naked

I grew up in the bush in Australia. We lived in a scattered community. The one-teacher school, with a couple of dozen kids, was in a village a couple of miles away, so we had to walk to and from school though the bush. I was 7 years old and in 3rd grade, but we all played together with boys in the upper grades. One afternoon I set off to walk home after school and was joined by three 9- and 10-year-olds. They told me that they wanted to show me something. We stopped at a picnic spot on the edge of the bush.

My first strong memory of getting an erection is from when I was 4 or 5 years old. My mom and I were walking around in a department store, and she happened to notice I had a tent in my pants. This seemed to embarrass her a little, but being so young it didn't embarrass me at all. She asked me if I had to go to the washroom, and because I didn't, I said no. But back then, I didn't even know why my penis got hard and stuck out like that. I just figured it was what happened when I needed to urinate, and I gave no more thought to it.

My first memory related to my genitals dates to an incident that occurred when I was about 4. Three other boys of the same age and I decided to compare the sizes of our penises. Incredibly, we did so in broad daylight in the parking area of our apartment building! I don't know if we were observed by anyone, but nothing was ever said — to me, at any rate. There were no further such episodes or anything else related to it.

I grew up in a Southern family that was extremely religious. We never talked about sex, alcohol, or bodily functions. Our home was almost puritanical; I never saw my dad or brothers naked. I'm sure that my mother was actually afraid of sex; my dad never spoke of it, although I think he had a very strong libido, so he was probably hugely frustrated most of the time. (In mid-life he left my mother to have a torrid affair with another woman.) I began to have sexual fantasies around age 10, although I didn't realize that's what they were.

Like most other people here, I have been masturbating for most of my life. I'm 24 now, but I first started doing it at age 11 and have been going at it on average at least twice a day from that point on. Unlike most other people here, I was sexually aware at a much younger age than when I started masturbating. What I mean is that I was having constant erections as early as 6 years old, and I can remember playing with my penis every time I was naked (bathtub, toilet, changing clothes, etc.).

I had my first masturbation session when I was at the start of my teen years, age 13. Nope, I didn't discover it by accident — it was because I got curious about what my classmates were telling me about the good experiences they had while masturbating, which then I would discover as the art of orgasm.

As a young child through 8th grade (age 14), I was sent to a private Christian school. This school was very strict in the teachings they presented to us. Everything was completely religion-based. Even the science and history classes were all about "God's plan." Anyway, I think this background is what kept me from masturbating at an early age like most young boys. When I was a little kid, I didn't even think about what my penis was for. I was not even concerned with myself in that sense until the end of 6th grade when I was 12.

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.

I've masturbated for as long as I can remember. For all I know, I may have been busy masturbating when I was born. Of course, my technique when I was young wasn't very sophisticated. I'd lie on my front, I'd use my right hand to clamp my flaccid penis against my right leg, and I'd cup my left hand over my scrotum, which I held to my left. Then, I'd wiggle my groin. I masturbated like this at least once a day, and I think my penis may have been my favorite plaything. It certainly is the only plaything I still play with 30 some years later!

I started noticing differences between boys and girls' bodies in nursery school. The boys and girls didn't have separate restrooms; I thought that girls had to urinate sitting down because their penises weren't fully developed like boys (of course we urinated standing).