There are lots of myths around masturbation so we’ll start by telling you that it’s actually really natural and healthy for both boys and girls to masturbate. It’s also totally ok if you don’t want to – it’s your body and your choice.
The main things to say is that it won’t make you blind, it’s not dirty and it’s not shameful. Most young people have tried it or do it; they just might not be talking about it.
But what is masturbation?
Masturbation is when you touch your own genitals and/or breasts to turn yourself on. You might also do it to have an orgasm. Some people use their hands and others might use objects to stimulate the area.
The good thing about masturbation is that you get to know your body, what feels nice and what turns you on. That means you’ll be able to share this with current or future partners.
Where can I masturbate?
Just as long as it’s in private and you’re not harming anyone else or yourself, it’s perfectly natural and healthy. You might like to do it in your bedroom or in the bathroom, for example.
How do you masturbate?
There’s lot’s of different ways because different people like different things. These are some of the ways that people can stimulate themselves for pleasure:
Wanking – This is the most common way boys and med masturbate and basically involves the hand ‘pumping’ the penis, making the foreskin go back and forth. This doesn’t mean that if you have been circumcised you can’t do it, but you might need to be more careful in case the area gets sore. Lube can help with this.
Touching the clitoris – this can vary a lot from girl to girl. Most can turn themselves on by rubbing the clitoris. It usually gets harder the more turned on you get and you might also get wet.
Touching inside the vagina – some girls might ‘finger’ themselves. This means putting their fingers inside the vagina and stimulating the ‘G-Spot’ which is in the inside, on the front wall of the vagina. This is a small area inside the vagina that can give sexual pleasure when stimulated. This can be done after touching the clitoris or at the same time. Not all females actually get pleasure from touching inside the vagina so don’t worry if you can’t seem to find your G-spot.