Masturbation

Historical Background

Although masturbation is thought of in a positive light in the modern medical era, for much of [Page 424]recorded history, it was considered a shameful practice and was highly stigmatized. It is believed that the word masturbator originated in the Roman Empire between the years 84 and 85 and 103 CE. Although the exact origin of the word is unclear, scholars believe that the word is derived from a combination of manus meaning “hand,” sturprum meaning “a debauch or a defilement,” and perpetrare meaning “to penetrate.” There are ancient artworks depicting the gods, and human men and women, engaging in masturbation. In addition, the Book of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible, tells the story of two brothers, Er and Onan. Er married a woman named Tamar, but he died an early death for angering God. Onan married Tamar out of brotherly duty, but when it came time for the couple to produce a child, Onan avoided conception by spilling his seed on the ground each time that he and Tamar consummated their marriage. Onan's actions also angered God, causing his early death just like his brother. Religious scholars identify two reasons why Onan angered God—first, he masturbated and second, he engaged in coitus interruptus, meaning that Onan withdrew from Tamar's body prior to ejaculation in an attempt to avoid inseminating his wife. For many years, masturbation was only referred to as “onanism”—a term that was taken from a pamphlet called Onania, first published in London in 1715. This pamphlet warned against the dangers of masturbation, including the medical consequences of engaging in solitary sexual activity. Doctors viewed masturbation as a chronic disease that would lead participants toward sickness, insanity, blindness, impotence, and, even in some cases, loss of limbs or internal organs. Physicians completed well-documented case studies in which the frequent use of masturbation transformed healthy, robust individuals into emaciated, malnourished, deformed shells of their former selves. Some even believed that early death was an inevitable outcome for the masturbator. A French doctor in 1828 is reported as saying that masturbation was the cause of more deaths than war, plague, or the pox combined—a bold statement about a sexual activity that many health professionals now advocate their patients to engage in.

...