My first masturbation-related experience happened when I was around 9 years old. The gym at my school had a couple thick ropes that went all the way to the ceiling, and we would climb them every so often in gym class. I discovered that if I climbed up the ropes and then held my position long enough, I would get a really funny, but good, feeling between my legs. Another way I got this mysterious feeling was to hang onto a wooden bar and lift my legs off the ground for a minute or two.
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embarrassment
Paper trail
My first recollection of my own sexuality is about 5th grade or so. I remember having some sort of sore muscle in my arm or back, so I went to get the electronic back massager we had. I was sitting on my bed using this when it occurred to me for some reason I shall never know: "I wonder what this would feel like on my penis?" Not being one to wonder for long, I put it down there, and it felt good — so I decided to leave it there. After a few minutes, everything began to tense up and I didn't know if it was hurting or feeling good, but I left it there, and finally, I had my first orgasm.
My good feeling
The first I can remember receiving pleasure from touching myself was when I was a young boy, probably around age 5 or so. Saturday and Sunday mornings were always quiet around the house, as the older people recuperated from the week, and I was allowed to lounge around in my PJs and watch cartoons in the den. Usually I was alone, and I can remember idly playing with my penis with my hand down in my pants.
Gym class camaraderie
I began masturbating just before my 12th birthday. I learned it by accident. I had been watching a movie with my older brother, and it had a sex scene. I was watching intently when I heard my brother moan quietly. I glanced at him just as he was removing his hand from his pants. I asked him what he was doing and he said we would talk later that night when we went to bed. Because he was two years older than I was, he got to stay up an hour later than me.
Against the jets
I distinctly remember the first time I masturbated — it was after reading a book about puberty when I was 12. I was lying in bed and I had an erection. I didn't know about masturbation yet, but I did know about things like oral sex. For some reason, I thought, "I wonder what it feels like..." and tried, unsuccessfully, to get my penis into my mouth. Instead, I put saliva in my hand and put it on my erection — I thought of it as a simulation of my mouth.
Sex: Yes, please!
I grew up in the 1950s in Calvinistic South Africa. It was a very straight-laced and conservative place — still is, in many ways. My mom was very religious, and sex, in any form, was not a subject of discussion. At school the word "sex" was never used. We would talk of "gender" or, maybe, male and female. A form might ask what your "gender" was. At least the modern forms say "sex" — to which I always want to respond, "Yes, please!"
Lifelong quest
My nearly 9 years of masturbation have been plagued with misinformation. I keenly recall one of my early experiences: I was watching Saturday Night Live, and Dr. Joycelyn Elders was being portrayed, just after all the hoopla over her now-infamous remarks. At that time, I had just turned 12 and had been getting erections for some time, but was still uncertain exactly what they were good for other than embarrassment. Speaking with my parents on anything sex-related was, and still is, difficult.
Sound advice
Guys, if you have any questions about masturbation, "wet dreams," size, or anything, talk about it. Find an older male to ask questions or to observe — no matter how embarrassed you feel. I didn't do this, and it really screwed me up for years.
Penis guitar
I first learned about "playing with myself" when I was 6 or 7 years old. Before that I had always "played with myself" like any young boy does, but I had never really thought about it. Then one day I started thinking about it. I was at my best friend's house, and we were playing hide-and-seek with his neighbor. We bored of it, so we hid in his woodshed and locked the door. The neighbor soon tired of looking and went back to his house.
Couch car
To begin with, I am a 16-year-old male, so I haven't got much to tell. I'm sure my parents must know I masturbate, because they joke around with me about masturbation and the myths and call me names, and I think it's a good thing they know. I'm sure my dad, uncles, and male cousins have masturbated before. So I feel no shame, embarrassment, or guilt in masturbating.