Other notable observations: Some people associate anal play with being gay; though both straight and gay people have reported enjoying anal stimulation when they masturbate. Some males observed that they have gotten better "hand jobs" when they masturbated with other males than with females. And a number of people reported feeling more intense orgasms when they fantasized about same-sex masturbation because it seems taboo, or kinky.]
I think masturbation techniques would be the same whether you are straight, bi, or gay, as long as you are open-minded and willing to explore your body intimately. However, I think how you become aroused would differ — whether you use visual aids or imagination, and what sex you would envision to get your motor running. I am open-minded and know where my buttons are. A few of them are in places that the super-straight may find difficult to understand. Also, my mind is open enough so that both sexes arouse me. Nakedness is beauty in itself, and both female and male bodies turn me on. I have been in a monogamous heterosexual relationship for over 5 years, but I still love to masturbate and I challenge myself to have the most explosive orgasms every time.
- age 26, Florida
This Week's Wackiest Response:
I'd rather not think about it. Kangaroos always jump on me, so why wouldn't it feel bad? Straight as an arrow is me, with kangaroos jumping on my "output socket." Do you want to know why I don't want to be female? I like having an "output socket" instead of an "input socket," if you know what I mean.
- age 14, California
This is an interesting question. I consider myself straight — meaning I plan to have sex with and marry a woman. But I also find thinking about masturbation with guys arousing. If the opportunity were to present itself, I would probably consider having a sexual encounter with a guy. Sometimes I even look at guy porn. I suppose that if I were completely gay, I would look only at the guy stuff and have only male-oriented fantasies. However, I assume that male homosexuals also have some female-oriented fantasies.
- age 17, California
I find it unlikely that masturbation would differ for people of different sexual orientations, apart from the difference in whom they might think about. Of course, this is pure speculation; a gay man can no more know the mind of a straight man than a white man can know that of a black man. Most of their life experiences are either actually different or interpreted differently. However, masturbation always involves the penis, regardless of any other differences. And in my experience, penises all work the same way, even though they might differ slightly in size, color, and shape.
- age 21, Minnesota
If I were gay, I'd look at pictures of men. If I were straight, I'd get pictures of women. If I fancied peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I'd make one and masturbate to it (maybe even *on* it). If trees got my rocks off, then I'd grow a houseplant and keep it in my thoughts as I masturbated. If I were gay, maybe I'd masturbate with a guy. It all depends on what you want.
- age 15, Canada
If I were straight, my masturbation sessions wouldn't be any different in frequency or exploration. My fantasies might be more related to women, perhaps. I hope I would enjoy my own genitals as much as I do now, even if I didn't like other guys' as well.
- age 20, Illinois
I'm a straight male, but when I masturbate, I like to think about masturbating with other guys. I've read this is common. However, if I were gay, I think my fantasies would be opposite. I think I would masturbate to thoughts of women. Not that I prefer guys to girls at all, but it makes it more exotic when you think of something you may never consider really doing. The thought of this seemingly "wrong" thing heightens the masturbation experience for me and sends me into a blissful orgasm every time!
- age 17, North Carolina
I'm a straight married male, and I know my masturbation experiences would be different if I were gay. I've often fantasized what it would be like to masturbate with another guy, and my orgasms are usually much more intense when I fantasize about guys. We guys know what feels good, and I think it would be cool for us to masturbate each other.
- age 35, Tennessee
If I were straight, my earliest masturbation sessions would probably have been much better. There would have been no confusion afterwards — no guilt, and no questions.
- age 17, Australia
As a former homosexual (a Christian who has received God's healing), this is a tough one to answer, since I've experienced both perspectives. When I was living a gay lifestyle, I would fantasize about seducing other young men my age. The fantasies were highly charged, and the orgasms were a little more intense, but the guilt afterwards was crushing. Now I don't believe in fantasies — just in concentrating on the feelings God has given my body. (Hooray for masturbation!) It's not as hot and heavy, but overall, it's better because I can look at myself in a mirror afterwards.
- age 25, Ohio
I think it would be just as enjoyable either way, straight or gay.
- age 15, United Kingdom (female)
I can't imagine masturbation being any different if I were gay, since it is a universal male enjoyment. Masturbation with another person is great, but that would be the same either way, too. Masturbation is what proves that all men were created equal, regardless of size or sexual orientation. So what does it matter whether one is gay or straight? It doesn't!
- age 66, Texas
I think pleasure and a positive experience is the same, and I don't see how a different sexual orientation would change that. I enjoy masturbation; it's been a companion for 40-plus years, and through that time, my sexuality has evolved and moved toward more acceptance of the continuum of sexual expression. If my adolescent orientation had been openly gay, I might have shared masturbation more readily with other guys, but the techniques, frequency, and pleasure most likely would have been the same.
- age 56, Missouri
If I were straight, I'd obviously fantasize about girls instead of guys. Otherwise, I think everything would be the same in the sessions themselves. I think I might have relied on masturbation a little less in my teens and 20s, because interpersonal sex would have been easier to get. However, in my teens, I was too afraid to have a boyfriend.
- age 36, New York
I don't know. It's too scary to think about.
- age 13, Michigan
I am a [straight] guy, but I think my experiences would not be much different [if I were gay], because I already have same-sex fantasies when I masturbate. This started happening about two years ago. When it first started, I thought I was going crazy, but now I find that some of my more intense masturbation experiences occur when I fantasize about same-sex experiences. I've gotten used to it, and I usually enjoy these experiences very much.
- age 39, California
Am I out of luck if I'm bisexual? On the contrary — I think it's great luck. I have so many choices! But being bisexual just doesn't work too well for this question.
- age 16, Ohio
I'm into girls, and I don't think guys would ever get me going — but if I were to fantasize about a guy while masturbating, I might use a dildo and have more fun.
- age 18, Georgia (female)
I am bisexual and believe that my experiences would be different if I were more straight. My chest-pounding, overtly 100% heterosexual friends are much more closed about exploring their bodies for their own pleasure. I have also discovered that they tend to care more about the orgasm and less about the pleasure along the way. I don't mean to promote any stereotypes, but just to report some general observations about my friends.
- age 23, Iowa
I think I'd masturbate more if I were gay. I rely mostly on my imagination for sexual fantasies. The more contact I have with someone, the easier it is to imagine them. I have much more contact with girls — like, most of my cousins are girls. They are all attractive, and I see them often. In other words, I'd have much more to fantasize about if I were gay, and this would make masturbation and orgasms better and easier. And if I were gay, I think I'd actually end up masturbating with one of my female cousins, making it even better. I've never had the guts to ask any of my male cousins, and I already talk about masturbation with my female ones. So in short, I think my orgasms and overall experience would be even better if I were gay (not that they aren't wonderful now).
- age 17, California (female)
As a gay man, male body images and sexual anatomy and function play an important visual and imaginative role in my masturbation. Being male, it may also be that my body provides an erotic stimulus to masturbation that is not available to heterosexual men. If I were primarily heterosexual, my erotic stimuli would certainly be different, and my perceptions of my own anatomy as an erotic stimulus might be more focused on my male anatomy as being complementary rather than identical to that of a fantasy partner.
- age 65, Pennsylvania
I definitely think masturbation is different for gay and straight people. I am a straight guy, and I have had mutual masturbation sessions with both males and females. Usually, both have been great. The difference is that with females I am usually emotionally involved in some way, which makes them even more pleasurable. If I were gay, I would be emotionally attached to the males instead of to females. What's odd is that I have always been attracted to the female body, but have also found mutual sessions with guys erotic.
- age 14, Oregon
I don't think a person's sexual orientation has anything to do with having the pleasure of masturbation. Having that pleasure is universal.
- age 52, Louisiana
I am straight, but when I masturbate, I always imagine a girl performing oral sex on me, and a guy kissing me and sucking my nipples. I don't know why it is, but if a girl and I were actually masturbating, I think it would be softer, more sensual. She'd know exactly how to touch me. Now there's an idea!
- age 15, California (female)
I don't think anything would be that different, except whom I might think about. I'm gay, but I think I would want a masturbation partner to be male whether I were gay or straight. It seems that this is pretty common among straight guys. I've masturbated with a couple of straight guys, and they seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. Only one of them knew I am gay. It meant a lot to me that he wasn't afraid I would try to jump him or something. If I were straight, I might not use any anal stimulation. But I've heard that some straight guys enjoy that, too. So, I guess it would be pretty much the same either way.
- age 32, Tennessee
Most definitely my experiences would be different if I were straight. Being gay, my masturbation practices center on my own body as well as the bodies of others with whom I have had sexual experiences or have seen naked. Frequently I imagine that one of my male friends has his hand around my penis or that I am stroking his penis, when in reality it is my own. I get a lot of visual stimulation from looking at my own penis and my body while I masturbate, and much of this stimulation seems to be based on a male-to-male relationship. I cannot imagine what a straight male would think about while he is masturbating. Certainly, he would not be having the same penis fantasy I am having.
- age 17, Ohio
I can't imagine that it would be different except for the fantasies. But mutual masturbation is a whole other story. I'm gay and I've experienced mutual with both sexes. All experiences were fun. But of course, mutual with a guy is far more preferable for me. If I were straight, I'd still enjoy masturbating as often as I do now — I'm still a guy and I know what guys like.
- age 40, Georgia
I am straight, but for some reason, I always think of other chicks when I masturbate. I just find it more arousing. When I'm home alone, I'll go searching for my brother's or dad's porn videos, so I don't know — it would just seem odd and not as arousing to think of guys.
- age 15, Australia (female)
I don't think there's a difference. I'm gay, yet I think about both men and women when I masturbate.
- age 41, California
I don't think my masturbation would be different at all. I have a gay friend, and from what he says, he does it is as much as I do. For guys, I don't think your sexual orientation has anything to do with how much you like to masturbate. Let's face it — almost all guys like to masturbate almost all the time.
- age 17, Indiana
This is such a hard question to answer, because it's hard to get inside a perspective different from your own. However, I think that my masturbation would not be different, mainly because I am extremely shy. I consider myself straight and have never masturbated with anyone else of either gender, aside from caresses during sex that might be considered masturbation. That said, I have often fantasized about masturbating with some of my closest straight male friends. However, I have never had the courage to ask them to join me. Perhaps being gay would give me more courage to do that, but I think not. If anything, it could make me more reluctant, as I would not want them to think I was imposing my sexuality on them.
- age 25, Australia
I masturbate to both women and men, but I'm not gay. I just like the look of a penis (probably because I have one). Also, I occasionally stimulate my anus. Because of this, I don't think anything about my masturbation sessions would change if I were gay.
- age 17, Canada
My masturbation habits are not at all governed by my sexual orientation. I developed my masturbation techniques before I fully realized I am gay. From my experience, masturbation technique is more governed by what areas of the penis are sensitive, and how rough one can be with it and still experience pleasure. Another big factor is circumcision. Uncircumsized guys I have known masturbate very differently than I do. As for masturbation frequency, that surely is hormone-controlled, and there is no data to suggest that gay men differ hormonally from straight men. I know both gay and straight men who are voracious masturbators (large libido) as well as others who are almost asexual.
- age 27, Washington
I am gay. I think that if I were straight, I would feel much different thinking of sticking my penis into a vagina, for it is an organ that fits the penis, unlike the anus.
- age 15, El Salvador
I can think of at least two ways in which my masturbation experiences would be different if I were gay. First, gay men seem to be more open and less embarrassed about masturbation; it seems to be more prominent in their sexual activities. Most men my age either no longer masturbate or do not admit that they continue. I think this is changing slowly, and younger men seem to enjoy masturbation more and are not as ashamed of it. Second, if I were gay I would have had the opportunity to engage in mutual masturbation with other men. I have only masturbated with females, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to enjoy masturbation with other guys. Younger men seem to be more willing to enjoy masturbation with each other, and I envy them.
- age 60, Pennsylvania
I'm a bi female, and when I'm involved with a man, I fantasize about women. When I'm with a female, I fantasize about both.
- age 31, Minnesota (female)
I would be upset because I would feel gay. I am straight now, and — say! Does anyone want to play some football?
- age 14, Brazil
I'm not sure where I fit. I married and raised two children, only later coming to terms with my homosexual orientation. So I can speak from both sides of the issue. Living now as a gay man has certainly made me aware of the subtle differences that every man develops in his masturbation techniques; no two do it quite the same. I know my personal methods of masturbation have not changed.
- age 52, Tennessee
I already think about girls and guys when I masturbate, so there is no big difference!
- age 18, New York (female)
It would be the same. My life alone or with a male partner has always centered on masturbation and has been most satisfying. Had I been straight, I am sure there would have been no difference in my masturbation habits. My view is that an orgasm achieved through vaginal penetration is no different than an orgasm achieved by hand or mouth. So why go through all the ridiculous stuff vaginal and anal addicts seem to think is necessary? After all, it's only another form of friction-induced masturbation. Why cause someone else all the pain and anguish of penetration? To me, masturbation causes no pain or anguish. The sooner that sexual penetration is banned, the better.
- age 54, United Kingdom
My sessions wouldn't change a bit. I'm hetero, and I still enjoy experimentation with anal stimulation.
- age 20, Texas
I think masturbation would be the same. Even though I'm straight, I rarely use the concept of penetration — even though occasionally, the idea of a big penis inside me makes me use a dildo. Still, that's pretty rare.
- age 27, California (female)
I don't know what my sexual orientation is right now. I think about guys and girls, and I don't find much difference in orgasm intensity between the two. I guess whatever tickles your pickle, right?
- age 14, Texas
I am gay and most of my masturbation experiences have been with other guys. If I were straight I might masturbate with women more — or at least, my fantasies would include more women. However, I will say that even if I were heterosexual, I still think I would have some masturbation experiences with other guys. I say this because several of my straight male friends and relatives have masturbated with other guys — event though they date women and consider themselves to be straight. Guys are horny in general and sometimes just want to get off, regardless of the sex of their company.
- age 32, Pennsylvania
As a closeted gay teenager, I constantly must keep my staring, fantasizing, and all other contact with males around me very discreet. However, there isn't a single good-looking man, regardless of age, that I don't undress with my eyes. If I were straight, my masturbation might be more open, so I could share more of my technique and visual aids with my naive friends. Furthermore, I'd probably be able to find a lot more pornography that appeals to me — a lot of homosexual porn seems to be all the same.
- age 16, California
At one time, I wondered privately whether I was straight or gay, as I suppose many guys do. But I fantasized constantly about girls. Suppose I had fantasized about boys instead? As I stroked my penis I would have pictured boys masturbating and eventually sought out boys to share the experience. It would have been easy to spend a few hours in my room alone with another boy (we did this anyway, playing games and such) and progress from parallel masturbation to masturbating each other to bodily contact — and much earlier in my life than I ever did with a girl. So, I would have shared my sexual life with another person much earlier and it would have been with someone who was built like me, knows what a penis feels like, and was proud of having one. Instead, I think many girls somewhat feared the penis. I also would have been aware of doing or being something a lot of boys held in high contempt. Now, I might flash back to those sessions and spend most of my time looking at pictures of males while I masturbate instead of flashing back to hetero petting and sexual contact, which was much more strained (we couldn't be alone together in those days, much less in my room) and took place a lot later in my teenage history, by which time I had masturbated alone for more than 8 years. I have never met a woman who could masturbate me very well, and at least that would be very different if I'd had male partners instead.
- age 53, Indiana
Being a gay man for the past three years, and having been straight for the 9 before that (including having sex with women), I can't say my masturbation habits have changed at all. Perhaps the only noticeable difference is that I've learned about using real lube instead of lotion or the other silly things I used to use. Obviously, the mental images that stimulate me to masturbate have changed, but I can't say that about my technique.
- age 27, Virginia