the object to masturbate with. He also reported a man who came in with discomfort. After an X-ray, the doctor found a 14-inch cucumber in his rectum. The man stuck by his story, however, saying that he had slipped and fell while unloading groceries.
Another hazard of masturbation is more of a psychological problem. Studies have shown that masturbating too often and fantasizing about a certain person while you masturbate—especially someone in your day-to-day life—can lead to obsession and sometimes depression.
Myth #3: Men Masturbate Much More Than Women
Recent studies do prove that men masturbate more than women, but men don't do it A LOT more than women.
Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey did a decade of research that would begin breaking down many of society's misconceptions.The idea in the 1940s and 1950s was that women didn't masturbate, except those who were whores and non-Christians. When Kinsey's study came out and showed that 62 percent of women admitted to masturbating,many people were outraged.
The margin has narrowed. In 1993, study group Janus and Janus found that 95 percent of men and 89 percent of women said they masturbate.
"I lose a lot of respect for girls who say they don't ever masturbate," says Reba, a young woman who asked that her full name be kept private. "Its cool for guys to joke about it and talk about all the dirty details, but when women talk about it, it's weird."
The Medical Benefits
In the past century, doctors have been studying the possible positive effects of masturbation.
Researchers Staats and Hekmat tested the effects of masturbation on general pain. They had several students place their hands in ice water but asked half of them to have sexual fantasies they might have during masturbation.The study showed that the students who were fantasizing could keep their hands in the ice water much longer than the other students.
Performance artist Bob Flanagan, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, says he'd suffered his whole life from the disease until he discovered that he felt relieved from his pain when he masturbated and for several hours after.
Other test subjects for the researchers Couch and Bearss found that masturbation helped their headaches subside. The research was done mainly with women: Nearly half of the women who masturbated while they had a headache said it was gone after they finished. Others said it at least alleviated the ache.
Martha Cornog, author of The Big Book of Masturbation, says she hopes high schools and universities become more willing to talk about the subject, as she says it opens up conversation about the dangerous aspects of sex, and also gets people to own their sexuality earlier in life.
Most importantly, however, it starts to move this subject out of the realm of taboo.
"Once we do that." Cornog says, "We won't be looked at like rapists, weirdos and oversexed demons when we bring it up."
Masturbation slang from comedian George Carlin
The late Carlin once said, "If God had intended us not to masturbate, He would've made our arms shorter." Here's a sampling of Carlin-created slang for doing the nasty with yourself.
Buff the banana
Bop the baloney
Butter the corn
Clean your rifle
Crown the king
Fist your mister
Five against one
Gallop the antelop
Flute solo
Fondle the fig
Jackhammer
Jazz yourself
Manipulate the mango
Manual override
One man show
Paint the pickle
Pull your taffy
Pump the python
Ride the Great White
Shine your pole
Sling the jelly
Stroke your poker
Tenderize the meat
The five-knuckle shuffle
Tweak your twinkie
Wax the carrot
Wonk your conker
Wrestle the eel
September 4,2008
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