Masturbation

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Masturbation describes the action of touching and exploring your own sexual body parts.

Masturbation feels good to many people. It can also be a helpful way to learn about yourself, what kind of sexy touching that you like and what kind of sexy touching that you don’t like. It is important that you only masturbate in a private place, for reasons of consent and respect to people around you.

Every person is different; some people like to masturbate frequently, some people once in a while, and some people don’t enjoy it at all. Some people only like to masturbate around their sexual partner(s). A person’s desire to masturbate may change throughout their life. This is all normal. There is no right amount of masturbating a person can do, it is completely up to them. The only time where masturbation might be a concern is if it begins to affect a person’s work, school or personal life. In cases like these you might consider seeing a counsellor or therapist, as masturbation should not negatively affect other parts of your life.

When you masturbate by yourself, there is no risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection or an unwanted pregnancy.

There are some easy safety tips you can take into account when practicing masturbation. First, it is best if all objects you touch yourself with, including hands and sex toys, are clean. If you are in a hurry and aren’t sure if your sex toy is clean, consider putting a new condom over it. If you are masturbating and sharing a sex toy, be sure the toy is cleaned thoroughly before being passed to another person (as the sex toy may have the other person’s fluid on it, there can be a risk of STI transmission or pregnancy, depending on the type of sexual activity)

Have fun exploring!

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