User:Rcheever689/sandbox

Masturbation is the stimulation of the genitals to reach pleasure or sexual climax. Masturbation, or onanism, can be seen dating back to prehistoric times, and depicted in drawings the Ancient Egypt as well as Ancient Greece. Although masturbation is intended to be used to bring pleasure and arousal that can be initiated in private without the help of a partner, there are taboos associated with masturbation. History of these taboos can be examined by analyzing the history of masturbation and its findings. Historic work of Ancient Greek, Egyptian and Jewish artist have been seen to display roots of masturbation. Masturbation has evolved to include modern tools for masturbation such as vibrators or clitoral stimulants.

History of Masturbation in Egypt Through Egyptian artwork, historians can observe masturbation being prevalent in ancient Egypt. Starting with the God Atum. Egyptians believed in the God Atum who manifested good crops and world creation through masturbation. He was a God that wanted to put an end to his solitude so he created the Egyptian world through masturbation. Egyptians also believed that it was a pharaoh's duty to bring fertility to the nation by masturbating into the waters of the nile.From this historians have been able to examine artwork that displays masturbation of men and royal figures amongst other Egyptian historic findings. History of Masturbation in Greece Greeks had a cultural belief that masturbation was a natural outlet for frustration when women were not  readily available. On the contrary, women in ancient Greece were not thought of by as needing masturbation and most believed that women were unable to reach sexual arousal or climax without the help of men or semen. The Greek celebrated sex as they believed that sexuality, love, and sex were interconnected and were connected to the intersection of earth and heaven. Greek women are seen in greek art has having full hips and breast, small waist and thick hair. These depictions of women as sexual beings contribute to the hyper sexuality associated with ancient greek women. Masturbation was considered natural and a appropriate stress reliever but was mostly associated with men. Because of this, research on masturbation of women in Greece are limited.

A major gap in the history of masturbation is the presence of masturbation in women. Egyptians have a history that is heavily weighted on the masturbation of men as many of the scripture and accounts of masturbation are based around men.

History of Masturbation in Africa:

History of Masturbation in Judaism

Masturbation Today:

There is a taboo associated with masturbation as being seen as "unclean" or embarrassing. Although self pleasure is a private and sexual act, it should not be associated with shame and guilt. The taboo that masturbation is perpetuated in Western culture can be seen by a common narrative that women and men are not commonly educated on masturbation. Education on masturbation is limited of nonexistent in many modern day sexual health curriculums. Media is playing an increase role in placing autonomy back in women's hands in allowing exposure of viewers to masturbation in shows such as "Being Mary Jane," "Pen15" and "Big Mouth" Increased exposure to masturbation and its benefits can only encourage exploring masturbation but also breaking down a taboo that it is a shameful and forbidden act.

The use of toys such as vibrators or wands have allowed for a successful sex toy business and various self pleasure options for people interested in investing. Modern day sex toys include apps that allow user to link their phone and their vibrator for a personalized arousal experience. This use of technology combined with the vibrator and sex toy industry has allowed for masturbation to be a creative and innovative experience.