If to believe to my mom, girls don’t masturbate. Well, in fact I do, and she knows about it because she reads what I write and I don’t think it’s necessary to keep silence about the topic, is not only upsetting to her but even proof that I ‘act like a guy’. A phrase my parents have used to describe my behavior on a few situations. My dad in fact regards it as a compliment, while my mother hopes her words will kick some kind of conventional thoughts of how a girl should act into my brain. It still doesn’t work, mom.

Despite my mom’s ideas on the topic, girls do masturbate. Actually, many of them do – and do it frequently, and it brings them pleasure and makes for a better sex life. If you are able to get yourself off, then sex with somebody else is that much more pleasurable because you are confident with yourself and know what your body likes. Here we go with five things that you probably didn’t know about self-satisfaction. Let the climaxing start!

1.     Persons with a regular sexual life masturbate more than those who feel lack of it. It’s strange, isn’t it? Well, not really. If you masturbate, you’re more sexually open, and therefore, you know, have intercourse. Also, as I’ve told above, if you know what your body likes when you are alone, it will enhance your sexual experience with your sexual partner.

2. More girls masturbate than you can imagine to yourself. In fact, this idea shouldn’t be so astonishing, but probably the percentages will surprise you. The majority of teens are already going at it with themselves: surveys display that before both sexes have turned 18, 80% of guys and 59% of girls have masturbated. As far as teens are over 18, the amount gets a little shady. Some study displays that as many as 92% of girls accept it, while surveys from Kinsey talk about the percentage anywhere between 50 and 70.

3. Women in age masturbate too. As you get older, your sex drive gets more revved. A 2010 Kinsey research showed that about 30% of women in relationships between 60 and 69 years old had ‘recently’ double-clicked their mouse. For those over 70, solo self-pleasing was reported by more than half who were in relationship, in comparison to 12.2% among married women.

4. Some countries support daily masturbation among their teenage population. Of course, the speech isn’t about the prudish USA. In 2009, the United Kingdom government got on the bandwagon with other European countries to support teens to masturbate at least once a day. Not only was masturbation identified as a ‘right’ in health aims, but it was also touted as assistant to reduce STDs and teen pregnancy. Kinda smart, isn’t it?

5. Masturbation wasn’t always forbidden. Why do we like the early Romans? Because they weren’t ashamed of their open sexuality! Even in the early 4th millennium BC, a clay figurine described a woman as pleasing herself, and obviously having fun of it. Everything was okay until the early 1700’s when an anonymous text entitled Onania was published and put an end to masturbation. Calling self-pleasure a ‘heinous sin’ of ‘self-pollution,’ and describing archaic devices to stop that pollution, it made masturbation forbidden for centuries to come. This mentality lasted through the 16th and 17th centuries, when those who masturbated were considered as mentally ill. About 60% of physical and mental illnesses were cursed on masturbation.

Despite the 60’s assisted turn around some of these ancient views, for some, especially those who are roughly religious or are my mom, masturbation will never be acceptable. Well, it’s your loss. So during this National Masturbation Month, go ahead and masturbate; you will make the Divinyls proud.