Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I am not going to try and convince you that masturbation is inherently evil, or that
even the rare, isolated indulgence in carnal self-pleasuring will lead to a life of depravity,
moral degradation, and damnation. Such is not my aim, for that would be absurd. What I
do want to point out is that masturbation is not as innocuous a behavior as people would
lead you to believe. Masturbation can, if indulged in too frequently, lead to depression,
loneliness, and even addiction. Therefore, it is my well-informed stance that the teaching
of masturbation should be left out of educational curriculum and left up to the people
The act of masturbation is not uncommon, but by teaching our children that it is a
masturbation is and should be a part of everyday life. But what if such pro-masturbatory
messages create a competitive atmosphere, where our children feel pressured to engage in
self-pleasuring to feel “normal,” or to “fit in?” And what if that pressure results in
psychological states, have a long and rich history. In the book The Science of Life,
published by the Peabody Medical Institute, Dr. Parker (1881) wrote of the debilitating
excessive loss of semen was found to lead to physical weakness, low sperm count, sperm
weakness and even impotence. Although much has changed in our understanding of
Masturbation: Not as harmless 3
human physiology since the year that Dr. Parker wrote his acclaimed scientific inquiry,
reports.
In an interview with Dr. John White (1984), a spiritual leader, and well-published
author and intellectual, the topic of masturbation was discussed. In Dr. White’s words,
but it increases loneliness” (p. 13). Social isolation and depression go hand in hand.
Youk, Matthews, Kravitz & Powell, 2004; Davidson, Miller, Turnbull & Sullivan, 1982;
According to Dr. White (1984), “pursuing pleasure for pleasure’s sake will, in actual
fact, lead to the ever-increasing need for stimulation” (p.13). Typically, in the U.S.A.,
college is the first place that students are allowed to freely discuss topics of sexuality,
including masturbation, so it should be no surprise that more and more studies are being
or very frequent was 71%. In another study on college men, an alarming rate of
masturbatory addiction was found. In this study the sexually addicted were characterized
Depressed college aged women have also been found to engage in excessive
and lower degrees of sexual and emotional satisfaction with women’s partners, both in
college age and middle age samples (Cyranowski, Bromberger, Youk, Matthews, Kravitz
& Powell, 2004; Frohlich & Meston, 2002). In the wise words of Dr. White
(1984),“masturbation indicates that all is not well. Masturbation could prove a hindrance
to normal heterosexual relationships” (p.13). The research thus far cited, indicate that
If only evidence pointing to links between masturbation and depression existed, that
are studies linking masturbation with a number of undesirable behaviors and outcomes.
Frequency of masturbation has been linked to transvestic fetishism (Langstrom & Zucker,
2005), exhibitionistic and voyeuristic behavior (Langstrom & Seto, 2006), kleptomania
(Fishbain, 1987), and even the development of carpal tunnel syndrome (2002). Although
such correlations could arguably be boiled down to a “what came first, the chicken or the
Once again, the argument is not whether masturbation is inherently good or bad. The
what we can to protect our children’s innocence? Our children need to be taught positive
social skills, and how to be good, law-abiding, morally-sound citizens; not to engage in
behavior that may lead down a path toward isolation, depression, masturbatory addiction
and sexual deviance. When it comes to educational curriculum, what is taught to our
Masturbation: Not as harmless 5
children should never carry with it any unforeseen risks. For the sake of our children,
let’s keep the topic of masturbation out of the classroom, and relegate it to where it
belongs, in the homes being taught by the best educators of children there are, the
parents.
Masturbation: Not as harmless 6
References
Cyranowski, J. M., Bromberger, J., Youk, A., Matthews, K., Kravitz, H. M., & Powell, L.
Doup, L. (2002, October 4). Who’s to blame? Sun-Sentinal (Fort Lauderdale, FL), 2-2.
Frohlich, P., & Meston, C. (2002). Sexual functioning and self-reported depressive
Kwee, A. W., Dominguez, A. W., & Ferrell, D. (2007). Sexual addiction and Christian
Langstrom, N., & Zucker, K. J. (2005). Transvestic fetishism in the general population:
Prevalence and correlates. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 31, 87-95.
Parker, J. (1881). The science of life: A medical treatise on nervous and physical debility,
White, J. (1981). Keyhole interview: Dr. John White. The Wittenburg Door, 60, 12-20.