Journal of Sex Education and Therapy
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Group Masturbation Among Young and Old(er): A Summary With Questions
Martha Cornog
To cite this article: Martha Cornog (2001) Group Masturbation Among Young and Old(er): A Summary With Questions, Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 26:4, 340-346
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01614576.2001.11074442
Published online: 21 Jan 2015.
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Download by: [University of California, San Diego] Date: 13 February 2016, At: 21:34 jOURNAL OF SEX EDUCATION AND THERAPY VoL. 26, No. 4 PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Group Masturbation Among Young and Old(er): A Summary With Questions
Martha Cornog Philadelphia, PA
Masturbation involving groups has been virtually unstudied. There is some evidence that a substantial percentage of heterosexual and homosexual men have participated in group mas turbation as boys. Girls, who masturbate with lower incidence and less frequently than boys, appear to form pairs more often than groups for masturbation. At least 40 organized adult men's masturbation clubs exist worldwide. Probably many more small, informal male groups flourish less publicly. Adult women's recreational sex groups do not appear to focus on masturbation per se. A few mixed-gender adult masturbation clubs exist. Conjectures are given about participation by males versus females, number and characteristics of partici pants, and trends. -]SET 26:340-346, 2001
We have termed onanism a solitary vice, and nothing used to assemble to practice this vice, and that a whole is more just. It has also been termed a contagious vice, school is still polluted by it (p. 48). and nothing is more true (Walling, 1904, pp. 46-47). lthough we usually think of masturbation as a Curiously, group masturbation has been virtually A solo activity, masturbation can be shared with a unstudied. I shall summarize what we do know about sexual partner, in person, or via telephone or computer. it from both nonscholarly and scholarly sources, with Masturbation also happens in groups. In 1724, the anti the hope to inspire some curious researchers to go masturbation tract Onania mentioned it among both much further and conduct empirical studies. males and females: Young People's Behavior Would all Masters of Schools have but a strict Eye over their Scholars; (amongst whom nothing is more com Circle jerk is a colloquial expression for what is tradi mon, than the Commission of this vile Sin, the Elder tionally described as a boys' game. I have collected over Boys Teaching it to the Younger ... ) [and] I am credi 100 anecdotes about youthful shared masturbation. bly inform'd, it is now become almost as frequent Most came from published books and issues of Celebrate amongst Girls ... [T]he Governess of one of the most eminent Boarding-Schools .. . surpriz' d and detected the Self magazine (CTS). The CTS editor included a flyer some of her Scholars, (to her great astonishment and with one issue soliciting additional stories, and several concern) in the very Fact; and who upon Examination more were sent to me via letters and e-mails. In addi confess'd, that they very frequently Practis'd it (Ona tion, I contributed questions about group masturbation nia, 1724 I 1974, pp. v-vii). to a longer survey about sexual behavior, conducted in Tissot's classic (1832/1974) from a century later also February 1999 by David Weis. Subjects were midwest refers to group masturbation: ern undergraduate college students. After a question [A] whole school sometimes strove by this practice, to about solo masturbation frequency, the next question . .. keep themselves awake during the lectures upon asked if respondents had participated in "masturbation Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 scholastic metaphysics, delivered by a sleepy professor in the presence of companions" up to age 18. If the an . .. Some years since, it was discovered in the city, that swer was yes, respondents were asked subsequent a company of libertines, fourteen or fifteen years old, questions about the experience. Of the 74 women and 20 men responding, 3 women and 1 man reported group masturbation-about 4% - 5%. Martha Cornog, MA, MS, is affiliated with a professional med While these anecdotes do not constitute a large or ical association, which has no connection with this research or this paper. statistically valid data set, they provide an idea of the The author thanks Robert Bahr, David Weis, and "Dr. Woof" for types and range of experiences among both boys and assistance in gathering data, and Timothy Perper for suggestions girls. Here are several examples about boys. about theory and conjectures. A version of this paper was presented at the Society for the Sci When I was about 15, the six or eight boys who "hung entific Study of Sexuality Midcontinent Region Annual Conference, "Masturbation & Fantasy: Implications for Sexual Health," May 20- together" indulged in a summer of group masturba 23, 1999, Madison, Wisconsin. tion (speed to ejaculation, accuracy in placing ejaculate Address for correspondence: Martha Cornog, 717 Pemberton in chalk circle on basement floor, etc.), oral sex, and at Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. E-mail:
340 CORNOG 341
[W]hen I was on the swim team at school, [w]e had a Now, some stories about girls. coach who advocated nudity among the swimmers as a means of building a stronger, trusting, cohesive team My best friend introduced masturbation to me [at age ... [Next w]e were receiving lectures from him about 10] when we were younger. We used stuffed animals jerking off as a means of building trust and sharing and baby bottles (over our clothes) . .. [We also] pre within the team. Well, I was one of the first to get a tended to play "boyfriend I girlfriend." One of us boner in the shower room . .. [so] I took the situation would pretend to be the boy (College student sample). in hand and began jerking ... After a few minutes, an- other guy began doing the same, and then another, My sad case is, that when I was a young Girl of be until finally everyone in the shower was stroking their tween 15 and 16 Years of Age, at the Boarding-School, clicks. It wasn't long until some heavy loads were fly being entic'd and shew'd the way by 3 of my School ing into the middle of the floor. This gradually became Fellows, older than my Self, which lay in the Chamber a regular occurrence (Locker Room Days, 1999, p. 2). with me, two Beds being in the Room, I did as they did . .. and I thought it was pleasing enough (Onania, [A]bout five Years ago, when I went to School, I and 1724/1974, p. 163). three or four more, on a Holiday, went a Bird-catching; when we were sat down, one of our Companions, who Being about seven and having orgy-type sessions with was about 20 Years of Age, the rest of us not being one or two other little girls. We'd touch ourselves and above 15, ask'd us, Whether ever we saw the Seed of rub on the side of the bed until orgasm ... We were Man? We reply'd We never did. He told us . .. he also having oral sex at this age (with each other) would shew us, which he did, by Self-Pollution; and (Winks & Semans, 1997, p. 67). which, tho' it fir'd my Inclination, yet I attempted it not till a Year after (Onania, 1724/1974, p. 64). Sometimes there were just one or two people, but other times there were up to five or more guys and When I was in about the 7th grade .. . [t]wo of the other girls [in] a gang of 10 or more members. We would all kids in the car pool and I were tight j I o buddies . .. I get together and sort of play a game where first we would sit in the middle and lean forward against the would masturbate ourselves and we would mastur back of the front seat and talk to the guys in front ... bate each other and the one who lasted the longest [T]his made it impossible for anyone to see that my (the one to come last) would be the winner and that buddies each had one of their hands in my crotch, rub person would get to receive oral sex from all the oth bing my hard cock through my jeans. Just before we ers who lost! [How old were you?] Sixteen. [How got to school (they would time it perfectly), they would long did you participate?] About 3 yrs (College stu make me shoot my load into my underwear (That Old dent sample). Gang of Mine, 1995, p. 13). I collected 90 stories about boys, but only 18 about I began to masturbate when I was a 13-year-old boy. girls. It appears that girls' experiences can be similar My sister . .. began to menstruate & masturbate at 10 to boys' but perhaps less common-and perhaps less years old . .. One day I spied on my sister masturbat- publicly recounted. Girls' stories described shared ing .. . I was so excited I jerked off into my underwear. Next day, I let her catch me naked in my bedroom jerk masturbation in pairs more often than in groups. ing off while looking at girlie magazines ... Since we Games reported were more often playing doctor or were very close-we agreed it would be sexy fun to playing house, or pretending to be boyfriend and girl masturbate in front of each other ... We did this for friend, than a contest. Also, while the vast majority of about a year. Then began masturbating each other both sexes reported masturbating in same-gender (Brother/Sister Masturbation, 1995, p. 4). groups, a larger percentage of girls' stories than boys' Shared masturbation involving boys can take vari stories were about mixed-gender groups. ous forms and can involve from two to many partici Group masturbation among young people appears
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 pants. Boys can self-masturbate with others, mastur only briefly in the sexology and related literature. The bate other youngsters, be masturbated, demonstrate Kinsey team (Kinsey, Pomeroy & Martin, 1948) and for others, or watch a demonstration. Sessions can also Hunt (1974) mentioned in passing such activities include other sex acts. among boys. Masters, Johnson, and Kolodny (1985) re An experience can start spontaneously, with young ferred only to boys in the 1985 edition of their textbook sters comparing bodies and genitalia, or a boy can join Human Sexuality. In the 1995 edition, however, the with an on-going group. So a drcle jerk can be a one boys-only emphasis is dropped: "Masturbation time experience or it can be a planned or semi-planned [among older children] occurs in private as well as in group activity that goes on for months or years, with the heterosexual or homosexual pairs or groups" (Masters membership shifting as older boys leave and younger eta!., 1995, p. 219). In books about sex for young peo ones join. Some kind of game or contest may be added ple, I found only one mentioning circle jerks (Madaras to lend interesting complexities. Much boys' shared & Saavedra, 1988). A nonscholarly work, Pulling It Off, masturbation seems to begin in a group context, such as does provide a number of accounts of boys' shared a camp, sports team, fraternity, dormitory, or school. masturbation (Winchester, 1987). 342 GROUP MASTURBATION
Only a few sources have mentioned girls explicitly. Masturbation can also be the centerpiece of an adult Sarnoff and Sarnoff (1979) observed that "some girls sexual occasion. Here are some descriptions about also get together as partners, or in larger groups, for men. mutual sexual stimulation" (p. 149). Earlier, von When I arrive [at the San Francisco Jacks party) at 7:45, Gagern (1955) took a middle position, declaring that men are already spilling in, stripping off, and taking "self-abuse in groups ... is more common with boys, up positions ... readying for the juicy jack-off to come who like to exhibit their manliness to one another, . .. Most of the men seem to know each other, but the while with girls the mutual practice is more frequently crowd is friendly to newcomers ... Hominess is a cur rency that's passed from Jack to Jack. I play with a found" (p. 55). Several anthropological works note smooth Asian guy while held from behind by a blond group masturbation among children, especially boys, man. How great to rest my head on a stranger's strong in various cultures (Edwardes, 1959; Edwardes & shoulder in the blissful stupidity after cumming Masters, 1966; Ford & Beach, 1951; Francoeur, 1997; (Friedman, 1996, p. 79). Gregersen, 1994). I've had close encounters with five priests .. . One There are no survey data on shared or group mas came out on a raft trip with nine doctors and lawyers. turbation per se among young people. However, Dick The second night, they all J I 0' ed around the campfire. inson and Beam (1934) wrote that about 4% of women For the rest of the trip they were in close encounters interviewed had been taught masturbation by another with each other (Sex and Priests, 1996, p. 2). little girl. In the Kinsey data, approximately 34%-40% In honor of National Masturbation Month, last night of males surveyed had learned masturbation from ob the Las Vegas Jacks or Better met on May 7 for a fun servation, and about 12%-14% from being mastur filled evening of celebration. Everyone had a great bated by others. By contrast, about 9%-11 % of females time! We shared our jack-off techniques with each learned from observation, and 15%-22% from being other [and) ... entertained ourselves and each other masturbated by others (Gebhard & Johnson, 1979; see quite "handily" I'd say (J/0 Group, 1998, p. 8). also Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin & Gebhard, 1953). In When I was in my 40s, I joined a group of men who Hite's (1981) sample of men, 20% had masturbated an would get together two times a month. For a few other boy in childhood. Hite reported no such inci hours, we would trade stories about our sexual experi dents from women (1976). Data from Bell, Weinberg, ences with our wives. Then we would put in a sex and Hammersmith (1981b) suggest that 10-13% or movie and get out the magazines and just start mas turbating ourselves (Group Masturbation, 1996, p. 11). more of children had some type of sexual experience involving a group (data were reanalyzed against the Many-perhaps most-male jack-off or JO groups sample total). are small, private, and often spontaneous. The orga nized JO or jacks clubs involve larger groups of men, Adult Behavior and at least 40 such clubs meet in major cities world Among adults, mixed-gender group masturbation wide, publicized through the gay community. Infor has probably occurred over centuries as one activity mation about male JO clubs and mixed-gender clubs among others at so-called orgies, modern swingers af (see below) was gathered via interviews with long fairs, and private sex parties. While we cannot closely time members of the San Francisco Jacks, The Penis estimate patterns of behavior in eras before surveys, a Mightier (yearbook of the San Francisco Jacks), club song about a famous and apparently real-life 1880s flyers and newsletters, and club Websites, especially orgy, The Ball of Kirriemuir, has at least three verses re for the New York Jacks (www.nyjacks.com), Philly Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 ferring to participants masturbating together or sepa Jacks (www.critpath.org/jacks), Melbourne Wankers rately while watching the others in coupled activities, (www.home.aone.net.au I melbournewankers I for example: "The elders of the church/They were too home.htm), and Club Relate (www.clubrelate.com). old to firk [fuck],/So they sat around the table/ And Additional background appeared on www.proaxis. had a circle jerk" (Cray, 1992, pp. 95-101). Whether mas com/ -solo/hme.htm and www.jackinworld.com. turbation actually occurred as part of this sex party or The New York Jacks began informally, and was of not, those contributing verses to the song seem to have ficially founded as a male masturbation club pre considered it appropriate behavior in that context. AIDS in 1980. It is probably one of the first modern Similarly, all-men groups-and possibly all-women clubs of its kind in the world and still meets regu groups-have probably shared masturbation together larly. The San Francisco Jacks, another early club, de with other types of sex in bathhouses and elsewhere, scribe themselves as "a service organization whose back to the Greeks and Romans and before. More re purpose is pleasure," and an article in the Bay Area cently, masturbation has been a component of the pub Reporter compares them to the Elks Club (Friedman, lic sex scene for men in the backrooms of gay bars. 1996). JO clubs typically stress joy, fellowship, and CORNOG 343
acceptance of diversity in backgrounds and bodies. Mother Goose (Delores) spearheads these monthly As stated by the New York Jacks, "We're looking for gatherings ... and tells me, "The folks that come to our events range from 18 to 80 . .. Men and women all to recreation, not romance." Comparison to the Elks gether in the same space at the same time--some gay, Club is not inappropriate: JO clubs may have mem some lesbian, crossdressers. Some bring leather, some bership cards, newsletters, songs, rituals, yearbooks, only want to watch, some are show-offs. We are all theme parties, weekend retreats, charity fund-rais dedicated to Jacking and Jilling. Some do massage, ers-and attractive Websites. Bonhomie, enthusiasm, some whip the daylights out of each other, some do dirty dancing, etc." There are some simple rules: no and bad puns are widely evident. fucking, no unprotected sex, no rude behavior (The The clubs generally have firm rules barring oral New School, 1995, p. 19). and anal sex, variously worded as "no lips below the hips," "on me, not in me," or "we discourage insertion Club Relate is a club for people that enjoy and include of anyone's anything into anywhere." Most forbid masturbation in their sex play and desire meeting other people in a party setting for group masturbation .. . drugs, alcohol, and sometimes cologne. The New York Currently, the Club's parties are held twice a month in Jacks meet three times per week, while other clubs many of Florida's favorite cities ... Swinging and/or meet as infrequently as once a month. penetration is an option among consenting participants Members learn about events through a telephone ... [but] the primary reason for Club Relate's existence message, mailing, or Website. A hall or spacious area is masturbation (Club Relate, 2001). is rented by larger clubs, while smaller groups may The San Francisco Mother Goose parties began in meet in basements or garages. For a typical evening, 1987 as an enlargement of the jacks concept (Chapple & attendees are usually urged to arrive between certain Talbot, 1989; Queen, 1997; Queen & Steinberg, 1991; hours, as latecomers disturb the momentum. Cloth Strubbe, 1996). These parties appear to have ceased, but ing other than footgear is checked at the door, al their function has been assumed by the more general though underwear and costumes may be encouraged. sex parties such as the Queen of Heaven parties, which The men gather in a large common space, usually stress safe sex, eclectic attendance, and a variety of ac with music or videos, protected surfaces, and com tivities from masturbation to fisting. However, the all fortable surroundings. Lubricants and snacks are pro male New York Jacks hold a mixed-gender Jacks and Jill vided. Men may masturbate themselves and each Party every 2 months. By contrast, Club Relate grew out other, plus kiss and caress so long as rules are ob of the nonrnonogamy or swingers movement, from the served. Some men show off solo, while others caress large responses to one couple's advertisements for oth and stroke each other. Early ejaculations start a chain ers interested in sharing masturbation. reaction of more ejaculations. After a couple of hours, There may also be . small, informal mixed-gender the party winds down and everyone leaves. Men masturbation groups as well as organized clubs. A have described these evenings as joyous, ecstatic, good many heterosexual men seem interested in even spiritual: "a religious communion flying on sex shared or group masturbation involving women, to come towards joy and glory" (Hippler, 1987). judging from ads on the Internet. But only a few Among women-only groups, masturbation seems to women seem to advertise on the Internet for either merge with other sexual activities. I have found de male or female masturbation companions. scriptions of lesbian sex clubs and group activities en It appears that group masturbation has long been a compassing much more than masturbation (Bright, favorite activity for at least some men. But only recently 1990; Califia, 1988; Caster, 1993; Gara, 1996; Minkowitz, have groups for men and for both genders together or
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 1992). Those lesbian clubs listed in the alternative sex ganized and gone public. Certainly, the Internet has al directories Gayellow Pages and The Black Book seem to be lowed aficionados of group masturbation to find out all sadomasochism (SM)-oriented. I have found no ac about JO and JJO clubs as well as contact each other for counts of women getting together solely for "jilling off" private gatherings and even to start new clubs. other than Dodson's workshops and occasional re A few anthropological writers have mentioned unions of Dodson workshop alumnae (DeLynn, 1998; group masturbation among men and women in differ Dodson, 1996; B. Dodson, personal communication, ent cultures (Edwardes, 1959; Edwardes & Masters, May 20, 1999; Macy, 1996; Queen, 1990). Perhaps fewer 1966; Ford & Beach, 1951; Gregersen, 1994). In the women than men have gotten together just for mastur modern West, adult group masturbation has earned bation, perhaps they have written about it less widely, notice by mostly gay and lesbian writers of sex manu perhaps both. als, advice books, and journalistic accounts (e.g., Cali In the last two decades, some mixed-gender sex fia, 1992; Hart, 1991; Silverstein & Picano, 1992). Al parties have focused on masturbation. The expression though Westheimer (1994) briefly mentioned male "jack and jill off," or JJO, is sometimes used. clubs and Klein and Robbins (1998) noted male and 344 GROUP MASTURBATION
mixed-gender clubs, as far as I know, there are no the experience is mostl y internal. I conjecture that scholarly studies or other analytical work in this area. some gay men divert their polyamory to JO groups be cause of fear of HIV-which is a lesser threat to les Some Conjectures bians and heterosexuals. And then, we do not know how accurately people remember and report their ex Is Group Masturbation a Distinct Sexual Behavior? periences. Perhaps many more women masturbate Certainly, sexologists may deem it so. But partici than report it--or share masturbation than report it pants can be much more variable. Among many but they have not thought of it as masturbation or youthful groups, masturbation can co-occur with oral have not wanted to admit it. sex, anal sex, and other activities, and the children How Many People Participate? may not distinguish the behaviors as different. Some boys' groups do seem to hold to either self-masturba We hardly have any idea at all. When group mastur tion only, or self and mutual masturbation only. bation has made its way into surveys, it has likely been Adult lesbians rarely seem to select out shared jilling categorized as youthful sex play, generalized masturba off from other forms of group sex. Adult males do, tion, homosexual sex, or group sex. More probably, it however, consider shared JO a distinct behavior. Some has simply not been collected. Certainly more activity heterosexual sex groups also consider shared mastur occurs than is generally suspected, because researchers bation as a unique activity, probably having been led to have not asked and the public has not volunteered. this distinction partly by preference and partly by the Masturbation, homosexual sex, and group sex have need for safe sex. For heterosexual couples involved in strong stigmas attached to them for many people. nonmonogamy, group masturbation may be seen as While these activities may be accepted and discussed less threatening to the primary relationship than other privately, they may not be reported on surveys. forms of sex. After all, fewer than 20% of respondents to It has been especially difficult for researchers to get both US and UK surveys consider even mutual mastur information from the public about masturbation be bation-touching another person's genitals or vice havior. Laumann and colleagues (1994) reported: versa-as "having sex" (Pitts & Rahman, 2001). [Since masturbation was] the most sensitive topic of Why Does Group Masturbation Seem More Common any we discussed, making both respondents and inter viewers the most uncomfortable, [w]e adopted a form Among Males? to be filled out by the respondents themselves in an ef For one thing, solo masturbation has been reported fort to increase the accuracy of the report of the prac tice (p. 69). as more common among males than females in nu merous surveys over more than 40 years (Hite, 1976, The recent British National Survey of Sexual Atti 1981; Hunt, 1974; Janus & Janus, 1993; Kinsey et al., tudes and Lifestyles (Wellings, Field, Johnson & 1948, 1953; Laumann, Gagnon, Michael & Michaels, Wadsworth, 1994) excluded questions on masturba 1994). And why is that? Baldwin and Baldwin (1997) tion "because discussion of this practice had met both link male interest in sex and masturbation to visibility with distaste and embarrassment from respondents of the penis itself and erections, tangible evidence left involved in . .. question design" (p. 134). Adolescents by nocturnal ejaculations, greater social acceptance of can be particularly reticent; data from a recent study male sexuality, and higher levels of testosterone. suggest that adolescent masturbation is more likely to Aside from general masturbatory frequency differ be reported in young adulthood than in adolescence, Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 ences, other factors may predispose males more than even when confidential reporting techniques are used females to group masturbation. Western bathroom (Halpern, Udry & Suchindran, 2000). habits require males to expose their penises to each A complicating factor is that surveys typically ask, other from an early age. Group nudity on, say, swim for example, about homosexual sex acts or for experi ming teams and in showering is part of male culture ences "thought of as being sexual" (e.g., Bell, Wein and male scripting beginning in boyhood. For fe berg & Hammersmith, 1981a, p. 96). Yet many people males, casual, shared nudity is far more socially de do not label their shared masturbation as homosexual viant at all ages, even given the requirement for group or even sexual. My files are full of such disclaimers, showers in high school. And even when females do even from married men with JO buddies who do not share nudity, their genitals are less obvious and any consider their current and clandestine activities as ho sexual arousal cannot be seen. mosexual. Quite a few Internet ads actually seek As a matter of pure performance, male masturba "str8" partners or "married pals" for shared JO. A sur tion has a showy and contagious quality that can at vey about group masturbation reported in Men's Con tract an audience of imitators. In female masturbation, fidential magazine drew hundreds of responses from CORNOG 345
men, 95% self-described as heterosexual and 89% as ing of questions and the way people answer. Bell and married. Of respondents, 27% reported male group ac colleagues collected information only about experi tivities in youth and 44% in adulthood. In one infor ences seen as sexual. Since many people have not con mal adult group, "We all agreed that the experience sidered their early experiences homosexual or even enhanced sex with our wives" (Group Masturbation, sexual, surveys may not have picked up much same 1996, p. 11). A man once told me that he was a "het gender shared masturbation. And it may be that ho erosexual who likes cocks," and perhaps others would mosexual adults remember such experiences more agree with that description. often and more clearly than do heterosexuals. It is possible that participation in group masturba Is Group Masturbation Becoming More or Less Common? tion, in youth or in adulthood, may have implications Many of the boyhood circle jerk stories seem to for sexual self-esteem, body image, or ability to form come from older men, and it may be that circle jerks sexual and social relationships. But we will not know were more common in the past. Although still taboo until research studies are designed that actually ask among many people, masturbation is seen as more about shared and group masturbation. Then we can normal in the last 20 years, so fewer boys might need better estimate how many people participate, their group permission to indulge. Today, most young peo sexual orientation, and any typical characteristics. ple learn about masturbation and ejaculation via pub Among adults, it does appear that group masturba lic schools and the media, so ejaculation and orgasm tion is more popular among gay men than among les become less miraculous-and children might have bians or heterosexuals. The fact that gay men are at a less need to share the discovery. Further, with greater greater risk for HIV may be relevant. But more obvi public consciousness of homosexuality, more young ously, gay men find male sexuality attractive, and what people may shy away from activities that might be could show off male sexuality more emphatically than construed as homosexual. Perhaps fewer children a group of men ejaculating? Many men who consider have as much unstructured and unsupervised time to themselves heterosexual also enjoy watching other play together. And it may be that earlier eras of same men's ejaculations, and some even participate in shared gender boarding schools fostered a collective intimacy JO. Both homosexual and heterosexual sexually explicit that is less common now. videos feature external "cum shots," partly to prove the On the other hand, group masturbation among sex is real but also partly as sexual performance. adults may be increasing because of the desire for safe Conclusion sex and the opportunity to find companions through gay newspapers, small-circulation periodicals such as Group masturbation, sometimes called social mas Celebrate the Self and fox, and through the Internet. turbation by aficionados, is becoming of increasing Participation in group masturbation may also in sexological interest as an emerging cultural phenome crease because singlehood, sexual experience, and in non. Participants and observers describe same-gender volvement in noncoital sexual activities appear to be and mixed-gender adult masturbation groups as al increasingly acceptable and visible among young lowing sexual exhibitionism, voyeurism, experimen people of both sexes. tation, and variety in congenial settings, without risk of disease, pregnancy, or expectations for commit Do People Who Have Participated in Group Masturbation ment. One gay man wrote, "I've had a lover for almost Differ From Those Who Have Not? ten years. He's 30, still as sexy as when he was 20, and
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 21:34 13 February 2016 There are some reports that people who identify in we're compatible and monogamous except for partic adulthood as gay or lesbian more commonly had ipation in our J/0 club" (Califia, 1991, p. 170). It is childhood homosexual experiences-such as boys likely that organized JO and JJO groups will grow in masturbating with other boys-than those identifying number and visibility in coming years, and that small, as heterosexual. Dr. Ruth's Encyclopedia of Sex (West private circles will proliferate even more widely. heimer, 1994) states-without citing a source-that Certainly, empirical work should be done. Ques "Mutual masturbation among two males is believed to tions about partner and group masturbation contexts occur at least once among 25% of heterosexual males can be incorporated into general sex surveys as well as and 60% of gay males by age fourteen" (p. 175). Bell, into more focused research on masturbation itself. Weinberg, and Hammersmith (1981a) reported that Members of masturbation clubs can be surveyed and 84% of homosexual men had engaged in mutual mas interviewed to prepare club ethnographies and learn turbation before age 19, but only 21 % of heterosexual more about the psychological and sociological back men; for women, the percentages were 41 % and 4%. grounds of these aficionados. I invite other sexologists Yet these data may be questioned because of the word- in various disciplines to study this fascinating activity. 346 GROUP MASTURBATION
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