said, "I told you it would happen," and then nodded back off to sleep. I guess I must have bored him all the other times that I tried while he was teaching me and I couldn't. So he just gave up paying attention to what I was doing and fell asleep. That night, I fell asleep happy and proud that I finally was able to have a "full orgasm."
- age 38, Wisconsin
I wish I could have had a camera to record the experience so that I could review it whenever I'd like. I think watching yourself masturbate with a younger body, less body hair, and ejaculating semen is quite exciting, especially when it's your first time!
- age 19, France
When I started masturbating at age 12, my technique was to stand in the shower and have the water hit the head of my penis with my foreskin pulled almost all the way back. There was no stroking; I just let the stream of water give me a great feeling. I didn't know about orgasms or masturbation and was pretty surprised when I ejaculated – I don't think I even knew if semen came out then, as the water might have washed it away. I definitely liked the feeling enough to do it as often as I could, and sometimes the water would get cold, as it often took me many minutes to climax. Only a couple of years later, when a friend showed my how to stroke, did I understand about ejaculation. If I could change anything it would be that I had an awareness of what was happening physically and that I could have quickened the orgasm by also stroking my penis. Perhaps I was taking too much time in the bathroom back then; I did get the occasional glance from my parents.
- age 43, Oregon
The first time I masturbated was in front of my friend when I was 12. It was his first time as well. I felt sick all day. If I could change anything I would not do it in front of this friend! Even though now I'm 16 and we often masturbate together and even do it to each other, I would prefer my first time to have been alone.
- age 16, Australia
While I had been masturbating for many years, I didn't start ejaculating until what I consider a much older age than most (I was 15). For many years I had tried to masturbate to orgasm but failed, so I started to believe that there might have been something wrong with me. And then one night, I was watching a television show in which the actress Demi Moore from the movie "Striptease" was attempting to educate a talk-show host in the art of erotic dancing. I started to masturbate, not really expecting anything to happen, when suddenly I felt a fantastically wonderful burning sensation running through my penis and legs and couldn't stop my hand from moving, even though one of my first emotional reactions was fear. When I could finally stop and realize what had actually happened and how amazingly good it had felt, I actually thanked God! The thing that made it good for me was the surprise and the shock involved, and although I have spent many years intentionally enjoying the intensity of what I stumbled upon that night, I wouldn't change the way my first time happened for anything.
- age 25, Florida
My first orgasm – at age 12 – was the consequence of simply having my little erection poking out of my jeans and briefs for an hour or so. I was so unprepared and thoroughly frightened that I did not masturbate for another 3 years. During that time, I had "wet dreams" frequently, strong sexual urges, and a combination of fear and guilt. Looking back, I wish I hadn't let my fears control my life for 3 years. I also wish I had talked to my friends about masturbation, although they were as fearful and repressed as I was – the consequence of growing up in a conservative Midwestern community in the 1950s. Although I have long since learned that I was not alone, and that neither my Native heritage nor my chosen religious affiliation condemns masturbation, it was not until I found JackinWorld in 2001 that I realized how normal, healthy, and universal masturbation is. Now, thanks to the JackInsider Message Board, I've been sharing thoughts and experiences with other happy masturbators.
- age 63, Michigan
I'd probably change the fact that it was in the middle of 5th-grade social studies class. I was sitting with my legs crossed at a table with about 5 other people when I realized that all that tight space and thigh squeezing was having quite an effect on me. It's not easy to repeat an experiment like that in front of 30 other people, but I managed it anyway, and apparently no one noticed. Fortunately, having learned to do it hands-free and fully clothed from the beginning, I've done it in some very public places over the years (such as in the library and math class), and nobody could tell, which is kind of strange. When I have an orgasm during partner sex, I'm pretty sure the neighbors in the house across the street can tell.
- age 27, Maryland (female)
I would have wanted to watch someone do it first and then masturbate me.
- age 20, Australia
I wouldn't change a thing. I discovered masturbation completely by accident, in bed one night, when I was about 11 years old. And what a discovery! The completely overwhelming feelings I experienced were like nothing I had ever known before. I'm glad I didn't have any prior knowledge or expectations – it was great just to discover it for myself. And, of course, I haven't stopped since!
- age 42, United Kingdom
I would have changed the way I learned. I learned accidentally one night after hearing about someone humping a pillow, so that is what I did. I was fine, but I think I would have saved a lot of time on small orgasms by learning from one of my friends. All of my friends masturbated, and at the time when I learned, I had never heard the word "masturbate." When a friend told me that he would show me how, I had no idea what he was talking about. I really didn't learn what masturbation meant until I discovered JackinWorld when I was 10 or 11, even though I was masturbating by then. Thanks!
- age 15, Tennessee
I wouldn't have done it in the middle of math class. It was embarrassing that my desk partner already knew what was happening to me when I didn't.
- age 18, California
I had been trying to masturbate to orgasm for months, but just couldn't quite get there, despite my extensive attempts! I'd been having regular "wet dreams" for a while, so I knew it would be only a matter of time. At last my wish came true when I was 14. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was feeling frantically horny in my father's bathroom. I pulled down my trousers and pants, lay on the floor, and started rubbing myself against the carpet. I was fantasizing about my female cousin, naked in a garden, when suddenly I felt a funny "stirring" all around my genitals and up to my stomach. I started to feel quite nervous, so I stopped. I couldn't believe that I might finally achieve this long-awaited event! I was terrified of ejaculating all over the carpet, so I carefully laid toilet paper around the area where I was lying, and with rapidly beating heart, carried on. After a few more minutes, I was gripped by the most fantastic, shuddering orgasm. I lay there, faint with emotion, and then inspected the evidence. Horror of horrors! There was so much semen that it had cascaded all over the dark-colored carpet! I was frantic that signs of my newfound skill would be discovered, so I spent ages cleaning up and rubbing away the evidence with a damp cloth. I felt guilty, but also elated. At the time, I certainly would have wished to ejaculate cleanly, but looking back, it all added to a great and celebratory occasion. Oh...I repeated the feat twice more before the day was out!
- age 36, United Kingdom
I wish I had videotaped it, so that I could see what my facial expressions were at orgasm.
- age 15, Oregon
I look back and it was mysterious and scary, but oh so nice. I was an innocent, clueless 15-year-old sitting in the basement and watching the Playboy and Spice channels scrambled because I couldn't order the pay-per-view. I had done it many times before, but this time, I felt this incredible feeling and I had no idea what it was...literally. There was this white, creamy stuff, and it wasn't until a few days later that I realized it had been my first orgasm. What fun!
- age 23, West Virginia
I would just change the guilty feeling I had after having masturbated myself.
- age 19, Chile
I don't regret anything except the mess. My first time came in the dark ages before JackinWorld, when I was 14 and had no idea what masturbation was, let alone how to do it. I woke up one morning with my usual wake-up hard-on. Up to then, my habit was just to wait until it went away, so I could get up and pee without wetting down the whole bathroom. But this time, something made me want to touch it, so I shucked off my underpants and wrapped one hand around the head. My penis throbbed. That felt good. I moved my hand a little. That felt better. I moved it some more. My penis throbbed some more, my hips started thrusting, and suddenly semen was spurting all over the bed sheet. That, of course, happened to be the day my mom was changing the beds, so I heard about it from my dad a couple of days later. It turns out they thought I'd had a "wet dream," but it gave my dad the nerve to talk to me about masturbation: How it was okay and all, and even a how-to tip or two. So, what would I change? Not a thing – unless it was stealing one of my dad's condoms from the stash I'd found while snooping around one day in his sock drawer.
- age 33, New York
I would do nothing to change it, because it was one of the greatest times of my life. It happened at a sleepover, and my friend actually masturbated me first. I then picked it up from there. Actually, it was just this year, so the memory is fresh in my mind.
- age 14, Michigan (female)
The first time I masturbated was after my brother showed me how and said everyone in school masturbates. I was too young to have an orgasm at the time, but then with friends at sleepovers we started masturbating, and I remember one of my friends was hairier than the rest of us and had big loads when he climaxed. He told me to keep trying, and finally, I ejaculated for the first time. It was wonderful! I remember feeling that I was a then a total man. I still masturbate regularly.
- age 45, Minnesota
My only wish is that I wasn't circumcised when I first masturbated. I am currently undergoing foreskin restoration, and I am almost finished with the procedure. The orgasm is *so* much better with foreskin, and I can only imagine what my first orgasm would have been like with it had I had one before.
- age 18, Texas
The first time I ever had an orgasm, I was startled by it. I didn't know about orgasm or anything like that, so the contractions scared me a little. I didn't know what they were, and they surprised me, so I let go of my penis as it jerked. I was afraid something bad was happening. The next night I vowed to do it again and see if I could climax again (although I didn't know what it was called then), and to continue stimulation and keep going during the orgasm if it happened again. I did and it was great – but now I wonder if that first one wouldn't have been even better if I hadn't let go.
- age 24, Missouri
The venue – I did it the first time aged 13 in the toilet cubicle at boarding school. It would have been nice to have had privacy somewhere else but I was desperate to experiment with my newfound knowledge. I'm pleased that I did; it changed my life, and I still enjoy it!
- age 47, United Kingdom
It wouldn't be at 6 a.m. in a freezing barn with 30 or so cows looking on, but that was the only place I had enough privacy to really have a go at it. I was 13 and lived on my uncle's ranch. Now, it would be in a nice warm bed.
- age 24, California
I would have waited until I knew what it was all about, and not have done it while watching Power Rangers! (Ha, ha.) So yeah, I would have waited a while and made it "special."
- age 19, New Zealand
i wish that I had been alone, but I was not. My best friend was there right next to me just to see what I was doing. When I climaxed, she saw it, which was kind of embarrassing afterward.
- age 29, Sweden (female)
I would have recorded the experience in a journal (most likely in some sort of "code" in case it should be discovered by someone else). Milestones in one's life never seem important at the time.
- age 50, Ohio
Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. The first time I masturbated, I was watching Britney Spears' "Most Outrageous Spring Break Moments" (on MTV Spring Break). I was 11 and I was just scratching my penis when it started to feel surprisingly sensational. I kept rubbing until I felt like I was about to explode. Of course I didn't climax because of my age, but it was the most erotic point of my short life so far. Just thinking about it is giving me an erection.
- age 14, Texas
I was 11 or 12 when it I did it the first time, and it happened pretty much by accident as I was fumbling about. I wish one of my older male friends had done it for me the first time to show me how. I really looked up to one who was about 16 at the time. I used to imagine lying on his bed naked while he sat between my knees and slowly masturbated me to orgasm. Then again, I still imagine that now sometimes.
- age 21, United Kingdom
No way! The first time I had an orgasm was my best experience. I was 12 years old and I stole (I think it was) the September '93 issue of Playgirl with Jean Claude Van Damme on the cover. I kept that magazine for years.
- age 23, Texas
I would not change anything about the first time I masturbated. I was 12 years old and had heard about masturbation, but did not know how to do it. One day I was very sexually aroused and started sliding the cardboard tube from a roll of bathroom tissue up and down my erect penis. The feeling became very intense and I did not know why this was such a wonderful feeling until I ejaculated. The tube left my penis raw and I immediately rubbed some medicated ointment on it. This is when I learned about lubricants, which I have used ever since.
- age 54, Louisiana
The only thing I would change is that I stopped as I was about to ejaculate because I thought I was going to pee, but I had an orgasm and ejaculated anyway. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything because you can't expect the first time to be the best. So for me, it was as good as it could've been.
- age 17, Dominican Republic
My best friend was 13 and completely developed, while I was a few months younger and not so developed. It was summer and we had gotten to the stage of comparing penis sizes, getting hard together and so on, when he told me about "white stuff" that came out of his penis when he stroked fast. He even showed me, but try as I might, with him or alone, I could never get there. I had not made my bed for several days and a stuffed animal made its way under the sheet and lying in bed with my shorts pulled down that night my hard penis brushed against it and took my breath away. With a little rubbing, my body was convulsing out of control with my barely-haired testicles jerking and my smallish penis spraying my tummy with more "white stuff" than I had ever gotten! I won't ever forget that night – when I became a real man!
- age 43, Arizona
The first time I masturbated to orgasm, I had a very sensitive penis and it took me only about 10 minutes of gentle stroking (one finger lightly and gently moving up and down my frenulum) before I ejaculated. While the sensation blew me away, I didn't ejaculate much and the semen was lumpy. I wish I had managed to keep the session going longer, that I had ejaculated more, and that the semen had been more liquid. I also felt quite guilty about it (although I did it twice more that day) and I now wish I didn't feel so guilty about that time – or any other for that matter!
- age 35, Australia
i would not let myself feel so guilty the first time because now, 3 years later, I know a lot of people that do it so I don't feel like I'm the one guy in the whole world that masturbates. Would you believe it? My science teacher actually encouraged masturbation in our sex-ed class!
- age 13, Kansas
My 16-year-old cousin taught me how to masturbate during a sleepover when I was 12. We were lying side by side both stroking ourselves when I asked him if I was doing it right. He told me I wasn't going fast enough, then spat into his hand, grabbed hold of me, and started masturbating me. It felt really good and soon, I had my first orgasm. Afterward, he asked me to return the favor. I felt strange about it and thought he might tell someone, so I wouldn't do it. Looking back, I now realize how silly I was being. I wish I had helped him out.
- age 43, Texas
I would not change anything about the first time I masturbated to orgasm because it is so far the best orgasm I've ever had. It was so powerful and felt so good! I remember the feeling right before – I didn't know what was going on. Afterwards I remember thinking, "Man! That was nice." I've been masturbating ever since!
- age 17, Indiana
A friend of mine gave me my first orgasm. If I could change one thing about it, I would change what happened afterward. I would have immediately required my friend to sign a contract promising to keep doing it forever! I've since lost contact with him and have found it impossible to find anyone willing to be a masturbation buddy. It is very nice to be able to have someone else with whom to share a masturbation moment occasionally. Even though I'm now married, I miss the mutuality of two men enjoying masturbation together. So, that's what I would change.
- age 21, Missouri
The first time I masturbated was at boarding school. Our beds were in dormitories and as I was near to ejaculating, the boy in the bed next to mine got up, pulled my bedcovers back, and started shouting to the other boys that I was wanking. The embarrassment was awful because just as he pulled back the bedcovers, I started to ejaculate. Some of my semen landed on this boy's leg. That's why if I could change anything, it would be that I could have masturbated somewhere more private.
- age 14, Ireland
The only thing I'd change is that I would have done it sooner and with a friend. I was 13 and alone.
- age 32, Missouri