Shortly after I discovered masturbation my mom caught me and I was spanked. My father denounced it very strongly. Due to this, I felt extreme guilt after masturbating for the bulk of my adult life. Only recently (in the last ten years) did I come to realize it is a normal human function. Am I a unique case?

Unfortunately I doubt that very many of us had positive re-inforcement when it came to masturbation, which I think is a crime against nature. Most of us probably had our bouts of guilt about it when young, but I also think most of us get past that fairly quickly. It's very unfortunate you had such a negative response from both parents, but glad you've realized otherwise. A kid should never be punished for masturbating, it a completely nature thing to do. Enjoy it!

Thanks for the input, justim. I learned from my parents' mistake. I caught my son a few times and acted as if I saw nothing and said nothing. He's 22 now. I swear the kid had a more active sex life at 19 than I've ever had in my life. I like to think I avoided screwing his head up like mine was.

You're not unique by any means as all sorts on nonsense has been 'preached' by all manner of quacks about the debilitating effects of masturbation. Everything from blindness, general weakness and even madness. It's more than probable in our western Judeo-Christian culture that the taboo stems from the account of Onan being condemned for 'letting his seed fall on the ground.' Personally I doubt whether this is a reference to masturbation - more likely to be a condemnation of coitus-interruptus, which in a society needing as many male births as possible, frustrating a possible pregnancy would have been deemed a "sin."

BiStoner, enjoy your new found pleasure.

You're welcome, and I'm glad to hear that you did the right thing by your son. But even just a quick word to let a kid know it's ok I think is a good thing.

Thanks, eurowanker. I honestly feel that sexual repression is a large part of why our world is so screwed up these days. Masturbation is a great stress reliever. If more people had known that earlier in history, we'd be living in a different world.

I agree, justim. When I had "the talk" with my son, we covered masturbation. I assured him it was normal and he should enjoy it.

I was never punished, never openly caught either, anyway - just a few close calls.
But sex was such a taboo in my family, that I needed no more in order to develop this very strong guilt complex, I'm still fighting against.
My own son is only 6ys, but I already know I will be very honest and open towards him. He will not grow up believing he is some sort of weirdo in a clean world. then maybe he will not have to wait up to his 24th birthday before being able to develop a sexual relationship.
I'm happy that I am now able to talk and do masturbation with my wife - i only managed it after 8 ys of marriage...
I was so miserable in my teens when all my friends were openly talking about masturbation and sex and I still felt compelled to silence by my stupid inhibitions.

My sons masturbated - it is normal and my wife and I told them so.

However, it wasn't viewed that way when I was a child. I grew up in a very "Catholic" household and I can remember the time when my father accused me of playing with myself and me lying to his face saying I didn't do such stuff. I guess my mother found the evidence on the shirts and under pants I used and told my father.

After then I used my white gym socks I kept for that purpose and every so often I would throw them into the wash with my school gym clothes.

You know what is the sad part about all this - the "Catholic" guilt when I jack off, it is still there even though it hasn't stopped me from wanking.

Interesting discussion. I wasn't officially caught wanking when I was younger, but it was known that it occurred. Nothing was said. It was just kept private. However, I was caught dropping pants with friends in the backyard. We were just playing with ourselves and not each other. I was made to feel extremely guilty about that and that lead to a lot of guilt about wanking and sex.

I came close to being caught by my mom once when I was about thirteen and left the door to my room ajar. Rather than being embarrassed or punished, I was rewarded with a fresh box of kleenex in my room.

My father walked in on me when I was 17, a senior in HS. I was just shooting a huge load that hit my face as he opened the door. All he said was "Jesus Christ". The next day I found a bottle of KY warming fluid on top of a box of Kleenex on the counter in my bath room. It had to have come from him. Have been jerking off with KY Warming ever since.

Mom was the dominant parent and said "don't do that rude thing" when I was a kid, "don't dirty your sheets". Dad told me that he masturbated himself when I was 18, that it was a "man thing". Maybe that was one reason for her being so anti-wanking, another being her strict Catholic upbringing. So I got mixed messages and still have inner conflict there. Be good to your sons.

You're a lucky guy Robcolt24.

Never punished, My Dad helped me with my porn collection when it got too big, in my wardrobe, being straight porn it was never hidden. Mum caught me one time when she brought a cup of tea in one morning, although I covered myself quickly with bed covers she told me she knew what I was doing, try not to make a mess. Always been open about such things. Nudity and sex, nothing to be ashamed about.