May is the international month of masturbation. Just in time, the Japanese sextoy manufacturer published the results of a large-scale survey on the topic.
The 56-page result of a far-reaching, globally conceived study on the subject of masturbation by the manufacturer Tenga contains astonishing results on a subject that is still a social taboo and yet it affects everyone: masturbation.
Women find masturbation better than sex
Perhaps the most shocking result first: a majority of women surveyed said that they would rather masturbate than have sex. 37% of female respondents to the survey said they feel more pleasure when they do it themselves. Only 33% found sex with their partner more beautiful. The remaining 30% found both equally beautiful.
On the other hand, the situation is clearly different for men. They seem to crave companionship during their orgasms. 50% of men said that they like sex with their partner best. Only 21% said that they feel more pleasure in masturbating. 29% of men find both equally beautiful, i.e. about the same as for women.
The conclusions from this result are probably that women perceive masturbation as a better means of sexual satisfaction due to the so-called »orgasm gap« (the fact that they do not reach orgasm as often during sexual intercourse as men).
It would also be conceivable that men appreciate being together more than women, but unfortunately, it seems more probable that the reason for the stunning rebuke women delivered here is the orgasm gap.
Large differences in the frequency of masturbation
The frequency of masturbation varies widely around the world. While the British and Americans stated that 60% and 61% respectively masturbate at least once a week, in Germany and Spain only 53% to 54% stated this. In China and Japan, this figure was less than 50%, and only 49% of French people said they would masturbate at least once a week.
Where do people masturbate?
Women seem to be most comfortable in their own bed. There 87% of the interviewees said they masturbated. 27% also masturbated in the shower, 18% of the women do it in the bathroom. At work only 2% of the women masturbated and the same low percentage of women do it in the car.
Men are more diversified. They also prefer their own bedroom; 73% said they masturbate there. But bathrooms (35%) and showers (32%) are much more popular places for masturbation than for women. In the car and in the kitchen men do it three times as often as women. Worried female colleagues can breathe a sigh of relief though. Men also do it very rarely at work (3%).
Women are less gifted at masturbation
The orgasm gap does not seem to exist only because of the inability or insensitivity of men. Female sexuality is simply more complicated by nature. While 59% of men say that they reach their orgasm every time they try to masturbate, only 42% of women say that they always successfully climax.
As many as 16% of the women said that they only reach orgasm every second time or even less often. Only 6% of men have similar experiences.
Masturbation means porn consumption
Although far more men state that they masturbate using pornographic content (75%), women also most frequently (55%) use explicit depictions of sex as an inspiration for masturbation (their own fantasy takes second place for both genders). 47% of men use their imagination for masturbation, 45% of women use their own imagination as an aid to masturbation.
Third place went to vibrating (39%) and penetrating (29%) sex toys. Men, on the other hand, only use them at 5% and 9% respectively. Almost 20% of women read erotic stories, while less than half of that (9%) did so among the male respondents. 9% of men said they listened to music during masturbation, only 5% of women stated the same.
For both sexes, 2-3% of respondents stated that they did not use any of the suggested aids for masturbation. This raises questions that the Tenga study, unfortunately, does not answer.
Which stars are most frequently masturbated to?
Anyone who feels attracted to men thinks particularly often of Chris Brown, Jason Momoa or Brad Pitt whilst masturbating. Mads Mikkelsen, Denzel Washington, and Johnny Depp and Russel Crowe are also mentioned very frequently. Madonna and Blake Lively are also very often of sexual interest to people who are attracted to men.
Those who are more attracted to women masturbate especially often to Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lawrence. Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, Mila Kunis, and Angelina Jolie follow closely.
Music by R. Kelly and Bon Jovi turn both sexes on
What’s striking is that R. Kelly clearly dominates with both sexes when it comes to the question of which music one prefers to listen to during sex. Usher and The Weeknd follow with the women. With the men, it’s Taylor Swift and Tank.
Foods that are perceived as erotic are also gender-specific. For men, it is overwhelmingly pizza, tacos, seafood, fruit, bananas, and steak. Women respond with the most erotic feelings to chocolate, strawberries, oysters, wine, and fruit.
Stress reduction
When asked which activities people perceive as the most stress-reducing, a majority of the people answer first and foremost: sex, followed by masturbation. Sleep follows in 3rd place. Music ranks fourth, followed by showering and bathing. Only then come massages, walks, and meditation.
Germans don’t like masturbating (as much as others)
If one asks in individual countries how happily certain activities are carried out and asks for a ranking of the most favorite activities, a somewhat curious picture emerges for Germany: while masturbation is one of the top 5 activities in the vast majority of countries in the world, masturbation only ranks 10th among the favorite leisure activities in Germany. Only France (8th place) and Japan (7th place) have similarly poor results for masturbation.
Sex with a partner is the most popular leisure activity in Great Britain, the USA, Spain, France, China and South Korea. In Germany, sexual intercourse occupies only 2nd place, and only Japan, with 5th place, is another strong exception.
Social cuddling
In a comparison between countries, spending time with important, beloved people always occupies a place between 1 and 3. In Germany, this occupies place 3. But what do the Germans most like to do? The top answer for Germans is: Hug someone you love. The only nation that lists this activity as a favorite activity is Germany. In all other countries surveyed, this activity ranks between 2nd and 4th place.
Further results of the Tenga study will follow next week.