While people typically begin masturbating as children or teenagers, many women
report being "late bloomers" when it comes to pleasuring themselves. That's not
surprising when you think about all of the negative messages that people have
received about masturbation. Sometimes we receive these messages from our
religion and other times we receive them from our family.
While we are often taught extensively about the dangers and consequences of
having sex, we are rarely educated about the importance of sexual pleasure.
Touching ourselves feels good, but for some reason, the act of masturbation
has received a bad rap.
Masturbating once or twice a day does not signal to me that you are addicted
to or out of control of this activity. Different people have different sex drives
and thus may act on those urges accordingly. If you told me that you were
masturbating all day long and that you were unable to fulfill daily
responsibilities (e.g., going to school, work, caring for your family), then I
would suggest that you talk with a counselor or therapist. If your masturbation
frequency is not interfering with your daily life, I would not worry about it.
Enjoy pleasuring yourself and know that most people do the same thing!
