I had heard masturbation is wrong and that no one does it except for "you." I had also heard that getting aroused around other males is "gay," and definitely so if you masturbate simultaneously or mutually — even once. (I suppose the converse could also have been stated — that masturbating around or with females, even once, makes you straight.) These were quite difficult times for me as a youth. I had no idea how horny I was going to be. I spent much more time with guys than girls, especially early in puberty, and I was naturally curious. My masturbation experiences with other boys really troubled me and made sex into a shameful experience.
- age 35, Washington
This Week's Wackiest Response:
I heard that masturbating makes you blind — so that's why I have to walk around with this damn dog to do all the seeing for me!
- age 18, New York
In a book for teens about sex, an advice columnist once wrote that people who can't stop playing with themselves were called homosexuals. That made no sense (all my fantasies were and are about females), but I took it as the truth. After all, it *was* in a book, wasn't it? Well, I couldn't stop masturbating once I'd learned how, because we all know how hard that is. And so for a while I made up my mind that I must be homosexual, and kids that age (around 13) were pretty hard on that. I felt terrible for a while, but I kept on masturbating and dreaming about girls, and pretty soon the truth became evident — I was just a normal hetero guy getting it all figured out. Some of the happiest moments of my life have occurred when I was masturbating as well as when I was having intercourse. Whether you like girls or guys or both is fine with me, but we can all do without myths like that.
- age 51, Illinois
I never heard any myths about masturbation, except that it makes your penis bigger.
- age 15, California
As a teenager in a boys' boarding school, I heard *all* the myths about hairy palms, going blind, and so on. Our dorm had four rows of double bunks and a total of 80 or 90 beds. It was totally obvious to me what the lad in the lower bunk was doing. I am sure it was the same for him when I masturbated, which was at least once every night. As I listened to other bunks around me, it became obvious that all the others were frantically masturbating just as often as I was. Nobody was growing hair on his palms or had failing eyesight. This was in the 1950s, and today youngsters have so much more information that tells them this is all so completely normal.
- age 61, Australia
I was 8 when I started playing with myself. I didn't know what it was called and hadn't heard one thing about masturbation. For me, every night was a worry-free sexual fantasy!
- age 15, Colorado
"I heard that my dead relatives would
follow me around to keep an eye on me."
I heard from certain authority figures in the Boy Scouts and my Catholic school that not only would God see me doing it, but so would my dead relatives, who would follow me around to keep an eye on me. So, I was absolutely terrified my favorite uncle was going to witness me masturbating and disown me from beyond the grave. How disturbing is that?
- age 27, Florida
When I was 13 I heard masturbation causes testicular and prostate cancer later on. It scared the stuffing out of me, but it didn't stop me, because the urge was always too much to handle.
- age 16, Oklahoma
Well, I heard the usual hairy palms, weak knees, blindness, etc. However, the biggest myth was that most of my friends didn't masturbate. We teased each other about it when we were young, but in high school we all admitted to doing it.
- age 20, Indiana
I was told that when you masturbate, if your semen doesn't spray out of your penis, that your penis is too tight and you should see a doctor. Mine normally just trickles out. So I was freaked out for a bit, but then I found everyone is different in that way.
- age 13, Canada
That masturbation will grow hair on your palms, make you go blind, cause you to have warts, deplete or exhaust your sperm, make your penis shorter, longer, fatter, fall off — you name it and I heard it growing up. Not always from the most reliable sources, either — mostly from friends, who also didn't have a clue. Only from my mother did I hear the one about blindness. (I really wanted to ask about stopping when I needed glasses, but I already wore those!) I found out that none of these myths was true. Masturbating didn't even make your forearms bulge so people would know you masturbated. Of course, there was the guilt, both mental and spiritual (you know, that God killed Onan for masturbating), which I also found as I got older was not the case. So, I guess I got the full gamut of lame excuses and myths about masturbation and how it was so awful.
- age 47, Texas
I once heard that masturbating in the shower worked well, but I tried it and I didn't get anything from it.
- age 12, Michigan
I believed my penis curved to the left because I masturbated with my right hand. I still have no reason to believe that's not true, but I know plenty of guys who have perfectly straight penises, who masturbate with their right (or left) hand, with no curvature. I also had bad acne, but my friend had no acne and masturbated as much as I did — so much for that. Believe it: Most myths are made up by insecure people just to make you feel insecure about yourself. Don't let that happen. Masturbation is beautiful and important. So are you.
- age 32, California
I have heard that your penis will shrink if you masturbate too much and that you can lose your eyesight. I know they are dumb, but when you're young, you'll really believe anything! I never heard much about female masturbation. As for any effect on me, I think masturbation is good and that it's much safer than partner sex, so who really cares?
- age 17, Missouri (female)
I heard a very funny myth — that masturbation helps to get rid of a cold. I still think it may be more than just myth, because sexual arousal gives a temporary boost to body temperature, blood pressure — even sweating. So it could have the same effect as hot tea with jam, which we know is good for you if you get a cold.
- age 25, Poland
I heard that masturbation causes STDs. But then in health class last year I learned it's totally untrue. You can only get an STD from contact with another person.
- age 13, Texas
I believed that masturbation was unnatural and abnormal: a sign of lacking self-discipline. This made me attempt to give it up at around age 13. I lasted for 7 weeks and developed a terrible stomach-ache that hurt all day long. The night I resumed masturbating, I had two wet dreams and masturbated 3 or 4 times before my stomach felt right again. After that, I always masturbated with no feelings of guilt.
- age 52, United Kingdom
When I was younger and before I had started menstruating, I got it into my head that I wouldn't start until I had stopped masturbating — like masturbating was somehow preventing my period from starting. Of course, I wasn't ever able to muster up the self-discipline to stop for too long, and my fears were soon assuaged upon the onset of menstruation. (Too bad it really doesn't stop your period — what an enjoyable form of birth control that would be!)
- age 19, Tennessee (female)
I heard a myth that guys are supposed to masturbate with other guys. I was 13 and my friend was over at my house one day. We started talking about chicks, and he said that we should go in the bathroom and give each other hand jobs while we're talking about it and said everyone does that. I since found out none of my other friends would ever do something like that.
- age 17, Canada
When I first began masturbating about 4 years ago, I was unsure whether or not it was a sin. This troubled me deeply at first. However, I did some research on the subject and found that the whole story of Onan was really mistranslated. Now I'm very (even extremely) comfortable with masturbation, and I've even pointed a few friends to this site (you know who you are). Looking back to my early feelings, I find it interesting that I formed my opinion based solely on the media and my peers, since neither my parents nor my church condemn masturbation.
- age 15, Georgia
I had always heard when I was younger that "playing with yourself" was something only those who were losers, sick, or perverted would ever do. That certainly didn't stop me or even slow me down. But it caused excruciating guilt and shame, and the feeling that I was the only one I knew who did it. Thanks to JackinWorld for helping to bring people out of that miserable hole! I'm happily married and still enjoy my regular "solos," now without any guilt or embarrassment. It makes masturbation now better than it has ever been for me.
- age 37, Hawaii
I was told that if I masturbated too much I could get a yeast infection or other types of diseases, but I tried it anyway and never got one, so it must have been a lie.
- age 15, Canada (female)
I hadn't heard any myths about masturbation. Sex education in my school district started in the 5th grade, so I was aware of what masturbation was. However, nobody reinforced masturbation positively when I was young, so I grew up thinking it was wrong.
- age 24, Wisconsin
I first heard at school that only losers masturbate, but I decided to try it anyway — and masturbating was the best thing! So I kept on doing it, thinking that all the losers at school must be on to a good thing.
- age 17, New Zealand
I heard that if a girl masturbates by rubbing against something instead of inserting or massaging, she wouldn't be able to orgasm from having a penis inside her. I am still wondering if that is true! [It isn't. -Ed.]
- age 14, South Carolina (female)
I heard that masturbating made you lose your ability to "go the full length in the real thing" — or in laymen's terms, made you ejaculate prematurely.
- age 18, Australia
No one in my family ever talked about sex or masturbation. I started quite young with masturbation — I was 8. I always thought girls shouldn't do it, and definitely not at that age. I always felt really guilty and like I was a slut. Luckily I now know masturbation is normal, and I don't feel ashamed anymore.
- age 15, The Netherlands (female)
When I was 12 or 13 years old and about in 8th grade or so, I can remember to this day a priest telling the boys that if we masturbated past age 19, we would be idiots for the rest of our lives. Well, 19 has come and gone, and from time to time I still think of that priest telling us that. What an awful thing to do!
- age 46, Florida
When I first started masturbating, I was told many a tale. For instance, if you masturbate you will become gay. Or things such as masturbation will make you ejaculate immediately during sex. I also got the standard myths, like hairy palms. At first I was afraid of these things, thinking that everyone I knew would find out I masturbated. Luckily, when I came upon JackinWorld, I found out that almost all the people who told me those things definitely masturbated. After that, I became much more confident. I no longer try to hide the fact that I masturbate.
- age 15, Canada
I had heard that a doctor could tell if you masturbate regularly when you get a pelvic exam — something about your genitals looking looser and redder than normal. I worried about that for a few years! Then I realized everyone's genitals are so different, how could a doctor know just by looking? Oh, and did it have any effect on my habits? No!
- age 32, New York (female)
I had not heard any myths — just good things about masturbation.
- age 17, Norway
I discovered masturbation on my own when I was 8. Then, I didn't know it had a name or whether anyone else did it. However, I do remember having some sense that what I was doing should be kept quite private and not shared with anyone, least of all my mother. Even so, it was not long after my discovery that my mother discovered my new habit and started trying to get me to stop — all to no avail. So early on, there were no myths — just a sense it was wrong. And I remember thinking of it as an addiction, like dope or alcohol. When I got into junior high school and had to take my clothes off with other boys in the locker room for the first time, the boy next to me looked at my curvy penis and said, "Wow! You must b**t off every day!" It was then I got the idea that too much masturbation could cause your penis to curve. I also found some resources at the library that discussed masturbation frankly and debunked all the myths. So I was prepared when my mother later suggested (still trying vainly to do what she saw as her parental duty) that if I stopped masturbating, my acne would improve. Yeah, right, Ma. And when I got to high school, I didn't fall for the hairy palms joke by looking at my hands, either. Only after many years as an adult have I been able to finally leave the old beliefs behind and accept that what I still do almost daily is healthy (physically and emotionally).
- age 59, New Jersey
I once was told that if you masturbate too much you would go blind. I started masturbating to see if it was true, but let me tell you — it's not, because I bring myself to multiple orgasms daily and still have 20/20 vision.
- age 16, Texas (female)
I was told two masturbation myths as I grew up — first, that you'll grow hairs on your palm, and second, that it will stunt your growth. I never took much notice of the first, since I'd never seen anyone with hairy palms. Moreover, close inspection of mine showed not a hair in sight. The second myth was a little more worrisome, as I was still growing and didn't want it to stop. But the pleasure I got (and still do) from masturbation was so great that even that concern wasn't going to stop me. As it turned out I've grown to 6 feet 1. I do have a small penis — but I prefer to blame my parents for passing the small-penis gene to me!
- age 34, United Kingdom
I had never heard any masturbation myths until I came to this site and read the myth collection. The friends who taught me about masturbation generally accepted it, so I never heard any of these myths from them.
- age 13, New Jersey
Essentially, I'd heard that masturbating would turn me into a pervert, and that normal people didn't do it. Later. I heard that masturbating indicated homosexuality. I also heard that continual masturbating would make it hard for a fortune-teller to read my palm! I guess the stroking would wear down my hand or something.
- age 27, Canada
Myths never bothered me, because when I was 5 or 6 my dad told me about masturbation being normal and okay. Then when I was about 8 he told me about all the myths I would hear and not to believe any of them. We are Catholic, and my dad said not to believe it is a sin or wrong, like Catholics are supposed to believe. I have enjoyed guilt-free masturbation from the very first time I did it, and my dad says he wishes his dad had told him the same things when he started to masturbate. Now he does it free from guilt, too.
- age 14, Maine
I heard all the usual ones around the time I started masturbating at 13. "It'll make you go blind," "you'll go insane," etc. Although I was a little concerned, I couldn't help but do it since it felt so good. Fortunately, my older sister had a little "chat" with me and dispelled all those myths. I've been masturbating worry-free ever since!
- age 40, California (female)
I heard you'd loose all of your pubic hair if you masturbate.
- age 15, United Kingdom
I had heard masturbation is dirty and wrong and that no one really does it, anyway — especially not nice girls! This affected me negatively, because I was 25 before I ever masturbated and had my first orgasm. That is just sad!
- age 28, Saskatchewan, Canada (female)
This isn't a myth, per se, but when I first started, I would always avoid people completely for an hour or so after finishing, because I was convinced people could tell if you'd just had an orgasm.
- age 20, Indiana
In fact, we had been taught about masturbation at school, and had been told it was "a very natural thing to do." We were even shown a video illustrating such things (cartoons, of course!) So, at first I thought, "That'll happen later." Then later, when it did "happen," I thought to myself, "Ye gods! I just did that thing — MASTURBATING." I was kind of freaked at first. Then I spent the day doing it. (Not all day!) I basically thought nothing of it, as I had been exposed only to the "positive side" of it all.
- age 14, New Zealand
The main two myths I heard were: "You'll go blind!" and "You'll get hairy palms!" Of course, I paid no attention because I figured it only applied to males! Looking back, I don't really know if I believed any of it or not; my father doesn't have hairy palms and neither does my boyfriend, and he relied on masturbation alone for more than 20 years!
- age 19, Australia (female)
I heard them all at school but ignored them. I just knew they were wrong. Likewise, I heard all the stupid stuff about naturism and I ignored that, too, because I knew that going naked was okay.
- age 44, United Kingdom
This is really embarrassing. I didn't *hear* this one; I guess I made it up myself. During my freshman year, I started getting a little bit of a "trail" (you know, that line of hair from your abs down toward your penis). And since I had just started ejaculating (in 8th grade) and the trail area is where the semen landed a lot of the time, I started thinking the semen was making the hair grow. I guess I figured out it wasn't true after I had a really huge orgasm and hair didn't start growing on my forehead. But seriously, it took me a while to figure out that the hair and semen were unrelated. (And by the way, I really *did* hit my forehead!)
- age 17, Illinois