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Three things made me think of masturbation lately...

Yesterday, stormwreath  called for a beta reader for a fic and mentioned it was pervy and had female characters masturbating in it; I watched Mad Men episode named “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”, in which there's a masturbation scene, and read reactions on the A.V club and other online blogs afterwards; and a comment by sc_literati  led me to re-read a review I wrote about The White Ribbon.

It seems to me that, although we live in a time that considers masturbation (either adults' masturbation or children's masturbation) perfectly normal and healthy, and  American Pie overused the topic, we're still quite uncomfortable when it comes to masturbation in fiction. It's more taboo than sexual intercourse, more embarrassing for the viewers or the readers.
In other words, we don't mind talking about it, obviously!– in general or even with personal information– but seeing a fictional characters masturbate is another matter.

Is it because it's the ultimate form of voyeurism since there's hardly something more private than self-pleasuring ––with the exception of relieving oneself in the loo which btw isn't a scene we often see on the screen or that is often described in books/fanfics (and when it is, it's considered very weird stuff)? 

Or is it because in the back of our mind still lies the fear of being caught doing so?

Do you remember that scene in Mulholland Drive ? I found it more disturbing than most of Lynch's usual stuff.

I've read many Spuffy fanfictions in which Spike was masturbating, usually either for the viewing pleasure of Buffy and the readers or for the readers only. But those fics were written by women and mostly addressed to women...

I think that, unless you're in pure porn mode ( meaning you aim at sexual satisfaction rather than fantasy) , it's easier to write and read about masturbation when it's the other gender doing it which is funny given that we know better "how it works and feels" when it's our gender.

In Mad Men and The White Ribbon there's another embarrassing factor, for the masturbators are children.

( Read more... )

PS: You won't believe me but I left this post unfinished this morning for I had to go to my mother's in the suburb and guess what happened in the train? I swear it's true!
A man sat down next to me, in front of another woman (she was black, young and pretty so it's probably she who was his David McCallum!). I was reading the newspaper but something caught my attention finally, I probably sensed the move of his hand or saw it in my peripheral vision.  He was jerking off under his shirt (that wasn't tucked in his pants). First off I thought I was wrong (it couldn't happen just after this post I had begun on LJ. No way!); I tried not to look and focuse on the political article in the newspaper (the Pope's speech admonesting Sarkozy's policy), but a few minutes later I caught the other woman staring at his crotch while talking on her mobile phone and it was obvious that she thought he was really doing it! She left the train then (perhaps it was her stop anyway), and I got up too, pretending to check on the sign showing the stations. I noticed he had taken the woman's place so if I had returned to my seat he would have been in front of me. So I went and sat elsewhere in the car, far from the wanker.

As soon as I was seated, I saw him passing by and going to the next car!

Either he was seeking new inspiration or he had realised he had been caught and prefered to leave. I think it's the former. Of course there's also the possibility that the whole point, the stuff that really got him off, was to be caught and make women uncomfortable, and there were more cars to try on...

Do you think I am a psychic or something?