There is an immense “masturbatory gap” between men and women. While the former practice onanism 154 times a year, the latter masturbate only 49 times. Yet both sexes rate their libido at an almost identical level. So why so much disparity?
Men and women do not masturbate at all the same frequency. In any case, this is what we learn from a study carried out by the brand of sextoys Womanizer, which interviewed 6,000 men and women from twelve different countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States). And while men indulge in the joys of onanism 154 times a year, women only indulge 49 times.
This disparity has a name: the "masturbatory ditch", which is 68%. To raise awareness of this gender masturbation gap, Womanizer is launching the "World Equal Masturbation Day", September 5. "Before this date, women did not masturbate in 2020", specifies the brand. If the fact that men masturbate more often is often justified by stereotypical or allegedly biological arguments, the survey conducted by Womanizer dismantles these ideas. The latter assess their libido at 6.5 / 10 on average (6.8 in France), against 5.4 / 10 for women (6 in France). A difference far too slight to explain this gap in sexual fulfillment between women and men.
"Disgusting" and "indecent": female masturbation, this tenacious taboo
For Johanna Rief, responsible for the brand's sexual emancipation: “No one should feel pressured to masturbate if they don't want to. But masturbation is an important part of sexual autonomy. Unfortunately, shame, social stigma and lack of education prevent many. women to explore their own sexuality ". This gap reflects a social imbalance. "Even though there is progress, female masturbation is still a taboo subject in our society " considers the brand.
Evidence from the survey figures. 29% of French people say that male masturbation has become completely normal and commonplace in our society, while 15% think that female masturbation is considered taboo and is associated with the forbidden. 11% even report that it is seen as "disgusting" and "indecent". French women are 39% not to masturbate at all (against 20% of men).
Lack of sex education singled out
According to the brand, this masturbatory gap widens from an early age, at school. 91% of people surveyed in France have never talked about masturbation (male or female) in their school sex education classes. This figure is similar to the international average (female masturbation: 94%, male masturbation: 91%). In addition, less than one in ten people have had lessons on the size and function of the clitoris, although one in three people surveyed discussed female anatomy, including the reproductive system, in class.
Recall that according to a report from the High Council for Equality (HCE), one in four 15-year-old girls does not know that she has a clitoris and 84% of 13-year-old girls do not know how to represent their gender. Moreover, as the authors of the petition pointed out in a column published on The world in March 2019, only one in eight SVT textbooks to date correctly represent the clitoris. This is the manual for Magnard editions which, for the 2017-2018 school year, completely redesigned the brilliant female device. This is also what Clémentine Gallot and Caroline Michel denounced in a committed essay on the sexual load, The Sexual Charge. Why sexuality is the other mental load of women. For the authors (and they are not the only ones), sex education classes would benefit from being more inclusive and teaching consent, gender equality, and simply fun.
Reducing this masturbatory gap will therefore require the individual deconstruction of received ideas on female pleasure, but also to rethink institutions such as schools for more egalitarian sexuality.