Masterbation - Men vs Women :: Sociology Essays Research Papers

Masterbation - Men vs Women 55 vs 38 percent of men vs women (aged 18-59) said they masturbated on a regular basis. The percentage above is basically an indicative quantitative value for what society believes is the norm for both men and women. Two stereotypes come into play, that of a man being an overly sexual being, constantly craving sex and consuming every waking moment and every ounce of energy in pursuit of it. Secondly, there is the stereotype of woman being a passive, sexually unresponsive being. Many combinations of factors come together to produce the common misconceptions shown in the above statistics. The lower percentage of women in this statistic is most likely indicative of a social pressure. Women who don’t express their sexuality and who don’t give in to many of their sexual needs are deemed as â€Å"good† in our society. Many people consider women who masturbate as â€Å"loose† and intimidating, a role not considered to be lady like. In addition there are many cultural factors associated with the lowered percentage. A woman learns from an early age that her genitals are inferior to that of a man. We all can recall the â€Å"mine fell off† story; this implies that a woman is lacking something that a man has. In many cultures both outside and inside the U.S., women are taught to repress their sexual urges, and that sex for them is merely a means to procreate and keep their husbands happy. Furthermore, a partner who masturbates, because it implies they are lacking in their performance, intimidates many men. As the social ideal of a woman being a dependent and passive creature has deteriorated in our time, the taboo of female masturbation is beginning to show signs of decrease. However, for the most part the taboo still exists. For men masturbation is seen as a necessity, a means of controlling intense hormonal imbalances, a release valve. There is no study indicating that females don’t have the same desires and need to explore themselves. In fact masturbation is a healthy and natural thing for both males and females.