A Date with Rosie Palms

"I implore you. I implore all women on behalf of all men. Do not take the wrongness of masturbation from us!"

— Steve, Coupling

Pretty much all people masturbate, although it's not something you'd bring up in polite conversation. ^note 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 a few different categories:

It's aimed at or about teenagers (usually Played for Laughs) and the character is usually a horny teenage boy, and 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. When Sex Is Cool and Everybody Has Lots of Sex, masturbating is portrayed as a shameful last resort for losers who can't get laid.
It's a military or a prison setting (or a single-sex boarding school). The masturbation here would be explained by the shortage of women (or men), boredom and loneliness.
Artificial insemination due to lack of partners, incompatible sexual orientation, etc.
In porn or erotica, it can be used for the sexual titillation of the viewers.

Of course, there's a pretty valid reason why "normal" masturbation isn't depicted very often — it's actually quite a mundane and meaningless thing (see People Sit on Chairs). 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 (except in porn, for the above-mentioned reasons)... 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.

List of masturbation tropes:

Breaking In Old Habits - A character receives a replacement hand and immediately uses it to masturbate.
Caught with Your Pants Down - A character is caught masturbating.
I'll Be in My Bunk - A character who steps off-stage is humorously portrayed as leaving to masturbate.
Jizzed in My Pants - Yeah, self explanatory.
Man, I Feel Like a Woman - After a man transforms into a woman, the first thing he does is test his new "equipment".
Mistaken for Masturbating - Characters think someone is masturbating when they actually aren't.
Porn Stash - A character has a personal collection of pornography, and can usually be assumed to use it as an aid to masturbation.
Poor Man's Porn - A character gets off to something not strictly intended to be used for that purpose.
Self-Abuse - Masturbation is portrayed as bad for you.

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List of masturbation tropes:

Alternative Title(s): Masturbation, Touching Yourself, Ill Be In The Basement, Onanism, Yourself

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List of masturbation tropes:

Alternative Title(s): Masturbation, Touching Yourself, Ill Be In The Basement, Onanism, Yourself

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