"I don't want anybody else When I think about you I touch myself"
Lots of people masturbate! It's nothing to be ashamed of. Or maybe it is. Either way, it's not something you'd bring up in polite conversation. However, it's given quite a different treatment in fiction. Unlike
Nobody Poops or
No Periods, Period, where the function is simply not mentioned because it would be
Nausea Fuel, masturbation in fiction often fits into four different categories:
- It's aimed at or about teenagers (usually Played for Laughs) and the character is either a horny teenage boy, or another character, usually the parents, think that he's masturbating when he is very obviously (or sometimes not so obviously) not.
- The character masturbating is sexually frustrated, disturbed, perverted, or is a nerd/has no social life.
- It's a military or a prison setting. The masturbation here would be explained by the shortage of women (or men), boredom and loneliness.
- In porn or erotica, it can be used for sexual titillation for the viewers.
Of course, there's a pretty valid reason why "normal" masturbation isn't depicted very often — it doesn't accomplish much. There aren't many ways that masturbation could advance the plot of a story, and because it's generally a solitary activity, there usually won't be any character interaction involved.
Also note that male masturbation is used far more often than female... though that's not to say that female masturbation isn't given
any attention in fiction (the "
Rumpelstiltskin" tale supposedly had the
original message, "women who masturbate become infertile"). In older media, expect references to hairy palms and/or blindness, two widespread myths used to keep boys from masturbating, with keeping boys from masturbating being a major motive for
moral guardians and their anti-porn crusades. (
Of course, we have Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions.)
And now, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend
Jill (Shakes hands).
And because this page wouldn't be complete without her: In Ankh-Morpork on
Discworld, Rosie Palm, the head of the
Seamstresses' Guild, is named as a
Shout Out to this, derived from an old British euphemism, "Rosie Palms and her five lovely daughters".
FUN FACT: There is a Spanish actress known as Rossy de Palma. The more you know...
List of masturbation tropes:
