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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.

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

This page has archives. Sections older than 30 days may be automatically archived by when more than 3 sections are present.

Health masturbation?

Masturbation is not health-beneficial; there is merely a correlation between more frequent ejaculation and a lower risk of prostate cancer, regardless of whether the ejaculation occurred sinfully or not. This correlation could theoretically also be caused directly by hormone levels without mediation through ejaculation.

Otherwise, the risk of prostate cancer is negligible up to around the age of 50, and therefore, natural family planning through sexual abstinence does not significantly increase the risk of cancer. After around 50 years of age, women experience menopause, and the couple can engage in sexual intercourse at will. The situation is different for priests and monks, as they have completely devoted themselves to God, and any potential increased risk of prostate cancer is part of the sacrifice." 89.190.52.148 (talk) 23:05, 23 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cool, now where are the sources? _ZZ^Z 'S 23:08, 23 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Science can make no positive statements about how priests and monks should behave sexually. Many Eastern Orthodox priests are married, with children, and the same applies to many Protestant pastors. Also, many Eastern Orthodox monks have lovers or pay prostitutes.

I agree that the correlation between masturbation and the chance of prostate cancer is murky.

The correlation between having orgasms and cardiovascular health does not mean causation: both erections and cardiovascular health suffer from deposits of cholesterol.

More generally: the claim that Masturbation is not health-beneficial is utterly rejected by mainstream medicine. There are enough mainstream WP:RS WP:CITED in our article to that effect.

The only proven ill health effect of masturbation is producing Peyronie disease in men who are foolish enough to try to bend their erect penis. tgeorgescu (talk) 00:07, 24 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hard flaccid syndrome

I am dubious about the recent edit that makes the article claim that masturbation a risk factor for hard flaccid syndrome. The only mention of masturbation in the cited source is the paragraph that begins "Most patients report that their symptoms started after a traumatic event (use of vacuum, tough masturbation or sex, jelqing, excessive squatting) ... At best, this might support a statement that hard flaccid syndrome is a possible result of "tough masturbation", but a blanket statement that masturbation is a risk does not seem supported. Based on the statement in the source, it would be equally supported to say that sex is a risk factor for TFS. The paper also says "A traumatic injury at the base of an erect penis is the initial event, so saying that masturbation risks TFS without mentioning the need for a concommitant traumatic injury seems misleading. CodeTalker (talk) 23:36, 24 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yup, the same applies to Peyronie disease: it only applies to certain cases. tgeorgescu (talk) 08:46, 25 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

hello. this condition is exceptionally uncommon with very limited published literature available. there are no more than 10 scientific/medical papers in existence on the subject currently, as it's a newly recognized condition and research is ongoing, and it has recently garnered more attention due to its increasing prevalence, particularly in young men. though uncommon, I think it’s important to keep this information on the page, as I believe people should be aware of this as a potential consequence of masturbation. to also push back on your "tough masturbation" contention a bit, "tough masturbation" is still masturbation, is it not? I would think it is, and perhaps I can revise the wording to be more explicit about it being a potential consequence of "tough masturbation," aligning it more closely with the source. while this is anecdotal and certainly irrelevant as its tangential to the topic at hand, I personally suffer from this condition, and it developed abruptly after innocently masturbating one night a few years ago. it has ruined my life, to say the least, as I am in my mid twenties and am on disability right now because of it. the public needs to know that this is something that can happen as a consequence of masturbation, and I will monitor the page closely and vow to make updates as soon as a more reliable or comprehensive source becomes available. for now, this is the best secondary source available. Jesterhfs (talk) 12:08, 26 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Addition of Videos

A sizable number of young teens injure themselves each year due to incorrect understanding of masturbation, many times causing irreversible harm to their genitals. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that wikipedia remains a relavant source to spread correct awareness on this subject, keeping aside conservativism. Livingstonshr (talk) 14:23, 25 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have a reliable medical source for that, and does that source justify the inclusion of videos? Grayfell (talk) 20:51, 25 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As of now I could not find any source on wikimedia approved clinically, however this does solve the primary purpose according to me as stated above. Livingstonshr (talk) 06:16, 26 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm asking for a reliable source. Please review Wikipedia:Reliable sources and Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (medicine). Most of the content on Wikimedia is not reliable. Please provide a source explaining precisely what this problem is. From there, we can evaluate if and how these videos would address that problem. Grayfell (talk) 06:29, 26 January 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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