Masturbation Myths

There exists almost universal agreement by medical doctors that masturbation is a normal, safe, and common practice.
However, masturbation continues to be associated with embarrassment, shame, and guilt, primarily due to societal perceptions of the act.
Because of this, several myths about masturbation have taken hold which need to be addressed.

Men who masturbate frequently will run out of semen

The truth? A man produces semen throughout his life. Masturbation will not deplete men of semen, because it is constantly replaced. But if one over-masturbated, if might depleted his bio-energy and accelerate the pace of aging. Many symptoms of over-masturbation, such as hair thinning, weak erection, premature ejaculation, and lower back pain can occur.

Masturbation leads to homosexual activity

The truth? Masturbation does not determine a person's sexual orientation. Just because you like to touch your own body, doesn't mean you want to touch someone else's!

People who masturbate can't be aroused any other way

The truth? Masturbation is healthy, and it won't make a person less responsive to stimulation by a partner. In fact, masturbation is a good way to learn about your body and sexual responsiveness. Men can use masturbation to learn how to prolong the time it takes to ejaculate. Women can learn what an orgasm feels like and how to produce it. And this can make sex with a partner more satisfying.

Only teenagers masturbate

The truth? Frequency of masturbation may be highest among people between 24-50. Masturbation also occurs within marriages. The idea that only sexually frustrated teens masturbate is a myth.

One can get STD or AIDS from masturbation

The truth? You cannot get AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease from playing with yourself. These diseases are sexually spread, which means the germ that causes the disease (HIV in the case of AIDS) has to come from somewhere -- and that somewhere is an infected partner. If you have the disease, you have the disease whether you masturbate or not. If you don't have the disease, you cannot get it by playing with yourself.
Manual sex with a partner--that is where you touch the partner's organs with your hands, and vice versa--can theoretically provide an opportunity for the transmission of some kinds of sexually transmitted diseases, especially if semen or blood from one person comes in contact with broken skin of the other person. The risk involved in such activities is estimated to be extremely low, but it is NOT zero.
Group masturbation (circle jerks) where you play with yourself and the other parties play with themselves do not involve the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases if you don't come in contact with blood or semen from anyone except yourself and you don't touch anyone else's sexual parts. Naturally, you can catch a cold if another person sneezes. If you want the risk of STDs to remain zero, you have to avoid sharing sex toys or towels that may have fresh fluids on them.