While it is almost certain that a boy, even though isolated from all other boys from birth onward, would eventually discover masturbation, the great majority learn about it through observation or from talking with others. On the basis of what we know of prepubertal sexuality, the majority, if not all, of prepubertal individuals of both sexes could obtain pleasure from self-stimulation of the genitalia. Nevertheless, only a minority independently discover that deliberate genital manipulation can be intensely pleasurable. That so many should overlook a physiological potential must be attributed chiefly to the suppressive influence of our culture, the “don’t-touch-yourself-down-there” conditioning that our children receive. Such negative conditioning could not only prevent self-stimulation sufficient to result in the discovery of the sensual reward thereof, but could also prevent an experimenter from recognizing the significance of his or her exploratory behavior. Just as for centuries humans noted covers being displaced from boiling pots without grasping the concept of utilizing the power of steam, children often notice the mild pleasure of touching their genitalia without ever discovering masturbation in the sense of deliberate self-stimulation for erotic reward. One must also realize that masturbation, particularly among the prepubescent, does not always produce progressively increasing sexual arousal and pleasure; not infrequently masturbation simply “doesn’t work,” for reasons we do not as yet understand. In such cases experimentation does not lead to discovery and may even discourage later experiments.
Since learning is more often a gradual process than a sudden complete comprehension, many of those whom we interviewed could not say they had learned of masturbation from one specific source; rather they had learned from several. We have differentiated the following sources:
Independent self-discovery Talking or reading Observing others masturbating Being masturbated by someone else
Since many men reported several sources of knowledge, we devised four categories based on the: degree of social interaction involved:
I. Independent self-discovery only. No interaction.
II. Talking or leading about masturbation. Mild interaction. Included are those who reported .self-discovery as an additional source.
Thus we might call this category II plus I.
Observing others masturbate. Generally fairly strong interaction is involved. Included are those who listed talking, reading, or self-discovery as secondary sources—i.e., this category is III plus I and II.
Being masturbated by someone else. Maximum interaction. Included are those who also listed other sources of knowledge. This category is therefore IV plus I, II, and III.
Rather few are in category I, pure self-discovery; the percentages range from 3 to 20, with most (12 out of 16 groups) being between 9 and 16 per cent. The homosexual offenders cluster at the top of the rank-order with from 16 to 20 per cent. We suspect that since the homosexual offenders reached puberty earlier than the other groups, there may be a positive correlation between self-discovery and early puberty. To put it simply, perhaps the younger a boy is at the time of attaining puberty, the fewer pubescent friends he has to instruct him in the joys of masturbation. The third rank of the control group, whose members did not reach puberty particularly early or late, is probably due to another factor: social inhibition. “Good boys,” whose parents discourage associating with “bad boys,” are apt to receive sexual information and misinformation at a later date and, in consequence, have more time during which to discover independently the sexual facts of life.
More persons appear in category II, that of talking and reading as sources of knowledge, the range being from 13 to 42 per cent, with the control group at the top of the list. The three incest-offender groups rank third, fourth, and fifth—a curious consistency as yet inexplicable. The homosexual offenders cluster near the bottom, most of them having learned of masturbation more directly.
Category III displays the largest percentages of any, ranging from 19 to 54. The salient thing about observation as a mode of discovery is its commonness among most of the sex offenders and die prison group. We do not know to what degree observation stemmed from group discussion and exhibition. In an unknown number of instances the boy may simply have happened upon the scene or he may have been deliberately peeping. Nevertheless, group demonstrations (including two individuals as a group) were the rule rather than the exception. Male masturbation and heterosexual petting are the only two classifications of sexual activities in which a large proportion of people learn of them via observation. Within category III the most interesting phenomenon is the clustering of the homosexual offenders at the bottom of the rank-order, just below the control group. These offenders, as we shall see, learn of masturbation through direct physical action and not vicariously. The controls owe their relatively low rank, we suspect, to their being “good boys” who feared to engage in any open sexual situation.
Lastly, category IV consists of those whose initial knowledge of masturbation was derived in whole or in part from being masturbated by someone else. This other person was almost always about the same age as the subject (i.e., child-adult contacts were a minority) and was far more commonly another boy than a girl. The three homosexual-offender groups head the rank-order with from slightly over one third to nearly one half of them having learned of masturbation in this way. The other groups are scattered in rather meaningless fashion throughout the rest of the range. The control group, as one would anticipate, is rather low in rank. For most groups, being masturbated was the third commonest way of learning of masturbation: only the controls and one other group (aggressors vs. children) contained more men who had learned through self-discovery alone than through being masturbated.
While we did not question each interviewee about the age at which he first learned of self-masturbation, we do know that such knowledge is virtually universal among males within a few years, plus or minus, of puberty.
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