Masturbation

As your body changes, you might want to touch and explore it in ways that you have never thought about before. Masturbation is the term used to describe touching or rubbing your genital area for sexual pleasure.

There are different ways of masturbating. There is no correct way; you just masturbate in a way that feels good to you.

Boys often hold the penis at the shaft and move their hands up and down, others may want to rub their penis. Girls may like to like to use their fingers or rub their vagina or the area around their clitoris.

The pleasurable feeling experienced when masturbating is called orgasm and is felt throughout the body.

There are many myths about masturbation:

• It does not, no matter how many times a day you masturbate, affect your sex life or make you infertile;
• It is natural for people of all ages and genders to masturbate so don’t be scared or feel guilty, it is a great way of exploring and identifying what you like and don’t like sexually;
• You can masturbate as often as you want, if you don’t want to at all, don’t feel like you have to.

The most important thing to remember is that if you do decide to masturbate, it should always be done in private. For some people, masturbation can lead to feelings of guilt or shame, particularly if there are religious or cultural taboos that tell people it is inappropriate or wrong, but it is completely normal and extremely common.

More information and answers to common questions.