# Is female masturbation a sin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659 "2010-11-14T19:12:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/1 "2010-11-14T19:12:44Z")
Is masturbation by women prohibited anywhere in the Bible? There’s no Onan involved. How about the Talmud, the koran, or the Torah or other holy writings, but especially the Bible. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/2 "2010-11-14T19:15:41Z")
I mean “masturbation”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/3 "2010-11-14T19:17:02Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I mean “masturbation”. Fixed thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/4 "2010-11-14T19:20:16Z")
I don’t know of any specific prohibition aimed at female masturbation. However, I would think it would be considered a sin because anyone who is masturbating is also acting on feelings of lust. I’m pretty sure lust is considered a sin in the religions you mentioned. But like I said, I don’t know of anything addressing the act itself when done by a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/5 "2010-11-14T19:23:58Z")
The sin of Onan wasn’t masturbation, either. It’s that he was failing in his duty to impregnate his brother’s widow. If he had done that and also spent some “alone time” on the side, there would have been no problem. (I almost said “no issue” in that last sentence, but I’m pretty sure that would have been a triple-entendre). ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/6 "2010-11-14T19:25:01Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I don’t know of any specific prohibition aimed at female masturbation. However, I would think it would be considered a sin because anyone who is masturbating is also acting on feelings of lust. I’m pretty sure lust is considered a sin in the religions you mentioned. But like I said, I don’t know of anything addressing the act itself when done by a woman. Lust is okay within the bounds of Catholic tradition. I think. Jews too, I think. It’s one of the joys. But we’re looking for sins, not joy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/7 "2010-11-14T19:27:03Z")
No, and it isn’t for males either. Onan’s coitus interuptus is not masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/8 "2010-11-14T19:29:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The sin of Onan wasn’t masturbation, either. It’s that he was failing in his duty to impregnate his brother’s widow. If he had done that and also spent some “alone time” on the side, there would have been no problem. > > (I almost said “no issue” in that last sentence, but I’m pretty sure that would have been a triple-entendre). I know, but some religions blame their prohibition on Onan. They (we) call it “onanism”. Some say that withdrawal is effectively the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/9 "2010-11-14T19:38:01Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > No, and it isn’t for males either. Onan’s coitus interuptus is not masturbation. Technically that’s correct. [But](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onanism?show=0&t=1289763225) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/10 "2010-11-14T20:12:05Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Technically that’s correct. > [But](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onanism?show=0&t=1289763225) **Mangeorge** ’s link takes you to Merriam-Webster’s definition, and distinctions among _masturbation, coitus interruptus, and self-gratification._ The Google Ad that came up was **Ask an Onan Technician.** Clicking on that leads to a small-engine forum. The Onan company makes small engines. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/11 "2010-11-14T20:20:21Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > **Mangeorge** ’s link takes you to Merriam-Webster’s definition, and distinctions among _masturbation, coitus interruptus, and self-gratification._ The Google Ad that came up was **Ask an Onan Technician.** Clicking on that leads to a small-engine forum. The Onan company makes small engines. :smack: Well, who needs a big engine for solo work? ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/12 "2010-11-14T20:44:13Z")
Bible does not explicitly mention either male or female masturbation. The (hard to enforce) prohibitions against both of these were arrived at by analogical reasoning and reflect the general dogmatic principle that all sexual activity is supposed to happen within marriage. Another such example would be prohibition of gambling in some religions - there is no mention of gambling in the Bible either. Not to mention things that simply did not exist back then, e.g. there were no narcotic drugs in Israel so the closest Biblical injunction would be one against alcohol abuse. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/13 "2010-11-14T21:49:34Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > … there were no narcotic drugs in Israel so the closest Biblical injunction would be one against alcohol abuse. I would be stunned if there were no narcotic drugs available to the writers of the early Abrahamic works: opium poppies have been used and abused since at least 4000 BC; they’re mentioned in Sumerian texts of that era as already being well known. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/14 "2010-11-14T23:37:08Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > Bible does not explicitly mention either male or female masturbation. The (hard to enforce) prohibitions against both of these were arrived at by analogical reasoning and reflect the general dogmatic principle that all sexual activity is supposed to happen within marriage. … Exactly. The authorities decided that Onans early withdrawal showed that he was having sex for pleasure rather than procreation. God’s anger at this was interpreted to mean that sex was for reproduction, not fun. They extended this to all sexual pleasures including masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/15 "2010-11-14T23:38:31Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I would be stunned if there were no narcotic drugs available to the writers of the early Abrahamic works: opium poppies have been used and abused since at least 4000 BC; they’re mentioned in Sumerian texts of that era as already being well known. well, perhaps “Israel” is the key word here? Let’s say marijuana has always been a part of Indian culture, much like alcohol in the West. So we might expect to see condemnations of excessive marijuana abuse in literature of that part of the world, whereas Western literature, Bible included, concentrates on the more socially relevant alcohol abuse problem. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/16 "2010-11-14T23:45:34Z")
In Jewish law, it is considered “immodest” but is not a punishable (by a Jewish court) prohibition. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/17 "2010-11-15T00:05:14Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > well, perhaps “Israel” is the key word here? Let’s say marijuana has always been a part of Indian culture, much like alcohol in the West. So we might expect to see condemnations of excessive marijuana abuse in literature of that part of the world, whereas Western literature, Bible included, concentrates on the more socially relevant alcohol abuse problem. There is archaeological evidence that opium and hashish were produced, traded and used all over the ancient middle east from great antitquity, including the Biblical eras of Israel. Those drugs are believed to have been mostly used medicinally, though, not recreationally. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/18 "2010-11-15T00:07:38Z")
If seed spillage is the sin, that leaves women out. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/19 "2010-11-15T00:27:00Z")
Onana’s sin wasn’t really even the spillage, _per se_, it was disobedience to God and refusal to fulfill his brotherly duty. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659/20 "2010-11-15T00:28:46Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Lust is okay within the bounds of Catholic tradition. I think. Jews too, I think. > It’s one of the joys. > But we’re looking for sins, not joy. 😉 Lust is a mortal sin according to [this entry](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09438a.htm) in The Catholic Encylopedia. [The Wikipedia entry](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust?wasRedirected=true) indicates it would be a sin for Protestants, Jews and Muslims as well. After all, it is one of the seven deadly ones, right? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-female-masturbation-a-sin/560659.md?page=2)