History Main / SelfAbuse

* Downplayed in ''Literature/BlackHeart'' by Eric Van Lustbader. One character used to indulge in masturbation every night (while [[IncestSubtext perving on his sister]], no less). As an adult he's seduced by a beautiful woman, but finds he's just not experiencing as much pleasure as she is until the moment of orgasm.

* Downplayed in ''Black Heart'' by Eric Van Lustbader. One character used to indulge in masturbation every night (while [[IncestSubtext perving on his sister]], no less). As an adult he's seduced by a beautiful woman, but finds he's just not experiencing as much pleasure as she is until the moment of orgasm.

One of the reasons [[UsefulNotes/{{Pornography}} pornography]] has such a bad stigma connected to it is because it "[[OneThingLedToAnother incenses the mind to masturbate]]".

[[ADateWithRosiePalms Masturbation]] portrayed as being bad for you, possibly making you go blind,[[note]]There is some ''slight'' truth to this, as both ocular humor and ejaculate contain zinc, thus chronic masturbation could, in extreme cases, lead to a zinc deficiency that could harm the eyes. Nobody's known to have actually gone blind from it, though. Alternative "scientific" explanation: Semen contains an enzyme called hyaluronidase, and certain cells in the eye contain hyaluronic acid, the chemical hyaluronidase catalyses. Sounds unhealthy when colliding. That, and the possibility of accidentally [[{{Squick}} squirting jizz into your eye]].[[/note]] go deaf, or grow hair on your palms.

* ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion The End of Evangelion]]'' (in)famously opens up with Shinji... um... [[ADateWithRosiePalms having a moment]] over [[DudeShesLikeInAComa a comatose Asuka]] in her hospital room as an indicator of how low he's sunk after [[spoiler:Kaworu's death]] in Episode 24 of the TV series. His own immediate response to it[[note]]"I'm the lowest" (JP) "I'm so fucked up" (ENG)[[/note]] is what ''really'' cements this incident under this trope. Even more, that moment's association with this trope is used as a plot point during [[spoiler:[[AssimilationPlot Instrumentality]]]].

* In the 1980 sci-fi comedy ''Film/{{Galaxina}}'', TheCaptain of the space cruiser on which the eponymous RobotGirl serves strongly discourages [[RoboSexual having sex with a robot]] because you could go blind. They shouldn't have built Galaxina to resemble the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Stratten 1980 Playmate of the Year]] then, because as she's the only female on the ship [[ADateWithRosiePalms the crew would go blind either way]].

* Downplayed in ''Black Heart'' by Eric Van Lustbader. One character used to indulge in ADateWithRosiePalms every night (while [[IncestSubtext perving on his sister]], no less). As an adult he's seduced by a beautiful woman, but finds he's just not experiencing as much pleasure as she is until the moment of orgasm.

* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'': A blind boy with hairy palms is used by Princess Clara in her crusade against masturbation, only for said blindness and hairy palms to be instantly cured by Wooldor's ejaculate. The boy [[ADateWithRosiePalms promptly rushes to find an empty room and a bottle of hand lotion]] and is later seen with blurred vision and hairy palms once more during the killing spree.

* In Literature/TheBible, Onan (in Genesis 38) was told to--in accordance with the duty of levirate marriage--have a child with Tamar, [[RomancingTheWidow the wife of his dead brother Er]]. He didn't want to give her a child that would not be considered truly his, so he practiced coitus interruptus (apparently without telling Tamar what he was planning). God was displeased and struck Onan down. While ostensibly only about Onan's refusal to get Tamar pregnant, traditionally this story has been interpreted about coitus interruptus in general and masturbation by extension (the idea that it's abhorrent to ejaculate anywhere but into your wife's body -- or, as the popular [[BeamMeUpScotty not-actually-in-the-Bible verse]] goes, it's "better to have your seed in the belly of a whore than to spill it on the ground").

* Unlike Christianity, Islam is somewhat divided on masturbation. Some scholars consider it disliked by God but not considered a sin. If someone avoids a disliked action they would be rewarded by God. The more fundamentalist scholars see it as forbidden, full stop. There is a middle ground that states you can masturbate without porn to avoid immoral sexual desires and adultery. It's been shown that the Prophet's companions had masturbated while travelling, and during wars when their wives weren't present to give them much-needed gratification.

* Doctor Crombie, the eponymous character in Graham Greene's short story, expounds that cancer is a result of masturbation... More accurately, he claims it is a cause of "playing with oneself", the euphemism giving rise to humour. The central theme of the story is to demonstrate the folly of conflating correlation and causation: "Almost one hundred per cent of those who died of cancer had practised sex".

* Unhappily married Samad in ''Literature/WhiteTeeth'' tries to cherry-pick the ambiguities in Islamic writings as to whether masturbation is okay or not- the imam tells him that he knows the answer- to 'stay away from his right hand!' That's fine with Samad: [[ExactWords his right hand is paralysed anyway]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Mostly a DiscreditedTrope. While certain Jewish and Christian groups still do frown on male masturbation because of the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Onan]] in the Old Testament, [[note]]Which is actually a case of AlternateAesopInterpretation; Onan didn't actually masturbate with his own hands, but instead avoided ejaculating inside Tamar while they had sex to get around the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yibbum levirate marriage laws]] of the time, which was considered SeriousBusiness[[/note]] the idea that masturbation could cause actual, physical harm came from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and the Second Great Awakening in the US. These were the days of MoralGuardians like U.S. postmaster Anthony Comstock and Boy Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell, who believed that children indulging in "Secret Practices" would waste away their youth and vigor, and scores of ministers whose most lasting innovations in hygiene turned out to be [[http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/grahamcrackers.asp Graham crackers]] and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. All those old wives' tales and warnings have been turned on their ear in recent years. In fact, it has gone the other way to a certain degree. For men, medical studies suggest masturbation could lower risk for testicular cancer and help keep the prostate from becoming engorged; for women, masturbation can relieve premenstrual pain, strengthen muscles used in childbirth and treat vaginismus (a condition where the pelvic floor becomes tense, making sexual intercourse painful). Many countries' sexual education systems now recommend masturbation for young people in particular - statistics have shown that teenagers who masturbate are more likely to wait for the age of consent before they start to have sex, and also report better experiences once they do. However, masturbating too often or too much at once can cause genital pain, fatigue, and even penile fracture, so as with most things, it should be done in moderation.

* This point of view is hilariously mocked by Creator/MarkTwain in an 1879 speech he gave to a private club called [[http://www.textfiles.com/etext/AUTHORS/TWAIN/onanism.txt "On the Science of Onanism"]].

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Ferengi ears are a source of FantasticArousal when touched (and thus, grabbing them when pissed is analogous to a GroinAttack.) There's a form of ear massage called "oomox." Naturally, there's a reference to an old wives tale giving yourself oomox too much making you go deaf.

[[ADateWithRosiePalms Masturbation]] portrayed as being bad for you, possibly making you go blind[[note]]There is some slight truth to this, as both ocular humor and ejaculate contain zinc, thus chronic masturbation could, in extreme cases, lead to a zinc deficiency that could harm the eyes. Nobody's known to have actually gone blind from it, though. Alternative "scientific" explanation: Semen contains an enzyme called hyaluronidase, and certain cells in the eye contain hyaluronic acid, the chemical hyaluronidase catalyses. Sounds unhealthy when colliding. That, and the possibility of accidentally [[{{Squick}} squirting jizz into your eye]].[[/note]], go deaf, or grow hair on your palms.

Mostly a DiscreditedTrope. While certain Jewish and Christian groups still do frown on male masturbation because of the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Onan]] in the Old Testament, [[note]]Which is actually a case of AlternateAesopInterpretation; Onan didn't actually masturbate with his own hands, but instead avoided ejaculating inside Tamar while they had sex to get around the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yibbum levirate marriage laws]] of the time, which was considered SeriousBusiness[[/note]] the idea that masturbation could cause actual, physical harm came from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and the Second Great Awakening in the US. These were the days of MoralGuardians like U.S. postmaster Anthony Comstock and Boy Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell, who believed that children indulging in "Secret Practices" would waste away their youth and vigor, and scores of ministers whose most lasting innovations in hygiene turned out to be [[http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/grahamcrackers.asp Graham crackers]] and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. All those old wives' tales and warnings have been turned on their ear in recent years. In fact, it has gone the other way to a certain degree. For men, medical studies suggest masturbation could lower risk for testicular cancer and help keep the prostate from becoming engorged; for women, masturbation can relieve premenstrual pain, strengthen muscles used in childbirth and treat vaginismus (a condition where the pelvic floor becomes tense, making sexual intercourse painful). Many countries' sexual education systems now recommend masturbation for young people in particular - statistics have shown that teenagers who masturbate are more likely to wait for the age of consent before they start to have sex, and also report better experiences once they do.

* The early-Victorian BoardingSchool novel ''Eric, or Little by Little'', has a notorious passage warning boys in hysterical terms against masturbation, referred to obscurely as "Kibroth-Hattaavah", a place from the Book of Numbers in the Bible which translates from Hebrew as "grave of lust" (although the "lust" punished by God in the biblical story was actually lust for food, or gluttony, rather than sexual lust).

* Referenced in the titles of two R-rated sketch comedy films (basically ''Film/LoveAmericanStyle'' with naked chicks): ''If You Don't Stop It You'll Go Blind'' and its sequel ''Can I Do It 'til I Need Glasses?''. The latter is famous for [[OldShame being the much-regretted first movie]] of Creator/RobinWilliams.

* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', the fascist Measurehead approves of this and recommends "semen retention" during the Fascist vision quest. Of course, it ''is'' a deranged literal fascist recommending this worldview.

* In the 1980 sci-fi comedy ''Galaxina'', TheCaptain of the space cruiser on which the eponymous RobotGirl serves strongly discourages [[RoboSexual having sex with a robot]] because you could go blind. They shouldn't have built Galaxina to resemble the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Stratten 1980 Playmate of the Year]] then, because as she's the only female on the ship [[ADateWithRosiePalms the crew would go blind either way]].

* Creator/BillCosby brilliantly lampooned the hypocrisy inherent in this trope in his "For Adults" album, with this exchange:
-->'''Father:''' Son, that'll cause blindness.\\
'''Son:''' Dad? ''[{{Beat}}]'' I'm over ''here''.

* In the 1982 satire ''Wrong Is Right'', a CIA analysis of the Middle Eastern dictator lists "chronic masturbator" [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking among his many evils]].

Mostly a DiscreditedTrope. While certain Jewish and Christian groups still do frown on male masturbation because of the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Onan]] in the Old Testament, [[note]]Though he [[CommonKnowledge didn't actually masturbate with his own hands]], but instead avoided ejaculating inside Tamar while they had sex; whatever the interpretation, it's generally agreed upon that Onan was struck down because procreational sex is considered SeriousBusiness, at least at the time the Bible was written[[/note]] the idea that masturbation could cause actual, physical harm came from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and the Second Great Awakening in the US. These were the days of MoralGuardians like U.S. postmaster Anthony Comstock and Boy Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell, who believed that children indulging in "Secret Practices" would waste away their youth and vigor, and scores of ministers whose most lasting innovations in hygiene turned out to be [[http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/grahamcrackers.asp Graham crackers]] and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. All those old wives' tales and warnings have been turned on their ear in recent years. In fact, it has gone the other way to a certain degree. For men, medical studies suggest masturbation could lower risk for testicular cancer and help keep the prostate from becoming engorged; for women, masturbation can relieve premenstrual pain, strengthen muscles used in childbirth and treat vaginismus (a condition where the pelvic floor becomes tense, making sexual intercourse painful). Many countries' sexual education systems now recommend masturbation for young people in particular - statistics have shown that teenagers who masturbate are more likely to wait for the age of consent before they start to have sex, and also report better experiences once they do.

Mostly a DiscreditedTrope. While certain Jewish and Christian groups still do frown on male masturbation because of the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Onan]] in the Old Testament, [[note]]Though he [[CommonKnowledge didn't actually masturbate with his own hands]], but instead avoided ejaculating inside Tamar while they had sex; whatever the interpretation, it's generally agreed upon that Onan was struck down because procreational sex is considered SeriousBusiness, at least at the time the Bible was written[[/note]] the idea that masturbation could cause actual, physical harm came from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and the Second Great Awakening in the US. These were the days of MoralGuardians like U.S. postmaster Anthony Comstock and Boy Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell, who believed that children indulging in "Secret Practices" would waste away their youth and vigor, and scores of ministers whose most lasting innovations in hygiene turned out to be [[http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/grahamcrackers.asp Graham crackers]] and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. All those old wives' tales and warnings have been turned on their ear in recent years. In fact, it has gone the other way to a certain degree with medical studies suggesting that masturbation for men could lower their risk for testicular cancer. And for men otherwise lacking a sexual outlet, this helps keep the prostate from becoming engorged.

* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', Claire joked that her brother Clinton has a robotic hand because he masturbated his own off (according to Clinton, it got blown off in a fireworks accident).

Mostly a DiscreditedTrope. While certain Jewish and Christian groups still do frown on male masturbation because of the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Onan]] in the Old Testament, [[note]]Though he [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer didn't actually masturbate with his own hands]], but instead avoided ejaculating inside Tamar while they had sex; whatever the interpretation, it's generally agreed upon that Onan was struck down because procreational sex is considered SeriousBusiness, at least at the time the Bible was written.[[/note]] the idea that masturbation could cause actual, physical harm came from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and the Second Great Awakening in the US. These were the days of MoralGuardians like U.S. postmaster Anthony Comstock and Boy Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell, who believed that children indulging in "Secret Practices" would waste away their youth and vigor, and scores of ministers whose most lasting innovations in hygiene turned out to be [[http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/grahamcrackers.asp Graham crackers]] and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. All those old wives' tales and warnings have been turned on their ear in recent years. In fact, it has gone the other way to a certain degree with medical studies suggesting that masturbation for men could lower their risk for testicular cancer. And for men otherwise lacking a sexual outlet, this helps keep the prostate from becoming engorged.