Teen Shan: Masturbate. Charming the snake. Flicking the bean. Blowing your own horn. 

Shan Boodram: OK, enough with the euphemisms. I'm gonna go ahead and just say it.

Masturbation. It's something that many do throughout their lives. And humans are far from the only animals who like a little me time. 

But sometimes masturbation is coupled with shame. So, let's do what we do and talk about it. 

Hi, I'm Shan Boodram, and this is Crash Course: Sex Ed. 

[Theme music]

Masturbation is stimulating your own genitals for sexual pleasure, which is a really clinical way to describe something humans have been enjoying for a long time. 

According to evolutionary biologists, in some saucy prehistoric rock paintings, humans have been masturbating for probably as long as we've been around.

And if it's not your thing, no sweat. But if it is, you're not alone. Even if no one's talking about it. Surveys show that most people masturbate regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, age, or relationship status. 

Yeah. So it's not just dudes and single people. 

Masturbation is a totally normal part of human sexuality, and everyone has their own relationship to it, including how they do it. 

For instance, archaeologists have discovered objects that were used as sex toys going as far back as the Han Dynasty in ancient China. 

And today, sexual aids are making it possible for more people of all abilities to enjoy sex. Teen Shan, let 'em know. 

In the 1960s, there was a lot of free love, baby. But not everyone was included in this so-called sexual revolution, especially disabled people. They wanted to have sex and did, but a lot of non-disabled folks saw them as devoid of sexuality. 

That's where Gosnell Duncan came in. In 1965, an accident left him paralysed from the waist down, which caused him to not be able to not be able to get an erection. 

As he got involved in the disability rights movement, he learned he wasn't the only one thinking about the intersection of disability and sexuality. 

Part of the problem at the time, sex toys were not great. Most were made of harsh smelling rubber that couldn't be washed and that melted in heat. 

So Duncan worked with a chemist to create the world's first silicone dildo. Washable, shareable, and easily used with low hand mobility.

And even though he made it for disabled folks, silicone became the thing in sex toys, which makes for a nicer, more hygienic time for people of all abilities. 

The world of sex toys has come a long way since those rubber dildos from the 60s. Today, there are tons of different kinds for all sorts of interests, sexualities, and abilities. 

A few words to the wise when it comes to sex toys:

Use condoms for shared toys. 

Only use objects that are specifically made for sexy time. 

And the golden rule, nothing goes up the butt if it doesn't have a flared base. Otherwise, it could get sucked up there. 

Emergency rooms have truly seen it all, y'all. 

So, masturbation is natural and normal and has been around forever. But is paddling the pink canoe or polishing the banister good for you? 

Short answer, it can be. Beyond just feeling good, many have reported that masturbation can help them relax, relieve anxiety and pain, and fall asleep.

Scientists still have a lot to learn about why that is, but one reason could be the increase of the hormones dopamine and oxytocin during orgasm, which can counteract cortisol, aka the stress hormone. 

Masturbation also stimulates the release of neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids, which helps regulate things like sleep, pain, and immune responses. 

And there might be some long-term medical benefits, too. 

Some research even found that for people with vulvas, the increased blood flow from masturbating regularly can help genital tissue healthy. 

Other studies have found that for folks with penises, more frequent ejaculation has some relationship with lowering the risk of developing prostate cancer later in life. 

Although it's not clear why yet, sex educators have also observed that masturbation can help people get to know their body and themselves as a sexual being.

It can help them figure out what they like  what they don’t like, and build a foundation they can explore with others if they choose to. 

With women in particular, studies have found that single women who masturbated reported being more sexually satisfied when they had partnered sex.

And overall, women who masturbate are more sexually confident and have a more positive self-image. 

And masturbation provides all these benefits with no risk of STI or pregnancy Now that's what I call an MVP. 

Of course, there can be such a thing as masturbating too much. If it gets in the way of someone's responsibilities or social life, it's a good idea to talk to a doctor or a counsellor. 

But in general, many studies have found evidence that the five finger shuffle can have upsides. So why do many cultures give it a bad rep?

It turns out people haven't always been cagey about masturbation. Back in the timeline, people openly acknowledged it more, including in creation stories. 

Like, the ancient Sumerians believed one of their gods created the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by ejaculating. 

And the ancient Egyptians believed that one of their gods created the entire universe by masturbating. 

Now, that's some BDE. 

The ancient Greeks saw masturbation as a normal bodily function, but for them, it did have a judgy edge to it. It was seen something for lower class citizens.

And they weren't the last to give masturbation some side eye. Many religions take a negative view of self pleasure for different reasons. Some see masturbation as an expression of lust, while others teach sex is something a person should only do with their spouse. 

But some of the shade has also come from historical doctors and scientists whose inaccurate ideas have bled over into the 21st century. 

For instance, in the 1700s, a famous Swiss doctor named Samuel-Auguste Tissot popularised the semen was "a vital fluid that shouldn't be wasted on anything but procreation." 

In what turned into a global campaign, he and other doctors spread the belief that masturbation made you weak and infertile. 

And because back then people thought semen originated in the brain, they said masturbating would also lose you a bunch of IQ points. 

And the wrong ideas didn't end there. As time went on, people started to think that masturbation wouldn't just cause physical problems, but psychological ones, too. 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, medical practitioners said masturbation caused disease, maladjustment, and even insanity, which led to some disturbing preventative methods. 

Like, the Victorians used anti-masturbation devices that would hurt the penis if it became erect. You could order one straight out of a catalogue. 

And self-proclaimed experts, like Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, came up with other gruesome ideas that are such nightmare fuel. I'll spare you the details. 

His least horrible idea? Probably that tasteless fibre-rich foods would keep the masses from masturbating, which is part of why he invented corn flakes. 

[Hand offers a bowl] No thank you. 

Yeah, that Kellogg  

These days, there's no evidence that masturbating will hurt your SAT scores, or that it causes psychological issues.

But unfortunately, some new myths have popped up in the last couple of years.

Movements like No Fap and No Nut November encourage men in particular to abstain from masturbation, because of the idea that not masturbating can lead to benefits like increased testosterone long-term, which to be clear has no scientific support  

The big takeaway, masturbation is a normal part of human sexuality. And there's no need to feel embarrassed about it. 

No one's going to go blind, or bald, or grow hair on their palms. Not from marching the penguin, or cuffing the carrot, or turning on the sprinklers. 

I can keep them coming, too. 

Next time, we are wrapping up the series by exploring what it means to be kinky. We'll see you then. 

This episode of Crash Course: Sex Ed was produced in partnership with the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. If you are interested in learning more, visit their website for resources that explore the topics we discussed in the video today. 

Thank you for watching this episode, which was filmed at our studio in Indianapolis and was made with the help of all these very awesome people. If you want to help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever, you can join our community on Patreon.