Is masturbation a physical need or something else?

Someone already thought of it.

http://www. masturbateforpeace. com/

Although you need to be careful.

http://www. masturbationhorror. com/

It’s different for each person. Some people will become extremely agitated without frequent social outlets, while others (such as myself) would be perfectly content without them. Likewise, some people will experience wet dreams without frequent sexual outlets (such as yourself), while others do not. My citations in my last post noted studies in which some men went two years or more without ejaculation whatsoever, but each man is different and there are few studies into what causes wet dreams in women.

Al evidence points to it being something that differs individual by individual. The fact that women’s “nocturnal emissions” aren’t well understood just complicates matters further. They might be far more common than anyone realizes, after all, since if a woman experiences the physical effects of an orgasm while sleeping without remembering it, there’s no evidence left behind. The same cannot be said of men. They may not remember any such “wet dream” but wake up with clear evidence of ejaculation, and so the experience is better documented and (somewhat) better understood.

While you make an interesting anecdote about your experiences with erotic dreams, no sweeping generalizations can be made from that. It’s very clear that not everyone has the same experience, pointing to it being something that differs on an individual basis, like many other aspects of sexuality.

The Master Speaks:

Presumably could apply to masturbation, too.

I love the Google Ad – for The Second Coming!

Gen 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

Gen 38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
I wouldn’t do that, God might kill you!

Masurbation has always been normal. Preachers have always been abnormal.

Come on I don’t even get a groan for my joke? Get it - ceed is seed? :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ll give you a Beavis chuckle for using the word “groan”—will that do?

I don’t think this is as clear cut as you make it seem. Is ejaculation caused by an erotic dream, or an erotic dream caused by ejaculation? I know I’ve dreamt of dinosaurs shaking the earth to wake up and find a crew tearing down the building next door, or of fire alarms to wake to my alarm clock. The dreams, long though they may seem, incorporate stimuli happening in the waking world, and are even sometimes caused by them. Time works differently when you dream. It could very well be that the long delicious encounter with Heidi Klum in your dream was in an outside reality a 2 second blip of a dream that happened at the moment your pipes entered self-cleaning mode.

Excellent point, WhyNot. The “wet dream” aspect could very well be an explanation that the mind comes up with upon noticing the physical processes that are going on. Taking into account that plenty of so-called “wet dreams” aren’t particularly erotic in nature and many men will have nocturnal emissions without accompanying dreams, the line gets even fuzzier.

This could be evidence that masturbation is not so much a need as it is a habit or addiction. Smokers, for example, get upset, restless, and frustrated if they don’t smoke. Does this mean that tobacco is a need?

For that matter, is the SDMB a need? :slight_smile:

Not too fuzzy though, the Master sez “nocturnal orgasms are often accompanied by erotic dreams” That some are not does not disprove a link between erotic dreams and nocturnal emissions.

Masturbation is an art form, and as such, should be protected as freedom of expression under s. 19 of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and under various national constitutions, such as s. 2(b) of Canada’s Charter, and the 1st amendment to the USA’s Constitution.

[looks around]What?[/looks around]