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Why the Shame for Masturbation?

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The Age of Enlightenment Started What, Three Hundred Years Ago? How Long Do We Have to Be Embarrassed?

So it seems that there is a definite stigma associated with the act of masturbation in our society. It is a dirty thing, not to be spoken of in proper society, something to remain behind closed doors, forever a closet phenomenon. I can't say that I would necessarily want to change the convention surrounding masturbation, but it would be interesting to see what life would be like if it were an open issue.

Imagine the awkward talk with a son. On a Saturday afternoon, there is little to do in or outside the house because it is raining. A fire has continued steadily in the living room, giving the house a gentle warmth to contrast with the snow outside. A commercial pops up on the television and you decide to start unloading the dryer of its whites. After all the whites are sorted and delivered, there remain a number of socks to go to your son. You walk up the stairs quietly and open the door to catch him stroking as a dog would the back of his head for a particularly bad itch.

What happens? What is all of this? Something to be ignored and put aside? How does one go about reconciling the mutual embarrassment? First of all, masturbation is said to be wrong. Here's the big question: why? Who is it exactly that determines masturbation to be a sin?

There are a few mentions in the Old Testament of men emitting semen, including Leviticus 15:16 which says "When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening" (NIV). Leviticus 15:18 goes on to say "When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening."

Now this can be interpreted a number of ways. Some would say that an emission of semen outside of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman would have to be an accident. In this way, if a man has what may be called "nocturnal emission" or a "wet dream", then he would have to bathe himself and be unclean until the evening afterwards. If this is the case, one may ask, "Why does it make a man unclean if he accidentally ejaculates, if nocturnal emission is uncontrollable?" To this, I would cite the Old Testament policy on menstruation, for which a woman "emitting blood" is unclean for the length of her period, as is anyone or anything she touches during her period.

The guidelines dealing with the emission of semen are vague at best, and self-stimulation of the genitals is never clearly addressed in the entirety of the Bible. Leviticus 15 does not specify the reason for the emission, and because of this omission, the door seems to be wide open for all you heathens out there to go on with your masturbation. As the matter of sin goes, and I might have a Protestant viewpoint, it doesn't seem that the "sin" of masturbation could offend God any more deeply than the "sin" of putting off mowing the lawn to watch Queer Eye.

The question still remains, though. Why are so many people opposed to masturbation? Immanuel Kant suggested that a man who gives himself in to such "animalistic" urges risks losing his personality. Psychology, on the other hand, may argue that the suppression of impulses such as that of masturbation could be damaging to one's mental health. That's not to say that avoidance of masturbation is unhealthy, but rather that constant anxiety and stress over the issue within an individual's mind is unhealthy. If one reaches the decision that he will no longer masturbate, then he has that right. But if he happens to stray, the paranoia is definitely not worth it.

What bothers me on the subject of masturbation is all of the hiding, the anxiety, and the kind of reflection within a potential masturbator's mind as to whether he or she is a bad person. I wish I could live to see the day when all of the fear is gone. Why is it that matters of sex aren't open in the U.S.? That's a different story to some extent, but in essence, there is a problem with Puritanism. I will openly attack Puritanism if it matters, but the pumping of fear into followers of Christianity does nothing to help God's cause. I will not claim to "know" God's cause, but I am deathly certain that pressuring people from an early age to fear themselves, to fear their genitals, to avoid any indulgences at all costs, that this can only serve to damage individuals.

Perhaps Europe can stand as a decent example of a culturally liberated people who are more accepting of basic human urges. And I suppose that as an American, I could point out the grudging nationalism and open racism that still exists even in developed countries like France and Britain, but that is completely besides the point. There is plenty of evidence to show that America is more racist than Western Europe and vice versa, depending on which sets of "facts" you're looking at. My point is that an ideal exists, and that there is a goal that can be obtained. Openness is possible, openness exists, and openness is that for which we should be striving.

Someone might mention the issue of hygeine. For some, it almost goes witout saying that masturbation is "filthy" or "disgusting" because the genitals are said to be a breeding ground for bacteria. I won't deny that there will be plenty of bacteria around a girl's or a guy's genetalia, but there is a simple solution to that so-called dilemma: wash your hands! Wash your hands. The dirtiness of masturbation cannot excede, and should not be perceived as able to excede, that of few bacteria. Nor does masturbation dirty the heart, mind, nor the soul so long as it's not in excess. An addiction to masturbation, or to the release of chemicals in the brain triggered by orgasm, is a problem, and one that should receive medical attention, but that is a separate matter altogether.

I'll admit that there is value in abstinence from masturbation and from sex, and the values of this kind of abstinence cannot be easily conceived. However, this in no way makes it acceptable to shatter a child's self-esteem before he or she could ever have the chance to understand just why masturbation might be avoided. There is potential value in avoiding masturbation, but it is wrong to force a person into this decision, as much as it is wrong to force someone not to play with his or her friends, as much as it is wrong to isolate a person from the boundaries of life's potential. Masturbation is not the way to enlightenment, but it certainly should not be thought of as the path to hell.

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