While some believe males still control the world, I believe women are the primary authority in the sexual realm. Male masturbation and cheating have long been condemned as vulgar by women who don't fully understand the amount of influence sexual urges have over the male psyche. Many women can't understand why it takes more than sex with a wife, girlfriend, or fuck-buddy to satisfy males' sexual appetites. This inability to empathize with horny men, to understand the rational behind an entirely irrational need, has led to the vilification of some men's self-satisfaction practices. However, these negative attitudes have done little to prevent males from satiating their sexual urges in any number of ways: masturbation, porn, sex toys, sex dolls, strip clubs, or lovers.
While more men on average masturbate regularly than women, this act is often seen as inappropriate. Consider this. If a husband walks in on his wife masturbating, he is usually so turned-on that he'll drop everything and join her. When a wife catches her husband masturbating, she'll often drop everything and immediately leave the room, if not the house in absolute horror.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.