Some thoughtful responses from gay, bisexual, and straight readers mentioned the concern of such intimate behavior changing or spoiling the friendship, causing one or both friends to feel awkward afterward. To many of these people, particularly gay men, friends are friends and lovers are lovers. Masturbating a friend makes that person into a lover. But other people could see the possibility of a friendship involving casual intimate behavior such as mutual masturbation, without the complications of love attachments. Many of these people told of experiencing such incidents.]
My best friend is female, and the first time I met her I was extremely attracted to her, but we never got it together in that way. Now, I'm kind of glad that we didn't, because our friendship is fantastic. Still there's no denying that once I was desperate to do that — and a whole lot more, besides. Now? Well, I don't think I would. If it were guaranteed not to harm our friendship in any way (I'm sure it would be fun, and I reckon she could teach me a thing or two) then I'd consider it. Although she's gorgeous, I don't think of her in a sexual way any more. We're too close now for me to risk ruining it for a few minutes of fun.
- age 21, United Kingdom
This Week's Wackiest Response:
My best friend is an antelope named Frudrick. I think that if I masturbated him, it would be very very wrong. But if he asked nicely....
- age 16, South Carolina (female)
I would love to masturbate my best friend! I would do it under any circumstances, and it would take no convincing at all. All he would have to do is ask. He's really cute, and I would love to pleasure his penis for him.
- age 22, Illinois
I have always fantasized about masturbating my friends; yet, I've never had the guts to bring it up or mention it. I'm concerned that they may see it as a gay activity. I would do it just for pure pleasure and wouldn't expect or require the favor to be returned, though it would be great if it were.
- age 19, Kentucky
I'm sure there is enough marijuana and alcohol in my town to get me to masturbate my friend — but sober? No way!
- age 16, Tennessee
What a way to lose a best friend!
- age 65, Pennsylvania
I think I would masturbate my best friend. There is an attraction there and we talk about masturbation a lot. I think it would be a good experience. And, I don't think it would take much convincing.
- age 15, New York
I probably wouldn't masturbate my best friend, since I'm not really attracted to him. But I have friends whom I would be more than willing to masturbate, even though they're not sexual partners and are in fact heterosexual. I'd be much more likely to masturbate a friend whom I find attractive than one I don't, even if our relationship were and would continue to be non-sexual. I would have to be in the actual situation to know how much convincing I'd need.
- age 46, Tennessee
Never! No offense, but that is gay.
- age 13, New York
Until I asked myself this question, I didn't realize that I don't have a best friend other than my wife. The last best friend I had was my roommate in boarding school, and we still keep in touch. I remember once after we had both gone to bed, I was so horny that I just had to masturbate. I said, "Oh, hell" and started working on myself in the dark. I think he snickered in an understanding way and ignored me. I can't imagine him asking for me to masturbate him today; but if he did, I would decline in the most gentle way possible. I still value his friendship but would be very uncomfortable touching him intimately.
- age 49, New Jersey
I'd probably do it if he would do it back to me and he didn't tell anybody. Also, I would do it only if it was certain that things wouldn't get weird between the two of us.
- age 16, Pennsylvania
I would not masturbate my platonic best friend. If I did try it, I know I would feel very awkward afterwards. This would most likely change our relationship and not for the good. I don't think it would be worth the chance even to try it. I believe masturbation is for my lover and me to share.
- age 46, New Jersey (female)
I would never, ever, lose that position of trust with a male! Perhaps with a female, but never with a male.
- age 15, Australia
My wife would find this to be against our vows of monogamy, so I guess the circumstance would have to be if I were single. I am not particularly curious about my best friend's penis, but if I were single and he really wanted to try it, I would do it for him.
- age 39, North Carolina
I would never masturbate a friend; it would just be too weird. But I would masturbate a stranger.
- age 17, New Jersey
I have never had the opportunity and if it came about that we could share this experience in a private way, I would go for it. The option to explore each other in this personal way would cause our friendship to grow. How the circumstances would arrive would be the interesting topic. I'm not sure how the conversation might come up.
- age 30, North Carolina
I would masturbate with my friend only if he promised not to tell anyone about it. It probably would not take that much convincing because I have always wanted to masturbate with a friend.
- age 16, New York
Well, my best friend is a girl. And I'm gay. So... probably not.
- age 19, Illinois
No! That's weird! Masturbation is sex for one and should stay sex for one. Not two!
- age 15, New Jersey
No, non, no, nein and nee. So, certainly not. I could do it with many friends but not with my best friend. That one is too special to lose.
- age 42, the Netherlands
For me, it would never be enough just to masturbate him. He is really hot, but straight with a steady girlfriend. I also have a girlfriend; but I am bi, which nobody knows. As much as I would love to masturbate him, I know it would ruin our friendship. Knowing that it would never be more than me masturbating him would leave me unsatisfied. Sometimes the fantasy is better than the reality.
- age 16, Connecticut
If my best friend asked me to masturbate him I would do it for him. I've never touched another guy's penis before, but would love to try it just to see what it feels like to pleasure another guy.
- age 28, Washington
I would have to seriously consider whether to masturbate my best friend. It would not be an issue if I were to masturbate someone else — that would be an easy yes. My concern is that with my best friend, it could ruin our friendship. That would be something that we would remember forever, and I'm not sure I would want that. I'm male and my best friend is female. Actually, all of my friends are. This of course, would make it even more of an issue. I think that the lack of a sexual relationship being involved is what makes my opposite-sex friendships so strong now. Everything would be completely different after such an experience. I almost definitely wouldn't do it for anything.
- age 16, New Jersey
I really don't think I could masturbate my best friend, just because it would be odd to have to confront him after it was done. There would be a weird, "I know what your penis looks like and how it works," thing going on. There are some things you don't need to know about your friends.
- age 19, Indiana
Never! Looking at another man's genitals, let alone touching them, makes me feel physically sick. I might go ahead with it if there were a gun pointed to my head, but that's about it.
- age 16, United Kingdom
I don't really know... I think when I was in puberty, I probably would have done it with my best pal if the situation had ever happened — just out of curiosity. Now, at age 31, hmm... I would have to be very drunk or in a very silly, "male-bonding" mood for a new experience. And, I'd need a hell of a lot confidence. Probably, I would have to tell my wife afterwards for a laugh...
- age 31, Switzerland
I definitely would, because my best friend is my boyfriend. Although I haven't been able to bring myself to masturbate myself in front of him, I plan to attempt this on his birthday this December.
- age 18, Washington (female)
I would masturbate him if he had two broken arms or something so that he couldn't do it, was going nuts, and couldn't take it anymore. I would help him have a release.
- age 16, Massachusetts
I would gladly do this for any of my male friends. I know they all masturbate anyway, but it's really nice to share such a wonderful and pleasing experience with somebody. I am single and not sexually active, so masturbation is all I have. Being touched and touching someone else is one of our basic necessities as humans, so to gratify someone who is so important in my life, even if they don't want to reciprocate — I can't think of a more wonderful experience.
- age 25, Georgia
I would masturbate with a friend under any conditions, especially if we were out camping alone where we knew that we wouldn't be found. I would be easy to convince and I think he would be willing, too.
- age 15, Australia
Never! The best way to mess up a perfectly good friendship is to throw sexual interaction into the mix — for any reason. The only exception might be if he were hospitalized and in a full body cast that rendered him absolutely helpless with no way to "get in touch with himself." Even in long runs of having the lousiest luck with dates, I've never asked my closest friend to get me off and I know he'd never ask it of me. After all, we're just friends.
- age 53, New York
My female best friend? Probably not. That would bring about all kinds of weird vibes. It would be like my sister asking me to masturbate her. My best male friend? Maybe. It might take a little convincing and he would have to be willing to masturbate me as well for me to consider it.
- age 17, New Jersey
The title "best friend" means that the person is one who understands my feelings, desires, and actions, and still chooses to be around me. So I would have no reason to keep masturbation, which is a big part of my life, from him. With that in mind, I would also have no reason to refrain from masturbating him if he needed or wanted me to. All he'd have to do is ask. And I would hope he would also feel the same way if I were to ask.
- age 67, Texas
My best friend is a girl who is very attractive. She doesn't look at me in any sexual way, although I sometimes feel that way about her. I would never go beyond friends with her, but I would like to try some mutual masturbation. However, I suspect that she would never go for it because she considers me like a "brother" to her.
- age 17, Florida
In private, yes. In public, no! It would not take much convincing under any circumstances. I would look at it more as a bonding thing than a sexual thing. You are giving pleasure to your best friend, not trying to have sex with him. I feel there's a significant difference between the two. As I understand it, our late unlamented President did not consider this to be sex, either.
- age 58, New Jersey
It really wouldn't bother my friend to do this, because we both are very secure about our sexuality, being heterosexuals. Nor would it take much convincing because we are so close — we share everything.
- age 15, North Carolina
I would very much like to masturbate my best friend. I'm sure that under the right circumstances, it could happen. But he's happily married and I know neither of us would want to risk his ultimate happiness.
- age 29, Arkansas
Even with a lot of convincing I wouldn't be able to. Call me homophobic, but that's way too borderline homosexual for me. The only thing I might consider doing if no one found out would be to masturbate while in the same room as my best friend. Then there would be no physical contact, but I could still notice the way he does it or compare appearances.
- age 15, New York
I don't think I ever would masturbate with my best friend because he is also male and it's beyond the scope of our relationship. I would feel much more comfortable masturbating with someone I didn't know quite as well so that there wouldn't be any unnecessary awkwardness later. That way, I would feel more comfortable to try different things, such as mutual masturbation.
- age 19, Missouri
I would masturbate my best friend if she asked me to. She probably wouldn't do it for me if I asked her, though. I would do it under any circumstances, because I would like to experiment with another girl.
- age 13, Kansas (female)
My best friend is male and I'm gay, so I don't think I'd ever want to masturbate him. He would have to really want it. Masturbating with another guy makes him my sexual partner, not just a fellow masturbator. When I start off a friendship with a guy I'm sexually attracted to, I consider it pre-romance, so masturbation with him wouldn't be just masturbation. I might masturbate a female friend out of curiosity if she initiated, but it would probably take a lot of convincing since the female body doesn't hold much sexual interest for me.
- age 37, New York
I don't think I would have a problem with the actual *physical* part of masturbating my best friend, but I would be too afraid that other people would find out, or something else bad would happen.
- age 14, Missouri
I can't imagine doing something that sensual or sexual with a friend. Even though I'm gay and most of my best male friends are gay, we don't have sex together. If my best friend was down with two broken arms I would consider finding him a "buddy" to help him out but I wouldn't do the duty myself nor would I want any of my friends to help me. I would rather help a buddy move! (Which is a hateful task.)
- age 42, Texas
Although I don't think I would ever have the nerve to bring it up, I would definitely masturbate my best friend. I have never done anything like it with another guy before, and I'm not gay; but I've always been pretty curious about what it would feel like to play with someone else's penis. For at least the past year or so I have been thinking about it when I masturbate. Lately, I've been thinking about how I could offer without the risk of him thinking I'm weird.
- age 16, California