Do most girls have to masturbate if they aren't having sex?

[bmews]

I guess what I would like to know is, if you are a girl or woman who for whatever reason happens not to be having any sex, (ie broken up, not in a relationship) do you have to turn to toys and masturbation or other forms of self-pleasure for release and sanity? Are there any young and healthy women out there that can go for extended periods without any form of stimulation whatsoever (no sex + no masturbation)? Perhaps what I really want to know is, can an otherwise healthy woman go without any form of pleasure or release for an extended amount of time (months+) or does it really get to them after a while?

[vashti]

It depends on the hormonal balance in a woman. Typically, women in their late teens and twenties don't feel the physical "need" for sex the way a male does, especially if she is taking birth control pills. Sometime during their 30s, hormones change, and (a lot of) women begin to find themselves feeling as aroused as a teenage boy.

[xxazurexx]

Hmmm, I'd say I thought it more and when I was late teens to late 20's.

Now I'm in my 30's, it doesn't bother me.
It's not that I have a low sex drive because I don't. It's just not something I think about nor require to survive....nor will I lose my sanity.

[bmews]

It depends on the hormonal balance in a woman. Typically, women in their late teens and twenties don't feel the physical "need" for sex the way a male does, especially if she is taking birth control pills. Sometime during their 30s, hormones change, and (a lot of) women begin to find themselves feeling as aroused as a teenage boy.

You are saying as women grow older (from early 20's to mid 30's) there is more testosterone in their blood stream?

[vashti]

No, there is less, but the amount of testosterone a woman produces compared to a males is tiny, and cannot account for a woman's sex drive (at least not entirely).

[url=http://www.womanknows.com/relationships/news/330/]Woman Knows: Sexual Stages of Women: Ages 20-50[/url]

[smackie9]

Mature women are more relaxed about sex so they enjoy it more and want it more. The change in hormones doesn't have anything really to with it, except for vaginal dryness in menopausal women. As for me my libido is no different from when I was a very young teen to now and I'm 46. And using sex toys or masturbating is a personal preference that doesn't follow any rules unless you govern your sexual activity with religious beliefs. Going without a release for extended periods? NOT! lol. If you've heard different they are lying. Women usually don't like to blab about diddling themselves like the way guys do, but ya they do it just as much whether their having sex or not, but it depends on the person and their level of horniness. It should be a part of a healthy sex life.....everyone needs variety, so sex toys and masturbation changes it up.

[smackie9]

I have a question for you......why do you need to know about women's masturbation habits?

[xxazurexx]

Probably because he's wondering how rampant his ex might be feeling....

[bmews]

Mature women are more relaxed about sex so they enjoy it more and want it more. The change in hormones doesn't have anything really to with it, except for vaginal dryness in menopausal women. As for me my libido is no different from when I was a very young teen to now and I'm 46. And using sex toys or masturbating is a personal preference that doesn't follow any rules unless you govern your sexual activity with religious beliefs. Going without a release for extended periods? NOT! lol. If you've heard different they are lying. Women usually don't like to blab about diddling themselves like the way guys do, but ya they do it just as much whether their having sex or not, but it depends on the person and their level of horniness. It should be a part of a healthy sex life.....everyone needs variety, so sex toys and masturbation changes it up.

Thanks. As a guy in my 20's I know what it is like to have those needs for release just like (stereotypical or not) the vast majority of all males alive. I've always wondered if it was the same for women.

Depending on what articles I have read some say the male vs female brain (and thus views on sex, love, etc) are structurally wired differently and one gender cannot possibly understand the other on an emotional level ...

Some others support the view that men and women are actually more similar then they seem and shared a lot of deeply rooted commonalities. Some even going as far as saying the clitoris is a tiny defunct penis (just like how men have nonfunctional nipples) and anatomically the female/male are quick similar, and that female is the 'default' gender and it is just the three testosterone injections a girl receives (twice in the womb and once again during puberty) that turns "her" into a boy/male.. From that viewpoint the raw sensation, experience and enjoyment of sex is more universally shared between genders as first thought..

What I don't understand is, females don't have ducts that produce sperm.. Masturbation (from an evolutionary standpoint) is so the male can offload old sperm to make room for a newer more potent batch. Since women don't have this problem, (obviously) why would they inherently have the same need for release?

"Going without a release for extended periods? NOT! lol. "

I'm just curious.. This is what I thought as well... but what about those girls who do the "no sex until marriage" abstinence and chastity thing.. for some of these girls they (for moral or religion reasons) also don't believe in self-pleasure.. How do these women (albeit there are the rare minority) handle it?

[vashti]

Mature women are more relaxed about sex so they enjoy it more and want it more. The change in hormones doesn't have anything really to with it, except for vaginal dryness in menopausal women. As for me my libido is no different from when I was a very young teen to now and I'm 46. And using sex toys or masturbating is a personal preference that doesn't follow any rules unless you govern your sexual activity with religious beliefs. Going without a release for extended periods? NOT! lol. If you've heard different they are lying. Women usually don't like to blab about diddling themselves like the way guys do, but ya they do it just as much whether their having sex or not, but it depends on the person and their level of horniness. It should be a part of a healthy sex life.....everyone needs variety, so sex toys and masturbation changes it up.

I disagree that hormones play no role (they even play a role on sexual desire on a daily basis, with menstruation and ovulation), but I do agree about older women being more relaxed about sex, and we can't underestimate the role of a more skilled (older) lover.

[HeartIsAching]

It depends on the hormonal balance in a woman. Typically, women in their late teens and twenties don't feel the physical "need" for sex the way a male does, especially if she is taking birth control pills. Sometime during their 30s, hormones change, and (a lot of) women begin to find themselves feeling as aroused as a teenage boy.

In my experience, this is often but not always true. My wife in her 20's was quite randy, and now she's even worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), but my ex had a low-ish sex drive in her early 30's and lost it almost entirely by her 40's.

[Take2]

You can't look at it as a purely cultural thing or a purely hormonal thing or a purely anything. We are each a product of our genetics/hormones/culture/family/set of experiences. In an environment where women are trained from early childhood to have no expectation of ever being sexually fulfilled, and to feel shame for sexual inmpulses and shame at their body, those teachings will help to squelch sexual curiosity and enjoyment and thus keep the females more "pure."

Me, I began masturbating at age 12, have masturbated regullarly whenever I did not have access to daily sex for 23 years. When I have access to fulfilling and plentiful sex, I masturbate very rarely. In my teens and young 20s, I needed an aid of some sort. Now my fingers work just as well if not better than any toy, and they are always available. I have never liked the numbing effect of vibrators.

[warriormaiden]

I don't know about you guys, but I have come in to ALOT of women who are in their sexual peak in their early 20's. (including myself) I don't know why this is, maybe this can't even be scientifically proven, but I walk in to the girls bathroom at my uni, and they're all swapping sex stories. So I don't understand what most of you are talking about. :-P

[bmews]

I don't know about you guys, but I have come in to ALOT of women who are in their sexual peak in their early 20's. (including myself) I don't know why this is, maybe this can't even be scientifically proven, but I walk in to the girls bathroom at my uni, and they're all swapping sex stories. So I don't understand what most of you are talking about. :-P

How do you know you have peaked at your 20's if you are still in your 20's?

[HeartIsAching]

How do you know you have peaked at your 20's if you are still in your 20's?

Precisely my thought.