Female masturbation could easily qualify as one of the most controversial sex-health related topics in the world in any age. In most cultures, a woman masturbating is something that is unheard of. If it were ever found out that a woman pleasures herself in such a manner, then she would have to bear the brunt of ostracism in the very society she lives in. But the trends are changing slowly. In some advanced cultures, the fact that women do masturbate to relieve their sexual tensions is coming out into the open. Women are increasingly talking about their little solo stints with as much frankness as men talk about their jack-off sessions.

Masturbation is the act of stimulating one’s own genitals by hand or by any other agency. The stimulation is generally done to the point of a climax, which may be quite similar to the orgasmic pleasure obtained in sexual intercourse. Both men and women masturbate; and as already mentioned above, men masturbate with more openness than women. But women also masturbate, and this article weighs the pros and cons of female masturbation.

Women generally masturbate by arousing their external genitals with their fingers. They would stimulate the vulva and the labia, with special pressure on the clitoris. Some women like to enhance the experience by introducing penis-shaped objects like cucumbers and bananas into their vaginas, and rubbing them in such a way that they would stimulate the clitoris. Women could use KY Jelly or Vaseline in order to make the contact smoother and better in feel. There are also several sexual toys that can be used, such as dildos, which come replete with vibrators operated by batteries. These vibrating dildos are considered to be the extreme when it comes to female masturbation.

It can be understood, therefore, that female masturbation is much different from male masturbation. For men, the only way of masturbating is by exerting different kinds of pressures on the penis (or anal stimulation), but for women, there are several areas along the genital tract that can be stimulated. Though the clitoris is the focal point, there are several other erogenous zones, including the famous G-spot within the vagina.

Also men need physical touch in order to masturbate. This is not the case in women. Women can masturbate even by mere thought, without even touching their genitals once. Women are known to masturbate without touching their genitals while reading erotic material, listening to soulful music or even by just looking at a painting or a piece of art. This enables women to masturbate even in public without being caught. In women, masturbation could become an entirely mental process, while in men the physical aspect of masturbation is much too important.

Apart from the immense pleasure it provides, female masturbation has several uses also. Today, since masturbation in women has come out in the women, some gynecologists are in fact prescribing masturbation to some women. It is interesting to see what the uses of masturbation are for women:

• Firstly, masturbation helps to relieve sexual frustrations. Nowadays with almost all women having their careers and being forced to live solitary lives, the sexual seclusion has become a part of life. Masturbation can take part of a bit of that seclusion.

• Women who have diseases like diabetes can find penetrative sex too discomforting. For such women, masturbation is prescribed to relieve sexual frustrations.

• Many women are deciding to remain single nowadays. There is also the scare of a lot of sexual diseases. Thus, women can look upon masturbation as an option.

• Most women complain that their men lack the knowledge to give them satisfaction. Such women could masturbate themselves in front of their male partners to show them how to go about the foreplay and actual intercourse. In fact, the sight of a woman masturbating in front of him is a great way to increase his libido.

• Women who are pregnant do not indulge in active sexual intercourse as there are a lot of risks involved. However, pregnancy is known to increase the libido in women. Such couples could mutually masturbate each other to relieve some of the stress.

However, there are also some risks involved with masturbation in women that are not existent in men. Women who masturbate actively must take care of the following:

• Women must not insert their fingers in the vagina with untrimmed nails. The nails could damage the inner delicate lining of the vagina. Before masturbating, the woman must neatly file and trim her nails.

• It is dangerous to insert any fruits or vegetables into the vagina that are small in size. There is a risk of them getting stuck in the vaginal tract or even entering the uterus.

• Any tools with sharp edges must not be entered in the vagina.

• A woman who masturbates a lot could get so much hooked with it that she might find intercourse boring.

For women, masturbation could be a way to relieve their sexual stresses; but it is also a method of realizing their freedom. If done correctly and within limit, it could make the woman lead a better, stress-free life.