autoeroticism

As previously stated, the term autoeroticism is a physical or emotional act done to satisfy one's own sexual desires ("self-gratification"). Although masturbation is the most common autoerotic action, and is sometimes used as a synonym for autoeroticism, it is not the only autoerotic activity. The term autoeroticism usually includes masturbation, sexual fantasy, and sexual emotions arising without external cause, which are all maintained by the self.

Autosexuality, on the other hand, is a sexual orientation towards oneself, and is closely related, albeit not identical, to autoeroticism. An autosexual person may engage in masturbation, possibly while looking in a mirror.

In 1977, a scientist named Myra T. Johnson authored a paper titled Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups, contrasting the notions of autosexuality and asexuality:

"The asexual woman ... has no sexual desires at all [but] the autoerotic woman ... recognizes such desires but prefers to satisfy them alone." Johnson's evidence is mostly letters to the editor found in women's magazines written by autoerotic/asexual women. She portrays them as invisible, "oppressed by a consensus that they are nonexistent," and left behind by both the sexual revolution and the feminist movement. Society either ignores or denies their existence or insists they must be ascetic for religious reasons, neurotic, or asexual for political reasons."Asexul and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups" found in ed. Gochros, H.L.; J.S. Gochros (1977). The Sexually Oppressed. Associated Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8096-1915-3}}

File:Édouard-Henri Avril (22).jpg]]

Masturbation is the most popular autoerotic practice. There are many techniques used to masturbate, like manual stimulation or using everyday objects.

For some people, sex toys such as dildos, vibrators, masturbators, anal beads and Sybian machines can be helpful for this form of autoeroticism. Stimulation with the mouth is significantly harder to achieve; proof of autocunnilingus is incredibly slim{{cite book|last=Liggio|first=Fernando|title="Trattato moderno di psicopatologia della sessualità" - "Modern treatise on the psychopathology of sexuality"|publisher=Biblioteca Universitaria|page=65|year=2010|access-date=October 19, 2023|isbn=978-8-86292-023-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIPt9oWsrtkC&pg=PA65}}{{in lang|it}} but autofellatio is thought to occur in less than 1% of the male population,{{cite journal | journal = Psychoanalytic Review | issue = 41 | pages = 354–358 | title = A Review of Autofellatio: A Psychological Study of Two New Cases |author1=William Guy |author2=Michael H. P. Finn | year = 1954 }} possibly because of the physical flexibility required to perform it.

Another activity is sexual fantasy, which is imagining a sexual experience while one is awake. Because it doesn't involve any stimulation other than a person's mind, it is an autoerotic activity. It can be used to envision sex that might not be possible due to legal (e.g. one's age), religious (e.g. religions where premarital sex isn't allowed), or natural reasons (e.g. sex with a mythical creature or other things that can be impossible in the real world.) Depending on age or gender, these fantasies may be more or less explicit.

Sexual fantasy may also be done during masturbation, which could enhance said activity without the downsides of pornography or other media, although it might be less stimulating and more difficult to accomplish.

Some people, for religious or personal reasons, disapprove of autoeroticism on moral grounds.{{cite journal |last1=Capps |first1=Donald |author-link=Donald Eric Capps |title=From Masturbation to Homosexuality: A Case of Displaced Moral Disapproval |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022531614396 |url-access=subscription |journal=Pastoral Psychology |publisher=Springer |access-date=26 April 2021 |volume=51 |pages=249–272 |doi=10.1023/A:1022531614396 |date=2003|issue=4 |s2cid=141206226 }} For example, masturbation is considered a sin by the Roman Catholic Church.{{cite web|title=II. The Vocation to Chastity, 2352|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P85.HTM|work=Catechism of the Catholic Church, part 3, section 2, chapter 2, article 6.|publisher=The Holy See|access-date=4 July 2013}} Teaching adolescents about masturbation remains controversial in some parts of the world. For example, in the USA in 1994, President Bill Clinton fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders in part because she advocated teaching about masturbation in schools as a way of preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.{{Cite magazine|first=Michael | last=Duffy | title=Getting Out the Wrecking Ball | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982008,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930055719/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982008,00.html | archive-date=30 September 2007 | magazine=Time | date=19 December 1994 |access-date=2007-07-22 }}

File:Woman diapererd in selfbondage 8.jpg is a potentially risky autoerotic practice]]

A few autoerotic practices are considered unsafe, and sometimes even lead to death.{{cite web |url=http://www.corpus-delicti.com/auto.html |title=An Objective Overview of Autoerotic Fatalities |author=Turvey, Brent E. |website=Corpus Delicti |access-date=23 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315224128/http://www.corpus-delicti.com/auto.html|archive-date=15 March 2019}} These include autoerotic asphyxiation and self-bondage. The potential for injury or even death that exists while engaging in these practices rather than the partnered versions (erotic asphyxiation and bondage, respectively) becomes drastically increased due to the isolation and lack of assistance in the event of a problem.

{{Main|Non-reproductive sexual behavior in animals#Autoeroticism or masturbation}}

Autoerotic behavior has been observed in many species, both in the wild and in captivity. Individuals of some species, such as apes and dolphins, have been known to create tools for autoerotic purposes.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent worldwide lockdown starting in March 2020, there was an increase in autoerotic sexual practices of 40% according to a study done by the International Journal of Impotence Research.{{Cite journal|last1=Cocci|first1=Andrea|last2=Giunti|first2=Daniel|last3=Tonioni|first3=Camilla|last4=Cacciamani|first4=Giovanni|last5=Tellini|first5=Riccardo|last6=Polloni|first6=Gaia|last7=Cito|first7=Gianmartin|last8=Presicce|first8=Fabrizio|last9=Di Mauro|first9=Marina|last10=Minervini|first10=Andrea|last11=Cimino|first11=Sebastiano|date=September 2020|title=Love at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic: preliminary results of an online survey conducted during the quarantine in Italy|journal=International Journal of Impotence Research|language=en|volume=32|issue=5|pages=556–557|doi=10.1038/s41443-020-0305-x|issn=0955-9930|pmc=7221326|pmid=32409643}}

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