Is masturbation moral or immoral?

[Senator Snowstalker]

Rubbing your cock Scootaloo is just rubbing your cock Scootaloo.

[traininthedistance]

Masturbation is one of the most moral things you can do.  I'm dead serious here.

[Is Totally Not Feeblepizza.]

Neither moral nor immoral; it just is what it is.

[IDS Judicial Overlord John Dibble]

Neither. Morality mostly has to do with interactions with other people. Since it's something you are willingly doing with yourself there's not a moral aspect to it.

[Yelnoc]

Might as well quote a Dr. Seuss book, TJ.

Oh come on, man.  You might think TJ's position is bizarre, but you can have some basic respect.

To the OP, I don't see how this question falls within the realm of morality.

[Marokai]

I can't wait for TJ to be out and proud in a few years.

And as for the question; it's neither. But it certainly has positive health benefits that could arguably make it more moral, than immoral, if one had to take a position.

[Dr. Cynic]

Masturbation is not moral or immoral. It just is. It harms no one, but it doesn't really solve anything either...

It can be good as a stress reliever though.

[dialectical fetishist]

Neither, as this question would suppose there's one fixed set of morals.

To call it immoral is a bit 16th centry though.

[Californian Tony]

Neither. Morality mostly has to do with interactions with other people. Since it's something you are willingly doing with yourself there's not a moral aspect to it.

There have been a lot of good answers, but this one is the best I think.

[angus]

Would anyone care to explain how masturbation is, in fact, moral but not a neutral issue?

Thing 1 and Thing 2 can help you with that.
Don't believe me?  Just go ask The Cat.
Perhaps it's amoral for a cat who's all black
When no one is looking to lie down and jack.


At least that's how I interpreted it:  I voted neither assuming that it means amoral (i.e., not concerned with morality.)  However, as you get older you will find that there's a real morality associated with excessive masturbation.  There's what I already mentioned, and even if you're not in a committed relationship, you're creating more laundry for your poor mother.  She's already out all day slaving away at her job to keep you in ipods and Nikes and video games.  At the very least, if you're going to pound it five times a day, you should offer to assist her with the laundry. 

Also, if you are tossing your seed to the wind every night, you'll become less interested in women.  Rosie will become your best friend, and you'll stop looking for pussy.  You'll get to a point where you can't wait to get back home after an evening out with the guys.  You'll leave early, excited to get back home and jump between the sheets.  You'll turn down potential dates with attractive, single young women, in favor of practicing self-abuse.  I guess it's like anything else:  in the abstract, and in moderation, it's rather amoral.  But if it becomes excessive and burdensome, or takes your attention away from your studies and your family, then it becomes immoral.


As for Harry and Sally, on that cold, cold wet day
What will they do while their mother's away?
They might play Twister, or Monopoly,
Or watch a porn movie, starring Ron Jeremy.   

[realisticidealist]

I think it's immoral, but in a relatively benign way; I'm not going to actively comdemn anyone for it. The only person you're potentially hurting is yourself (and your partner/future partner). I'd rather people did it than slept around, though.

[afleitch]

I think it's immoral, but in a relatively benign way; I'm not going to actively comdemn anyone for it. The only person you're potentially hurting is yourself (and your partner/future partner). I'd rather people did it than slept around, though.

But how are you even hurting yourself? On what basis is there any physical or emotional 'hurt' involved? At most it could be considered hurtful if done to excess, but that is the same with numerous other things from eating to exercise. It's a healthy sexual expression (as a rule I tend not to take any moral advice on sex, relationships, marriage or children from an organisation with a male hierarchy that never experiences any of these things), and is only considered 'wrong' due to some misplaced guilt.

[realisticidealist]

I think it's immoral, but in a relatively benign way; I'm not going to actively comdemn anyone for it. The only person you're potentially hurting is yourself (and your partner/future partner). I'd rather people did it than slept around, though.

But how are you even hurting yourself? On what basis is there any physical or emotional 'hurt' involved? At most it could be considered hurtful if done to excess, but that is the same with numerous other things from eating to exercise. It's a healthy sexual expression (as a rule I tend not to take any moral advice on sex, relationships, marriage or children from an organisation with a male hierarchy that never experiences any of these things), and is only considered 'wrong' due to some misplaced guilt.

It's extremely easy to get addicted to, in the full sense of that word, that like alcohol it can run your life. Additionally, it desensitizes you to a lot of sexual things when done over an extended period of time. It also dilutes your brains ability to make proper oxytocin pairings through overstimulation, especially when used with porn. Those are just the physical reasons. I know these things from experience, unfortunately.

[Prez Duke]

The only immoral thing about masturbation is what I think about when I am doing it. The physical act itself I don't view as immoral, but I have warped morals to begin with so I am not the best person to ask.

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

Neither.

It's not immoral in the sense that it's human nature.


But it is immoral if you do it public, talk about it in public, etc...

[opebo]

I think it's immoral, but in a relatively benign way; I'm not going to actively comdemn anyone for it. The only person you're potentially hurting is yourself (and your partner/future partner). I'd rather people did it than slept around, though.

But how are you even hurting yourself? On what basis is there any physical or emotional 'hurt' involved? At most it could be considered hurtful if done to excess, but that is the same with numerous other things from eating to exercise. It's a healthy sexual expression (as a rule I tend not to take any moral advice on sex, relationships, marriage or children from an organisation with a male hierarchy that never experiences any of these things), and is only considered 'wrong' due to some misplaced guilt.

It's extremely easy to get addicted to, in the full sense of that word, that like alcohol it can run your life. Additionally, it desensitizes you to a lot of sexual things when done over an extended period of time. It also dilutes your brains ability to make proper oxytocin pairings through overstimulation, especially when used with porn.

What utter rot. 

I like to do it without finishing, so there isn't any oxycodone involved anyway - just a passtime, like playing Risk online or Freecell when the net connection's down.

But as to the question posed by the (on this issue) sensible Afleitch, it can cause a slight malformation of your rutabaga, if done for more than four hours at a time.  In my experience this is always set right betimes the next night's boomsing, however.

[Old Europe]

It's good for your body, therefore "moral".

Exception is when you use a vacuum cleaner to do it. Then it's potentially unhealthy and therefore immoral.

[angus]

Exception is when you use a vacuum cleaner to do it. Then it's potentially unhealthy and therefore immoral.

You just need to have the right model.

[Rooney]

How could 17-people actually reason that it is "moral" to rub one off? It does not harm anyone and is certainly not a sin, but if an Eight grade male thinks he will be canonized for jacking off then he is certainly off base.

[opebo]

How could 17-people actually reason that it is "moral" to rub one off? It does not harm anyone and is certainly not a sin, but if an Eight grade male thinks he will be canonized for jacking off then he is certainly off base.

It should be celebrated!

Though I have to admit that prostitution would be better.

[Redalgo]

How could 17-people actually reason that it is "moral" to rub one off? It does not harm anyone and is certainly not a sin, but if an Eight grade male thinks he will be canonized for jacking off then he is certainly off base.

If one partner is in the mood much more so than another I would say that masturbation is moral, whether done solo or by ones partner, because it helps avoid getting into a situation where one partner is not getting their needs met (and thus may feel tempted to behave unfaithfully - that is, if he or she is in an exclusive relationship), and the other may feel pressured to have intercourse or go along with other sexual acts when she or he does not really want to do so.

[Cory]

The fact that people voted immoral is another sign that humans have some more social evolution to do. Also, where are these arguments that masturbation leads to unsatisfied partners coming from? Maybe if she didn't let herself look like a sack of potatoes it wouldn't be an issue.

[angus]

Maybe if she didn't let herself look like a sack of potatoes it wouldn't be an issue.

If you’d never been born,
well then what would you be?
You might be a fish!
Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob!
Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of
hard green tomatoes.

This thread has given me a new appreciation for Dr. Seuss.

Then our mother came in
And she said to us two,
"Did you have any fun?
Tell me, tell me.
What did you do?"

And Sally and I did not
know what to say.
Should we tell her
The things that went on
there that day?

Well...what would YOU do
If your mother asked you?

   --from "The Cat in the Hat"


meow! 

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

It keeps from doing drugs and drinking, so yes.

How so?

[dialectical fetishist]

It keeps from doing drugs and drinking, so yes.

How so?

Distracts you I suppose.