Contrary to what some may believe, girls masturbate.
Masturbation—touching your own body, especially your genitals, for pleasure—is a completely normal form of self-care. It relieves stress and is highly pleasurable.
Sometimes, people don’t want to imagine girls being sexually independent and masturbating. People want to imagine girls as innocent and pure, even though masturbation changes none of those things.
Rather, it makes us more aware of ourselves and leaves us in more control of our bodies than ever before. Why is that important?
Because being aware of what we do or don’t like and feeling in control of our bodies means we can voice our desires to our partners when the time comes.
And anything that helps spark communication between partners provides an opening for important discussions about sexual histories, safer sex and consent, allowing all parties to feel engaged in every step of the process and to feel as though they are being heard.
Porn and sex games offer a great way to set the mood. We’ve compared some sex games here, and have another article about how watching porn can be healthy too.
Masturbation—touching your own body, especially your genitals, for pleasure—is a completely normal form of self-care.
Safety First
While this article is all about the normalcy of female masturbation, it’s always important to discuss a few aspects of masturbation that don’t generally get talked about: safety.
As a girl, it can sometimes be harder to get off without the help of handy little tools. In some areas, sex toys cannot be purchased if you’re under 18, so some girls get creative with hard veggies, household items, haphazard homemade dildos and things like that, but this is not safe, smart or even the only way to do it. Below are a few things to keep in mind if you choose to masturbate:
• Wash your hands before and after you masturbate. This can help prevent the spread of bacteria, which can cause infection. If you touch your rectum or anus, wash your hands before touching your genitals.
• Pee after you are done. This can help prevent urinary tract infections.
• Never share sex toys or other objects used for masturbation without cleaning them. I once read a comment where a girl explained that she had found her mother’s vibrator and used it on herself. If you can’t be sure a sex toy is clean, you risk getting an infection.
• Never put food into your vagina. Don’t masturbate with food. I have heard way too many horror stories from friends, family, and commenters online about the unfortunate circumstance of trying to masturbate with food, such as a cucumber or hot dog, and having it break off inside of them.
It’s All About Your Pleasure
It’s important to not only be safe, but to also find what works for you. Using your fingers and hands to touch yourself is probably one of the safest methods and has been used for centuries. For some, inserting their fingers inside of them is the most stimulating, but for others, gently touching or rubbing the opening of the vagina, the vaginal lips and/or the clitoris brings pleasure.
For some, a little of both does the trick. Besides staying safe, the most important thing about masturbation is remembering that it’s really all about what feels good to you, no matter the method. Nobody knows what your body wants better than you do, and that is your power.
Masturbation = Girl Power!
Masturbating can help girls figure out what they enjoy sexually. Masturbation also gives girls a sense of self-advocacy and ownership over our bodies.
It allows us to be active in our decisions, every step of the way, to practice the sort of love and self-care that we deserve, and to get to know ourselves better.
It allows us to feel like we have permission to enjoy the acts that we choose to engage in rather than just being silent participants. Girls are human, and we deserve the chance to feel good—just as much as boys do.
So, let’s normalize female masturbation, and take ownership over our sexual choices and ideas. Because life’s too short to be embarrassed about self-care.
