Why Was the Thread on Masturbation Closed Without Explanation?

[Kerrie]

I've seen that before. Someone else linked to it. It includes a lot of good references -- read those if you're really interested in more about oxytocin -- but misinterprets the information in them to make claims that aren't supported by research. There was a push in the popular press some number of years ago promoting oxytocin as almost a panacea, or even as a "cuddle" hormone (based on some work showing an effect of oxytocin on affiliative behaviors among voles) and this reads a lot like that era of articles.

it was the oxytocin i was interested in more so then the opinions of the author...typically with articles like these, i am able to filter the facts from fiction.

This is a very popular myth which is definitely not true of all men! This type of thinking leads a lot of women into thinking that all they need to do is get naked and this will automatically arouse the man. That type of thinking doesn't get very far with me at all I can assure you of that.

Also the thought of forcing myself on a woman who isn't interested actually turns me off. In fact, I've often said that it would be impossible for me to become a rapist simple because I could never become erect whist being aggressive.

There's no doubt in my mind that people truly are individuals. It really upsets me when people publish blanket myths like the one above about a particular gender.

neutron star, i agree. people are truly individuals...that is definitely more of the author's opinion over any sort of fact. when i posted that link, i should have clarified the facts of what oxytocin does...

 

[Moonbear]

All I can say is, after signing on all day and seeing at the top of the Biology area Masterbation thread . . . thank God it didn't also say, . . . posted by Les Sleeth

LOL! You might not grow hair on your palms or go blind, but if you're predisposed to dying of embarrassment, it still might be harmful to your health!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Actually until the next post it reads:

Masterbation Thread
by Math is Hard

 

[Kerrie]

amazing how many views this thread has received. something none of us want to admit to, however are very interested in it...

 

[Moonbear]

amazing how many views this thread has received. something none of us want to admit to, however are very interested in it...

I hadn't noticed that! I had to go back to look at how many views there were after I read your post. I didn't even know there were that many people who even scrolled down the main index far enough to find the biology forum. It sure is an eye-catcher when you do scroll that far. You're right, a lot of people are curious about this topic and too embarrassed to admit it or discuss it. All the more reason to be very careful to keep the information here factual and grounded in science.

 

[Loren Booda]

Could mutual masturbation be considered a compromise between solitary masturbation and sexual intercourse?

 

[NeutronStar]

Experimental Methods?

Could mutual masturbation be considered a compromise between solitary masturbation and sexual intercourse?

I don't know about it being a compromise, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun to me!

Er,.. ah,... are you asking with respect to the validity of any scientific experimental biological inquisitions performed in this manner using the aforementioned compromise in lieu of intercourse whilst comparing those results with the study of solitary masturbation?

I suppose any experiments would be better than none.

 

[Moonbear]

Could mutual masturbation be considered a compromise between solitary masturbation and sexual intercourse?

What do you mean by compromise? There would be the emotional contribution of having one's partner present, which may be lacking in solitary masturbation, though masturbation doesn't include all the same tactile stimuli as intercourse. Is that what you mean? I don't have an answer, but would guess mutual masturbation, due to the presence of your partner to fulfill the emotional components, would be more similar to intercourse than to solitary masturbation. Afterall, even with intercourse, there are variations in tactile stimuli provided depending on your partner and choice of position (I'm trying to choose words carefully here as to not get too graphic). I would think the experience would differ for men and women too. For men, masturbation better approximates the contact involved in sexual intercourse, whereas for women, the focus on clitoral stimulation and relative absence of vagino-cervical stimulation (BTW, Kerrie, oxytocin release is typically associated with vagino-cervical stimulation, so that link about clitoral orgasms really doesn't address that at all) would make the sensory input quite different from that experienced during intercourse (there are ways, of course, to circumvent this difference, but I think further discussions of that become inappropriate for the general audience; if you know what I'm talking about, no further explanation is needed; if you don't know what I'm talking about, then it's more than you need to be learning from me).

 

[Loren Booda]

NeutronStar,

I see a black hole in your future!

Moonbear,

You covered some of the "compromises" between solitary masturbation / mutual masturbation / sexual intercourse. Here are a few which I had been thinking of (before my power went out last night):

Convenience

Emotional expression

Reminiscence

Communication

Tolerance

Reproduction

Solitude

Sharing

Biology

Exploration

Intimacy

Whew! I say that a lot of the distinction amongst the triad is the compromise of how much time and effort one wishes to take in developing a relationship. I would add more to the list, but the reductionist in me does not wish to mono-polize the thread. In essence, Western society overtly dismisses masturbation due to desires covertly both immature and carnal, but adaptively self-promotes sexual intercourse.

 

[Les Sleeth]

I will defer to Moonbear's expertise on masterbation (biologically speaking of course), but one fact I don't think anyone has talked much about is the purely practical issue of dealing with our biology, which is set up to get horny to encourage reproduction. That's just nature, and not something under the control of the average person.

If you are a normal human, it's going to come around regularly. Now, if you have a partner who likes to play as often and when you do, then that is a fortunate thing. But what if you don't? Without trying to be too graphic about this, I'd say why not make self pleasuring as much fun and as satisfying as possible? I suspect unrelieved horniness is responsible for at least a few of the bad moods people carry around with them (IOW, people, take care of it before going out in public . . . pretty pleeeeeeeeease )

 

[hitssquad]

Sterling's Islands in the Net and its indulgent priestesses

I suspect unrelieved horniness is responsible for at least a few of the bad moods people carry around with them

Apparently so did Bruce Sterling. It was a theme featured in his 1988 book and therein resolved by busy priestesses of a certain indulgent religion that sought, through its indulgence, to reduce nation-on-nation pugnacity.

 

[Chronos]

Another simple concept ripped all to shreds. I sense a lot of angst in the room... Les, you really should learn how to spell masturbation. Just seeing the word misspelled gives me the jeebs. Back to the topic. We are hard wired to do it. Masturbation is just a ritual waiting to happen.

 

[matthyaouw]

I disagree with the above. I believe we are hard wired to reproduce sexually, but with the evolution of opposable thumbs and complex social interactions in which it is less and less acceptable to dive on the nearest person of the opposite gender whenever the urge presents itself, it is more of a compromise.

 

[Les Sleeth]

Another simple concept ripped all to shreds. I sense a lot of angst in the room... Les, you really should learn how to spell masturbation. Just seeing the word misspelled gives me the jeebs. Back to the topic. We are hard wired to do it. Masturbation is just a ritual waiting to happen.

Lol. But you are wrong. When you've mastered it you get to spell it that way.

 

[selfAdjoint]

Lol. But you are wrong. When you've mastered it you get to spell it that way.

Don't let it "disterb" you. Don't get "perterbed".

 

[Moonbear]

I will defer to Moonbear's expertise on masterbation (biologically speaking of course), but one fact I don't think anyone has talked much about is the purely practical issue of dealing with our biology, which is set up to get horny to encourage reproduction. That's just nature, and not something under the control of the average person.

If you are a normal human, it's going to come around regularly. Now, if you have a partner who likes to play as often and when you do, then that is a fortunate thing. But what if you don't?

Well, I would generally tend to agree that when societal pressures inhibit the amount of actual intercourse one is permitted to have (it's frowned upon to run around mating with any woman you are near when you feel "in the mood"), then masturbation becomes a way to satisfy a fairly strong biological urge. Other animals masturbate as well, not just humans. I'm trying to recall if I've ever observed masturbation among those males when a female was readily available and in heat. I don't think so. I think I've only observed it when females were in separate pens or when no females were in heat.

However, the precursors to this behavior seem to be evident even in young boys. My friends and I have a "joke" about it starting in utero. Whenever a pregnant woman comes back from an ultrasound and tells you they couldn't determine the sex because the fetus' hands were in the way, I'll bet you it's going to be a boy. How many proud parents have you heard joking about their baby boy "discovering" himself in the bathtub as well? Quite a few in my experience.

Les, I'm not sure if I want to be known as an expert on masturbation! I'm sure there are plenty of people here with far more first hand experience than I! :shy:

 

[cronxeh]

Les, I'm not sure if I want to be known as an expert on masturbation! I'm sure there are plenty of people here with far more first hand experience than I! :shy:

man.. she's is on fire!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Les, I'm not sure if I want to be known as an expert on masturbation! I'm sure there are plenty of people here with far more first hand experience than I! :shy:

WaahhHAhhaahHAAahahaaa! oohh! .. "first hand"..
wahhahhaaa! hooo! (wipes tears from eyes) WAhahhahAAha!

 

[cronxeh]

haha aheh.. he.. hmm.. :D

 

[Les Sleeth]

My friends and I have a "joke" about it starting in utero. Whenever a pregnant woman comes back from an ultrasound and tells you they couldn't determine the sex because the fetus' hands were in the way, I'll bet you it's going to be a boy. How many proud parents have you heard joking about their baby boy "discovering" himself in the bathtub as well? Quite a few in my experience.

Hey, isn't that sexist or something? You and Math is Hard (Evo too) have proven you are wicked, unlike me. I suspect all y'all's ultrasounds were xxx.

Les, I'm not sure if I want to be known as an expert on masturbation! I'm sure there are plenty of people here with far more first hand experience than I! :shy:

Oh, let's not be modest now. In fact, I think we need a new medal for this expertise!

 

[Moonbear]

Oh, let's not be modest now. In fact, I think we need a new medal for this expertise!

Well, since they've never handed out any Philosophy Expert medals, perhaps we can convince them to give you one for this.

 

[Math Is Hard]

You and Math is Hard (Evo too) have proven you are wicked, unlike me. I suspect all y'all's ultrasounds were xxx.

Mom said the official results said 666.

 

[Tom McCurdy]

Wow you guys finally found a way to make the biology thread popular... what a subject. Kind of shows you into the the minds of physicists

 

[Joel]

Naturally, I want to contribute to this intriguing thread (even thou no biologist I am)... On the differences between masturbation and intercourse, I recall an article in a health magazine that mentioned intercourse as a good way to exercise. You'll get muscular exercise and you're pulse and breath increases - even the often forgot streaching may be included. Perhaps the more biology minded could expand on this point, or is this more of a medical question? (Which btw, reminds me to ask why medicine isn't mentioned anywhere on PF?)

 

[Moonbear]

Naturally, I want to contribute to this intriguing thread (even thou no biologist I am)... On the differences between masturbation and intercourse, I recall an article in a health magazine that mentioned intercourse as a good way to exercise. You'll get muscular exercise and you're pulse and breath increases - even the often forgot streaching may be included. Perhaps the more biology minded could expand on this point, or is this more of a medical question? (Which btw, reminds me to ask why medicine isn't mentioned anywhere on PF?)

I think there's a joke in there somewhere about people getting out of shape after getting married...

But, yes, intercourse is very physical. We might even achieve world peace if we prescribed everyone to substitute intercourse for that hour a day of aerobic exercise they're supposed to be getting (though me would wind up with quite an overpopulation problem). It's even worse on animals who need to pursue mates. There are a lot of species where the males have fairly short lifespans because they expend so much energy pursuing females to mate that they then can't survive the winter.

As for your aside about medicine vs biology, you can ask medical questions in the biology topic since medicine is based on biology (sort of like engineering is an applied field of physics, medicine is an applied field of biology). Of course, I only know of one physician on the board (adrenaline) and haven't seen her for a while, so very clinically oriented questions may not get much of an answer.

 

[Joel]

Thanks, moonbear! I can already imagine the advertisements once someone decides to combine work (physically speaking) and pleasure.

As for your aside answer, I kind of thought that, but then again engineering has it's own forums. But I gather medicine is "two steps away" from physics, while engineering is only one. Of course, I study pol. sci. and comp. sci/engineering, so I doubt I will have very clinical questions... but I was curious anyway. :)