Talk:Masturbation

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Frequently asked questions

The main points of this FAQ (Talk:Masturbation#FAQ) can be summarized as:

Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy requires that minority views not be given undue emphasis.

More detail is given on this point, below.

To view the response to a question, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: Why don't you state masturbation addiction as fact?

A1: Our policies on Wikipedia, in particular WP:WEIGHT and WP:FRINGE, require us to provide coverage to views based on their prominence within reliable sources, and we must reflect the opinion of the scientific community as accurately as possible. For example, if the APA will include masturbation addiction in the DSM, then Wikipedia will rubber-stamp its decision. Otherwise, Wikipedia isn't here to give a "fair and balanced" treatment to your pet ideas. In this respect, Wikipedia is merely a mirror which reflects medical orthodoxy. There is no official document from WHO, AMA, APA, Cochrane or APA which would imply that sex/porn/masturbation addiction would be a valid diagnosis. (CSBD isn't an addiction.)

Q2: Why don't you state that porn use is paraphilia (pictophilia)?

A2: The majority of US men use porn.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] What the majority does is axiomatically clinically normal in psychiatry. According to The Huffington Post, 70% of men and 30% of women watch porn.^[6] Quite probably, the majority of US population between ages 18 and 35 use porn at least once a week.^[7] DSM-5 code for pornography use? Not any. ICD-10 code for pornography use? Not any. ICD-11 code for pornography use? Not any. So, of course it isn't paraphilia. Even allowing that an excessive obsession with porn is paraphilia, normal (ordinary) porn use isn't.

Past discussions

References

^ Stone, Lyman (26 June 2019). "Conservative Protestant Men Are Still Resisting Porn". Christianity Today. Carol Stream, Illinois. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2021. By contrast, Protestant men today who attend church regularly are basically the only men in America still resisting the cultural norm of regularized pornography use.
^ Brenner, Grant Hilary (19 February 2018). "When Is Porn Use a Problem?". Psychology Today. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ Ritzenhoff, Karen A.; Hermes, Katherine A. (2009). Sex and Sexuality in a Feminist World. EBSCO ebook academic collection. Cambridge Scholars. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4438-0426-4.
^ Grubbs, Joshua B.; Perry, Samuel L.; Grant Weinandy, Jennifer T.; Kraus, Shane W. (19 July 2021). "Porndemic? A Longitudinal Study of Pornography Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Nationally Representative Sample of Americans". Archives of sexual behavior. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02077-7. ISSN 0004-0002. PMC 8288831. PMID 34282505. At baseline, 43.4% of participants reported not having viewed pornography in the past year and 38% of participants reported using pornography, on average, at least once per month (59% of men and 21% of women).
^ Regnerus, Mark; Gordon, David; Price, Joseph (18 December 2015). "Documenting Pornography Use in America: A Comparative Analysis of Methodological Approaches". The Journal of Sex Research. 53 (7). Informa UK Limited: 873–881. doi:10.1080/00224499.2015.1096886. ISSN 0022-4499. If estimates generated from the RIA or NFSS are more valid, then pornography use is—or perhaps has become—a common and frequent experience among men, with just under half of all men using pornography in an average week. It is also not an uncommon or infrequent occurrence for women, with nearly one in five reporting pornography use in the past week.
^
Kleinman, Alexis (4 May 2013). "Porn Sites Get More Visitors Than Netflix, Amazon And Twitter Combined". HuffPost. Retrieved 18 September 2021. Sources:
1. Carroll, Jason S.; Padilla-Walker, Laura M.; Nelson, Larry J.; Olson, Chad D.; McNamara Barry, Carolyn; Madsen, Stephanie D. (2008). "Generation XXX". Journal of Adolescent Research. 23 (1). SAGE Publications: 6–30. doi:10.1177/0743558407306348. ISSN 0743-5584.
  Blue, Violet (24 July 2009). "Are more women OK with watching porn?". CNN.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  "One in three women watch porn - study - The Courier-Mail". news.com.au. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
2. Edelman, Benjamin (1 January 2009). "Markets: Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 23 (1). American Economic Association: 209–220. doi:10.1257/jep.23.1.209. ISSN 0895-3309.
  "Are the effects of pornography negligible? - UdeMNouvelles". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20130116164054/https://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/
4. Hotsheet, Political (25 June 2010). "29% Accessed Porn on Work Computers Last Month - CBS News". Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  Leahy, Michael (2009). Porn @ Work: Exposing the Office's #1 Addiction. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567-332-5.
5. Anthony, Sebastian (4 April 2012). "Just how big are porn sites?". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
^ Buchholz, Katharina (2019-02-11). "Infographic: How Much of the Internet Consists of Porn?". Statista Infographics. Retrieved 2022-08-11.

Masturbation is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination was archived. For older candidates, please check the archive.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
October 21, 2006	Featured article candidate	Not promoted

Sexology and sexuality Top‑importance

	Human sexuality portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Sexology and sexuality, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of human sexuality on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Sexology and sexualityWikipedia:WikiProject Sexology and sexualityTemplate:WikiProject Sexology and sexualitySexology and sexuality
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

Pornography Top‑importance

	Erotica and pornography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Pornography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of pornography-related topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PornographyWikipedia:WikiProject PornographyTemplate:WikiProject PornographyPornography
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

This article has been mentioned by a media organization:

"The 50 most-viewed Wikipedia articles in 2009 and 2008". The Daily Telegraph. August 17, 2009.

This is not a forum for general discussion of your personal experiences or stories about masturbation, nor is it for links to sites with masturbation material. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article. You may wish to ask factual questions about masturbation at the Reference desk, discuss relevant Wikipedia policy at the Village pump, or ask for help at the Help desk.

This topic contains controversial issues, some of which have reached a consensus for approach and neutrality, and some of which may be disputed. Before making any potentially controversial changes to the article, please carefully read the discussion-page dialogue to see if the issue has been raised before, and ensure that your edit meets all of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Please also ensure you use an accurate and concise edit summary.

Archives

Index 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
11, 12, 13, 14

This page has archives. Sections older than 30 days may be auto-archived by if there are more than 3.

"Bronha" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Bronha has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 August 29 § Bronha until a consensus is reached. Thepharoah17 (talk) 01:59, 29 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Graf discussing its harmlessness in the lead

it's all true, and I understand including it, but does it really need to be in the lead? it feels odd to go out of the way to detail all the ways something ISNT harmful. where else do we see such a lengthy discussion of harmlessness in the lead of an article? Twistybrastrap (talk) 03:52, 15 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because of superstition: a lot of people from India and China think that masturbation is harmful. See Dhat syndrome and Shenkui. That was also the opinion of Western medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries. tgeorgescu (talk) 04:34, 15 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As I said, I understand including the information in the article. But why in the lead? Where else do we see such a lengthy discussion of something's harmlessness in a lead? Twistybrastrap (talk) 14:56, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

New picture

We shpuld add a picture of a sex toy that helps masterbate Luke161525 (talk) 15:38, 27 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

[Stone_2019-1] Stone, Lyman (26 June 2019). "Conservative Protestant Men Are Still Resisting Porn". Christianity Today. Carol Stream, Illinois. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2021. By contrast, Protestant men today who attend church regularly are basically the only men in America still resisting the cultural norm of regularized pornography use.

[Psychology_Today_2018-2] Brenner, Grant Hilary (19 February 2018). "When Is Porn Use a Problem?". Psychology Today. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

[Ritzenhoff_Hermes_2009_p._102-3] Ritzenhoff, Karen A.; Hermes, Katherine A. (2009). Sex and Sexuality in a Feminist World. EBSCO ebook academic collection. Cambridge Scholars. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4438-0426-4.

[Grubbs_Perry_Grant_Weinandy_Kraus_p.-4] Grubbs, Joshua B.; Perry, Samuel L.; Grant Weinandy, Jennifer T.; Kraus, Shane W. (19 July 2021). "Porndemic? A Longitudinal Study of Pornography Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Nationally Representative Sample of Americans". Archives of sexual behavior. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02077-7. ISSN 0004-0002. PMC 8288831. PMID 34282505. At baseline, 43.4% of participants reported not having viewed pornography in the past year and 38% of participants reported using pornography, on average, at least once per month (59% of men and 21% of women).

[Regnerus_Gordon_Price_pp._873–881-5] Regnerus, Mark; Gordon, David; Price, Joseph (18 December 2015). "Documenting Pornography Use in America: A Comparative Analysis of Methodological Approaches". The Journal of Sex Research. 53 (7). Informa UK Limited: 873–881. doi:10.1080/00224499.2015.1096886. ISSN 0022-4499. If estimates generated from the RIA or NFSS are more valid, then pornography use is—or perhaps has become—a common and frequent experience among men, with just under half of all men using pornography in an average week. It is also not an uncommon or infrequent occurrence for women, with nearly one in five reporting pornography use in the past week.

[Kleinman_2013-6] Kleinman, Alexis (4 May 2013). "Porn Sites Get More Visitors Than Netflix, Amazon And Twitter Combined". HuffPost. Retrieved 18 September 2021. Sources:
Carroll, Jason S.; Padilla-Walker, Laura M.; Nelson, Larry J.; Olson, Chad D.; McNamara Barry, Carolyn; Madsen, Stephanie D. (2008). "Generation XXX". Journal of Adolescent Research. 23 (1). SAGE Publications: 6–30. doi:10.1177/0743558407306348. ISSN 0743-5584.
Blue, Violet (24 July 2009). "Are more women OK with watching porn?". CNN.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
"One in three women watch porn - study - The Courier-Mail". news.com.au. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

Edelman, Benjamin (1 January 2009). "Markets: Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 23 (1). American Economic Association: 209–220. doi:10.1257/jep.23.1.209. ISSN 0895-3309.
"Are the effects of pornography negligible? - UdeMNouvelles". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130116164054/https://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/

Hotsheet, Political (25 June 2010). "29% Accessed Porn on Work Computers Last Month - CBS News". Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Leahy, Michael (2009). Porn @ Work: Exposing the Office's #1 Addiction. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567-332-5.

Anthony, Sebastian (4 April 2012). "Just how big are porn sites?". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[7] Carroll, Jason S.; Padilla-Walker, Laura M.; Nelson, Larry J.; Olson, Chad D.; McNamara Barry, Carolyn; Madsen, Stephanie D. (2008). "Generation XXX". Journal of Adolescent Research. 23 (1). SAGE Publications: 6–30. doi:10.1177/0743558407306348. ISSN 0743-5584.
Blue, Violet (24 July 2009). "Are more women OK with watching porn?". CNN.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
"One in three women watch porn - study - The Courier-Mail". news.com.au. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[8] Edelman, Benjamin (1 January 2009). "Markets: Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 23 (1). American Economic Association: 209–220. doi:10.1257/jep.23.1.209. ISSN 0895-3309.
"Are the effects of pornography negligible? - UdeMNouvelles". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[9] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130116164054/https://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/

[10] Hotsheet, Political (25 June 2010). "29% Accessed Porn on Work Computers Last Month - CBS News". Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Leahy, Michael (2009). Porn @ Work: Exposing the Office's #1 Addiction. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567-332-5.

[11] Anthony, Sebastian (4 April 2012). "Just how big are porn sites?". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[Buchholz_2019-7] Buchholz, Katharina (2019-02-11). "Infographic: How Much of the Internet Consists of Porn?". Statista Infographics. Retrieved 2022-08-11.

[13] Carroll, Jason S.; Padilla-Walker, Laura M.; Nelson, Larry J.; Olson, Chad D.; McNamara Barry, Carolyn; Madsen, Stephanie D. (2008). "Generation XXX". Journal of Adolescent Research. 23 (1). SAGE Publications: 6–30. doi:10.1177/0743558407306348. ISSN 0743-5584.
Blue, Violet (24 July 2009). "Are more women OK with watching porn?". CNN.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
"One in three women watch porn - study - The Courier-Mail". news.com.au. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[14] Edelman, Benjamin (1 January 2009). "Markets: Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 23 (1). American Economic Association: 209–220. doi:10.1257/jep.23.1.209. ISSN 0895-3309.
"Are the effects of pornography negligible? - UdeMNouvelles". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[15] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130116164054/https://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/

[16] Hotsheet, Political (25 June 2010). "29% Accessed Porn on Work Computers Last Month - CBS News". Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Leahy, Michael (2009). Porn @ Work: Exposing the Office's #1 Addiction. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567-332-5.

[17] Anthony, Sebastian (4 April 2012). "Just how big are porn sites?". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

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