Campus Confidential
Traci Tyler
Issue date: 9/18/09 Section: Opinion
Masturbation. The majority of us do it, so why is the topic so taboo? Jokes are made about blindness and hairy palms, and I remember a joke from my youth that equated the number of times a person masturbated to the number of times a fan with their name on it revolved in heaven once they had come to the pearly gates. The punch line was that the fan of the last person named in the joke was being used to cool everyone off, and it was utterly shameful at the time to be "that boy/girl."
The topic is so forbidden that former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was forced to resign from her post for saying that the practice should be taught in school health programs as a means of preventing teens from engaging in sexual activity. Right-wing activists were quick to attack her for wanting to "corrupt" the youth, and rather than risk losing popularity himself, President Clinton had her fired, all for suggesting that we be given the green light on something most of us figured out anyway.
I don't understand why people are so afraid of their own sexuality. We are made to believe that natural urges and desires are wrong, shameful and disgusting when in fact they are just the opposite. Masturbation is safe, calming, proven to reduce the pain of headaches and menstrual cramps and believe me, a lot of fun. It amazes me that I've had people tell me that they do not engage in the practice, and even more, that they never have.
I myself began the practice at the ripe young age of 13, and sure, at first I wasn't exactly sure what was going on the first time I climaxed. Once I figured it out, however, it was something I regularly enjoyed, and a lot more fun than reading or watching TV when I was bored. Best of all, there was no chance of getting pregnant or contracting an STD.
I'm not promoting the idea of abstinence; that is unrealistic and frankly rather too Puritanical for my tastes. However, I also don't demand that you broadcast your masturbation habits and/or schedule to the world. I just ask that you personally acknowledge it as a healthy, productive way of fulfilling your desires without feeling ashamed about it.
Here's to good vibrations.
The topic is so forbidden that former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was forced to resign from her post for saying that the practice should be taught in school health programs as a means of preventing teens from engaging in sexual activity. Right-wing activists were quick to attack her for wanting to "corrupt" the youth, and rather than risk losing popularity himself, President Clinton had her fired, all for suggesting that we be given the green light on something most of us figured out anyway.
I don't understand why people are so afraid of their own sexuality. We are made to believe that natural urges and desires are wrong, shameful and disgusting when in fact they are just the opposite. Masturbation is safe, calming, proven to reduce the pain of headaches and menstrual cramps and believe me, a lot of fun. It amazes me that I've had people tell me that they do not engage in the practice, and even more, that they never have.
I myself began the practice at the ripe young age of 13, and sure, at first I wasn't exactly sure what was going on the first time I climaxed. Once I figured it out, however, it was something I regularly enjoyed, and a lot more fun than reading or watching TV when I was bored. Best of all, there was no chance of getting pregnant or contracting an STD.
I'm not promoting the idea of abstinence; that is unrealistic and frankly rather too Puritanical for my tastes. However, I also don't demand that you broadcast your masturbation habits and/or schedule to the world. I just ask that you personally acknowledge it as a healthy, productive way of fulfilling your desires without feeling ashamed about it.
Here's to good vibrations.
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