Hot Topic #7: Masturbation – The Safest Sex

In June 2009, UNESCO published its draft version of its International Guidelines on Sexuality Education: An evidence informed approach to effective sex, relationships and HIV/STI education. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183281e.pdf.  The document explains the types of sexual education recommended for children and teens during differing stages of development. The recommends include teaching children ages 5 to 8 that curiosity about their own body is natural and self-touch can feel good. At the time of the document’s release, debate broke out about whether is appropriate to talk about masturbation with children. This lesson will help students focus on sociocultural messages that affect how people think about and talk about masturbation

Preparation: 

• Assign Carroll’s Chapter 10 to be read prior to the class meeting
• Preview the YouTube video “Stephen Lynch – Talk to Me Dad” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeC_nDFusoY&feature=related to see if it would be appropriate for your student population. Lynch is a popular comedian with young adults.
• Search online for the lyrics to as many of the following songs as needed to provide one printed song lyric to each student triad:

1.     Icicle, Tori Amos

2.     My Ding-a-Ling, Chuck Berry

3.     Rosie, Jackson Browne

4.     Orgasm Addict, Buzzcocks Pump it Up, Elvis Costello

5.     I Touch Myself, Divinyls

6.     Relax, Frankie Goes To Hollywood

7.     All By Myself, Greenday

8.     Longview, Greenday

9.     Twisted Transistor, Korn

10.  Artificial Means, Christine Lavin

11.  She Bop, Cyndi Lauper

12.  Fight For Your Right To Masturbate, Nerf Herder

13.  Spank Thru, Nirvana

14.  Making Love Alone, Bernadette Peters

15.  U + Ur Hand, Pink

16.  Darlin’ Nikki , Prince                  

17.  Donald and Lydia, John Prine

18.  Dickweed, Satanic Surfers

19.  Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too, Say Anything

20.  Touch Of My Hand, Britney Spears

21.  Turning Japanese, The Vapors,

22.  Oops Oh My, Tweet

23.  Pink Thing, XTC

• Write the following terms on the chalk/write board: masturbation, mutual masturbation, self pleasure, self- stimulation, Onanism.

Procedure:

Begin the discussion by defining masturbation as self-stimulation of the genitals by oneself or another person. If two people are involved, the activity is called mutual masturbation.

Ask students about the statistics presented in the Carroll text, pages 261-263, regarding masturbation.  Do the numbers surprise anyone? If so, why?  How might those statistics be gathered?

Explain that masturbation can occur anywhere along the lifespan. Read the following excerpt from a letter in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 175, Sept. 1996, p. 753. 

"We recently observed a female fetus at 32 weeks' gestation touching the vulva with fingers of [her] right hand. The caressing movement was centered primarily on the region of the clitoris. Movements stopped after 30 to 40 seconds, and started again after a few moments. Further, these light touches were repeated and were associated with short, rigid movements of the pelvis and legs. After another break, in addition to this behavior, the fetus contracted the muscles of the trunk and limbs, and the climax, clonicotonic movements [rapid muscle contractions] of the body, followed. Finally she relaxed and rested. We [several doctors and the mother] observed this behavior for about 20 minutes."

Say that while the evidence illustrates how common and universal masturbation is, stigmas persist.  Ask students to speculate where this fear and obsession with masturbation come from.

Refer to the terms on chalkboard, and say that while slang terms for masturbation are abundant, other terms may be more appropriate in certain circumstances.

• masturbation/mutual masturbation
• Self-pleasure
• Self-stimulation
• Onanism

Explain that the term Onanism comes from Genesis 38: verses 7-10 in the Bible. The story has long been used as an admonishment against masturbation, but it actually refers to coitus interruptus.

The verses tell the story of Onan, whose father asked him to impregnate his sister-in-law, Tamar, after his brother, Er, was killed by God. According to tradition, any resulting child would have been considered Er’s heir. Onan agreed to have sexual intercourse with Tamar, but each time, he withdrew and “spilled his seed” to avoid fathering a child with her. Angry about this behavior, God slew Onan.

Over time, instead of being understood to relate to withdrawal, “onanism” became synonymous with masturbation and came to be seen, by many, to be a sin against God.

Ask students if they know stories from other religious traditions or cultures that may explain how present-day attitudes about masturbation have developed.

Explain that slang/euphemisms are often used to describe masturbation. If the following activity, students will examine how some of these terms are used in popular music.

Activity: Singing the Praises of Masturbation                          

Procedure:

• Divide students into triads
• Distribute lyric sheets
• Ask how do the songwriters describe masturbation?
• What’s the perspective – is it natural, perverted, desperate, sacred, OK to enjoy?
• Instruct each triad to write a song lyric that sends a message to specific audience (children, teens, adults, singles, couples, etc.)
• Allow 20 minutes for lyric writing (suggest that the process may be easier with a melody in mind – one group of my students wrote to the tune of “Rubber Ducky.”
• Invite each triad to the share its song with the class. Instruct them to tell what audience they wrote the lyric for, and why.
• Process the activity by asking whether students observed patterns to the lyrics. Was masturbation treated as a respected sexual behavior or as a joke? What might parental responses be if the songs written for children were used in school?

How do you bring hot topics into your Human Sexuality classroom? How can you refine a lesson based on the Carroll text? I invite you to contact me for help.

Melanie J. Davis, MEd,CSE  teaches Human Sexuality as well as Marriage and the Family at Moravian College. She is a doctoral candidate in Human Sexuality Education and is the owner of Honest Exchange LLC, a sexuality consulting and resource development practice based in Somerville, NJ. Melanie is a partner in the New Jersey Center for Sexual Wellness, located in Bedminster, NJ.