The psychology of masturbation and explicit sexual imagery

I love how Mind Hacks tells us that psychologist Jesse Bering‘s article about masturbation “has ick and wow in equal measure” — but also calls it “absolutely remarkable.” And that it is. Bering writes for Scientific American, and is one of those writers whose genius lies in being able to take research psychology and the study of human behavior and turn it into wildly entertaining articles. And funny: I love how he refers in this instance to pre-internet-porn studies about masturbation as “classic” (in the sense of aged, or vintage). So you really really want to read One reason why humans are special and unique: We masturbate. A lot. Why should you read it? Because it’s a lot about you and why you might be looking at porn. Or sometimes not. His conclusion about porn is really interesting. Here’s a snip:

(…) The answer for this cross-species difference, I’m convinced, lies in our uniquely evolved mental representational abilities—we alone have the power to conjure up at will erotic, orgasm-inducing scenes in our theater-like heads … internal, salacious fantasies completely disconnected from our immediate external realities. One early sex researcher, Wilhelm Stekel, described masturbation fantasies as a kind of trance or altered state of consciousness, “a sort of intoxication or ecstasy, during which the current moment disappears and the forbidden fantasy alone reigns supreme.”

Go on, put this article aside, take a five minute break and put my challenge to the test (don’t forget to close your office door if you’re reading this at work): Just try to masturbate successfully—that is, to orgasmic completion—without casting some erotic representational target in your mind’s eye. Instead, clear your mind entirely, or think of, I don’t know, an enormous blank canvass hanging in an art gallery. And of course no porn or helpful naked co-workers are permitted for this task either.

How’d it go? Do you see the impossibility of it? This is one of the reasons, incidentally, why I find it so hard to believe that self-proclaimed asexuals who admit to masturbating to orgasm are really and truly asexual. They must be picturing something , and whatever that something is gives away their sexuality.

(…) It gets more interesting, of course, once you step a little closer to the data. In one study with 141 married women, the most frequently reported fantasies included “being overpowered or forced to surrender,” and “pretending I am doing something wicked or forbidden.” Another study with 3,030 women revealed that “sex with a celebrity ,” “seducing a younger man or boy,” and “sex with an older man” were some of the more common themes. Men’s fantasies contain more visual and explicit anatomical detail (remember the giant, pulsating penis from Lukianowicz’s study?) whereas women’s involve more story line, emotions, affection, commitment and romance. Gay men’s sexual fantasies often include, among other things, “idyllic sexual encounters with unknown men,” “observing group sexual activity,” and here’s a shocker: images of penises and buttocks. According to one study, the top five lesbian fantasies are “forced sexual encounter,” “idyllic encounter with established partner,” “sexual encounters with men,” “recall of past gratifying sexual encounters,” and—ouch!—“sadistic imagery directed toward genitals of both men and women.” (…read more, scientificamerican.com)

Disclosure: There is an interesting new interview with Bering on the BPS Research Blog, which I read after the article on masturbation only to discover that Bering lists Tiny Nibbles (that’s me!) as one of the five few blogs he reads. So I’m posting this and simultaneously blushing on this side of the monitor in a BIG way.

Photo by [PascalBlacke].