Millions of people do it, but not a lot admit to it. Why is that? Why is there such a negative stigma surrounding masturbation, especially female masturbation? According to the statistical analysis website, FiveThirtyEight, around 84 percent of women have admitted to having ever masturbated (fivethirtyeight.com). So the conclusion is yes, women do masturbate. However, just because they admit to having ever masturbated in a research study, that doesn’t mean that they are likely to admit it in their day-to-day lives. The world around us shapes our perspectives and opinions about multiple practices. Due to that same societal pressure, female masturbation has been thought of as a dirty practice, something that only pornstars or incredibly promiscuous women do.

   The idea that masturbation could cause physical and mental harm was first introduced in the Eighteenth Century medical pamphlet titled Onania, or the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution. In that medical pamphlet, it was claimed that masturbation when “…frequently practis’d by women makes ‘em look pale, and those who are not of a good complexion swarthy and hagged. It frequently is the cause of the Hysteric Fits, and sometimes, by draining away all the radical moisture, consumptions” (huffingtonpost.com). People believed that masturbation would make them look ugly and lead to mental instability, so it’s no wonder women were silent about their self-pleasure.

   Thankfully, since then, it has been disproved that masturbating can be harmful. If anything, it has been proven to have multiple health benefits. According to the official Planned Parenthood website, masturbation can help release sexual tension, reduce stress, relieve menstrual cramps and muscle tension, and it can also help improve someone’s self esteem (plannedparenthood.org). So girls, let’s be candid. Just as Senior Drew Reems-Webley explained, “I think masturbation is a topic that we should be able to have open conversations about.” Self-exploration is normal and can have benefits.

   Yet even now, it’s different for a girl to talk openly about masturbation than it is for a guy. Although there is a negative stigma surrounding masturbation for both genders, if a girl admits to touching herself, it raises many questions. Questions such as, “Is she that desperate?” “Does that mean she’s not a virgin anymore?” or my personal favorite, “Doesn’t she have someone who can do it for her?” Let’s start with the first question: a girl who wants to participate in sexual exploration isn’t “desperate” or “needy.” It is completely normal to want to know more about your body because arousal is part of developing sexually as a human being. Secondly, there are a lot of misconceptions regarding virginity, but for now, let’s just use the age-old definition (If she hasn’t had sexual intercourse, she’s a virgin.). Lastly, masturbating is an act of sexual exploration that can help someone learn about him or herself better and figure out what he or she likes. It’s not necessarily a replacement for a partner. A Canadian study done in 2017 found that girls who masturbate regularly can more easily recognize and acknowledge their sexual needs (medium.com).

   One of the ways to help break the stigma around female masturbation is to recognize that it is normal and it shouldn’t be something that we should feel ashamed about discussing. Talk about it. If you masturbate, don’t feel ashamed. If you don’t masturbate, that’s cool too.