Women also relieve their sexual frustrations by masturbating, just as men do. But in women, the mechanism of masturbation is more complex than in men. While men can achieve their orgasm just by applying a steady and strong pressure on the penis, women require a mental framework along with physical contact to reach their climax. In women, the touch is not the important part of the masturbation; the thought in their mind is. Also, male masturbation is a largely external process; but in women, masturbation is done by stimulating the internal genitals like the vaginal tract.

As already mentioned, there are various techniques of female masturbation. One of the most popular techniques women use is to arouse the clitoris. Women may begin with caressing their vulva and labia first; but gradually they will work their way to the little pea-sized pink organ known as the clitoris which lies between the folds of the labia. Women respond a lot to a rubbing kind of movement on the clitoris, which is generally done by the women with her first two fingers. The pressure and the rapidity of the strokes differ from women to women.

Since masturbation in women is an internal process, they can afford to be more adventurous than men. Though a woman produces enough lubricating fluids when fully aroused, some women would still apply lubricants such as KY Jelly or Vaseline. An external object in the vagina leads to an enhanced stimulation in most women. For this reason, women also experiment by inserting several objects shaped like the penis into the vagina. The list includes fruits and vegetables like cucumbers, gourds, bananas, radishes, etc. While putting any foreign objects such as these, it is necessary to lubricate the vagina more than its natural lubrication.

There are many sexual toys available to help women in masturbate. The most popular one is the dildo, which is a device shaped just like the human penis. This device could be mechanical or it could be battery operated. The idea is to insert the dildo into the vaginal tract to get a similar feeling as during penetrative sex. Advancements in the dildos have provided vibrators to them, due to which the pleasure it provides is greatly enhanced. Women use dildos even to stimulate their anuses. Thus, it can be said that the dildo is a versatile masturbatory device designed for women.

Positions adopted by women during masturbation also vary greatly. Most women prefer a sitting position with their legs stretched apart. This provides them easy access into the vaginal tract, and also facilitates a better stimulation of the clitoris. It also provides them with a comfortable posture. Women can also masturbate while lying down on a surface, but this is very inconvenient as the woman will need to stretch to reach out to her genitals. Standing postures are also employed. Some women rub their crotches against hard surfaces such as desks or kitchen stands and get themselves masturbated without having to touch their genitals.

It has been observed that in women, masturbation is more of a mentally aided process than a mere physical activity. Women need to be fully sexually aroused before they can achieve their full pleasure by masturbation. Women would love to have some music or to be able to look at something aesthetic like a painting or an erotic sculpture to masturbate, rather than looking at a nude male body. Several women can masturbate just by listening to some favorite music of theirs or by reading some erotic book, without even touching their genitals in actuality. It is possible for women to achieve masturbatory pleasure by just folding their legs and providing muscular pleasure within the masturbatory tract. For this reason, it can be said that in women masturbation is more of an intellectual activity than a sexual activity.

When it comes to a couple, then masturbation takes a different meaning altogether. Masturbation is very much useful in couples where the woman is pregnant and penetrative sex becomes cumbersome for that reason. When couples masturbate, it is called as mutual masturbation. This is usually preceded by foreplay. The male stimulates the genitals of the woman. He could begin by caressing the vulva, then the labia and finally reaching out to the clitoris. Rubbing the clitoris provides the woman with immense pleasure. At the same time, the woman can masturbate the penis and the scrotum of the male. Such mutual masturbation can also be employed when the couple does not want to have a baby or do not want to indulge in penetrative sex for some other reason.

Long since considered taboo, today women are becoming more open with their masturbation sessions and are even discussing that with their gynecologists. Doctors are in fact prescribing masturbation to some women in order to relieve themselves of their sexual frustrations especially when suffering from some diseases that make penetrative sex difficult. Masturbating women are at more peace of mind than women who indulge in penetrative sex with several men to douse their libidos.