The British Masturbation Campaign

Masturbation is one of those topics that a lot of people feel a bit skittish talking about. Sure, everyone does it, but it isn’t exactly something most people talk about as openly as, say, a one-night stand. I mean, at least a one-night stand has a fun buildup and execution, but how would one describe a masturbation session in that same amount of detail? I lit some scented jasmine candles….dimmed the bedroom lights to the lowest setting….put on some smooth jazz…..then I looked at my hand lovingly. Nope. Just doesn’t sound as interesting as hooking up with a random hot Latino guy you met at the bar. However, in an effort to open up the sex education conversation, a northern England government is trying just that: campaigning young adults to masturbate.

For years, England has unwillingly boasted the highest teenage pregnancy rate in all of Western Europe. Naturally, health officials are racking their brains to find new and compelling ways to lower that rate and their newest efforts have been to encourage young adults to participate in one “orgasm a day” through a new brochure aptly named “Pleasure.” It states, “Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes’ physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?” A campaign of this type has stirred up some controversy. Its critics feel the campaign is encouraging young adults to have sex at an earlier age and to have unprotected sex.

One of the brochure’s authors, Steven Slack, feels that it actually promotes the exact opposite of this. He feels that opening up the masturbation conversation will cause young adults to wait for their first sexual experience until they feel they can appropriately enjoy it. Experts from the United States agree with the message but are a bit skeptical about the means of executing the message. One psychologist, Pepper Schwartz stated, “These are still minors, and the parents, even if they are supportive of the idea, might be a bit scandalized to see their children being talked to directly about sexuality without taking the parents’ consent into account. I think talking about and demystifying masturbation is a great idea — but it should be done with parent cooperation rather than bombarding their child with information without context or respect for their own cultural and historical traditions.”

Others strongly support the British masturbation campaign. Another psychologist, Joy Davidson, stated, “Generally speaking, I see nothing inappropriate in suggesting that masturbation is both pleasurable and healthy for both young adults and older adults. If one is old enough to be potentially sexually active, one is old enough to deserve honest, comprehensive information about all aspects of sexuality, including desire and pleasure, and to be encouraged to learn about one’s body via self-stimulation. It’s long past time that appreciation of one’s sexual feelings, blended with emotional awareness and knowledge of safer sex practices, replace methods of fear-provoking and shame-instilling sexuality mis-education.” This campaign follows a series of other British initiatives to lower the teenage pregnancy rate.