“It’s Happiness and Relief and Release”: Exploring Masturbation Among Bisexual and Queer Women

Abstract

Researchers have argued that masturbation contributes to sexual health, yet historically, masturbation has been stigmatized (Coleman, 2003). Only a handful of qualitative studies have investigated masturbation (e.g., Fahs & Frank, 2014), and none of these studies have specifically examined queer women's masturbation. In the current study, ten bisexual and queer women (age 19-48; 4 Black, 6 White) were interviewed about their masturbation. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), six themes were identified: a) reasons for masturbating, b) politics of pornography, c) use of sex toys, d) feelings after masturbation, e) promoting masturbation, and f) silence around masturbation. Implications for sexual health and counseling are discussed.

Intersectional Masturbation: A Content Analysis on Female Masturbation Studies Through a Sex Positive and Intersectional Lens

“…This may suggest an emphasis of reporting full demographics in countries outside of the US, however it is unclear what may be driving this trend. Another theme that emerged, likely due to the sex positivity in the literature, was a focus on pleasure and enjoyment from masturbation (Goldey et al, 2016;Meiller & Hargons, 2019;Rowland et al, 2019), rather than the focus being on shame and guilt that one might feel from partaking in the activity. Lastly, case studies tended to be sex-negative compared to other methodologies (Gündüz, 2019;Martz, 2003;Uca, 2015).…”

“…When the shame of masturbation goes unchallenged, it can underpin a woman's life and prevent her from maximizing her pleasure and connection to her body. For some women and girls, many obstacles must be overcome to simply consider masturbating (Meiller & Hargons, 2019). There is some research that explores the relationships that women have with masturbating, although a research gap exists in that few studies examine these relationships (Carvalheira & Leal, 2013;Pinkerton, 2002;Towne, 2019;Yuxin & Ho Sik Ying, 2009).…”

“…Huong (2018) studied women in Vietnam, where masturbating became a symbolic way for them to transition into modernity and break free of more domestic stereotypes women were thought to fulfill. Meiller and Hargons (2019) highlighted the reasons women masturbate, including a desire to better one's mental and physical health and improving sexual skills for future sexual partners. These studies point to the array of positive motivations and outcomes for women who masturbate.…”

“…Understanding the recent shift towards sex positivity within psychology (Burnes, et al, 2017), it is pertinent to acknowledge marginalized identities often overlooked and/or understudied. Particularly, motivations to masturbate may vary by race, sexual identity and orientation, and other aspects of identity, yet there is little research on what motivates women to masturbate outside of a partnered context (Bowman, 2014;Meiller & Hargons, 2019;see Onar et al, 2020). Race, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability status, class, and age are all salient aspects of a person's identity that impact their lived experiences.…”

“…Sexuality research is beginning to expand and focus on more marginalized people, however. Meiller and Hargons (2019) studied curvy queer women's experiences of masturbation as a way to fill the gap surrounding those identities in the literature. This qualitative study included a sample of queer Black and White women with larger body sizes.…”