As an adult, we all know that masturbation is a self-stimulation act to reach a sexual pleasure of oneself. And in some countries like ours, every sex-related things are a sensitive topic to discuss publicly. And truth be told, our society is way more open to male masturbation instead of female. With the lack of sex education for the young generations, female masturbation is still considered taboo for many people. We must have been facing many conversations around sexual pleasure where men are seemingly always confident when talking about this, yet, women are rarely acknowledged to talk about this, be it with the same sex or different. Instead, the expression of female pleasure is often criticized, while the male counterpart is regarded as a fact of life. How so?
We all know that women rarely talk about sex and pleasure freely and publicly, which somehow leads to confusion. The patriarchal culture that still lives among us has shaped women to believe that their purpose is only to serve their husbands, which is wrong. There's research that unveiled about 45 percent of women in relationships still consider female masturbation as a taboo subject to bring up as it is believed that they fear the practice would be interpreted as a sign of the inability of their partner to meet their needs. Not to mention that in our country, sex as a whole itself is a taboo subject especially for teenagers who are supposed to be susceptive for they are at the age of exploring themselves. Because of the lack of sex education, sex is often considered a dirty topic, which is shameful to talk about moreover to women.
Even though female masturbation is still regarded as taboo, there are at least several benefits that women could get for giving pleasure to themselves. For example, masturbation that leads to orgasm can help your brain to produce lots of different hormones and neurochemicals, such as; serotonin and dopamine that could give you feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Research conducted by Gloria Bram, Ph.D. revealed that orgasm is the biggest non-drug blast of dopamine available. Therefore, it can be said that orgasm could help you to lower anxiety--as it leaves a euphoric feeling after. There's no wonder that masturbation can also help people sleep better because of the release of vasopressin that accompanies melatonin that controls our sleep cycle. As oxytocin calms our mind, dopamine and serotonin leave satisfaction feelings, and it could be the best combination for healthy, deep REM sleep.
With the abundant amount of health benefits that we could get from masturbation that leads to orgasm, this subject shouldn't be regarded as taboo anymore. If men can talk freely about them masturbating, then why women can't-without being judged? The unequal societies' views of women's sexual activity need to end because both genders deserve to explore themselves and get the pleasure they seek. Talking and asking about friends' suggestions and inputs regarding this topic should not be deemed shameful conversations. Overall, masturbation is a safe way to practice self-care and improve health.
