I'm 47 years old, and I can't remember when I didn't know what an erection was. When I had one, it was lots of fun to play with. I remember being a little boy in the bathtub with a little tiny erection, rubbing it between my fingers, and it felt so good. My parents didn't give me much grief about it; they just studiously ignored the matter. I got the subliminal message that I should do it in private, or maybe not do it at all.
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Prof. So-and-so
Piqued curiosity
I was never very conscious of erections, and at first, they were a pain — a needless, useless wonder. I'd get one, and if I noticed, I'd tap it to try to rid of it. At sleepovers when I was very young, friends would ask what they were. I had no idea, and told them so. This continued until I was about 10, at which point I decided (or was told) that erections were something to be hidden and covered up. Ironically, it was this decision/command that piqued my curiosity.
Book report
Growing up in a fairly (or depending upon how you look at it, unfairly) religious family, I was extremely naive about many things. One of those things was my penis. I don't remember taking note of my penis before age 14 — seriously, it was there so I could pee. Then one day, at the small private school I was attending, a new student that year (with whom I had recently made friends) made an interesting gesture with his hand in front of his groin after saying a joke.
No need to wait
I guess it all started when I was about 11 years old. Although I had heard of it, I wasn't masturbating then, because I thought you had to have started puberty before you could get an orgasm. So I hadn't even tried it.
Crossroads
I began to masturbate at about age 11, mainly due to curiosity about my body that a number of guys have when they start wanking. I was sitting in bed and noticed that my penis had gone stiff. I began to rub it with the "fist" method, and a little later I had this intense feeling, my first orgasm. I rushed to the bathroom, thinking I needed to pee quite badly. I thought all these feelings I had were odd, and didn't think about what I had done for a week or two. At about this time, my friends had been joking about wanking, and I had no real idea what they were talking about.
Celebrate with champagne
I have been playing with my penis since I was a child. My mom told me not to put my hands in my pants, but she didn't tell me anything when I played with it during a bath or in my bed. My first embarrassing incident was at age 5. I stayed in a hotel with my grandmother, and I woke up with a strong erection. I grabbed it and just kept it in my right hand. Suddenly my grandmother started to get up and uncovered me, too, for a bit. She asked me what I was doing in my pajamas. I pulled out my hand and did not say anything. Fortunately she did not say anything more.
Aggravation
I was not one of those boys who just happened to discover masturbation on his own. I needed to be taught. Thank goodness I found a good teacher: My best friend in 6th grade taught me the fine art of masturbation.
Mystery of the Hard Penis
My first introduction to the wonderful world of penises and masturbation occurred when I was in 5th grade. I was toddling from my classroom out to the playground when my best friend yelled out my name. I turned around. My buddy was wearing a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and he had a monster erection — well, monster by 5th-grade standards. "Hard as a rock!" he yelled excitedly. I smiled obliviously. What was that supposed to mean? The next morning, I asked my mom what it meant when my penis got hard. Predictably, she turned beet-red and told me to ask my father.
The maid's cart
From the days of early childhood, I can remember innocently humping pillows or playing with myself. I had no idea what I was doing, nor did I really care. All I knew was that it felt good. In kindergarten I can remember wrestling with the other kids and how good it felt when they would get on top of me and put pressure on my penis. At one point the neighbor kids and I would get together to show each other our penises. I am not really sure why we did it; it may have been simply because we knew we were not supposed to. I believe at age 10 I noticed my first semi-erection.
Renaissance paintings
My relationship with masturbation began sometime when I was about 10 or 11, although it had been developing for a while. I was in the 5th grade, and we had, after much anticipation and fear, completed the dreaded one-hour puberty class surprisingly painlessly. Though maddeningly vague and cutesy, it did, thankfully, explain to me what an erection was — a phenomenon I had experienced for years, and that I was wholly convinced was a freak mutation unique to myself.