I grew up thinking only boys masturbated. It wasn't that I didn't touch myself. I just didn't know that was masturbation.

And I was probably 16-17 when I realized what an orgasm was. It wasn't that I hadn't had one. I just didn't know that what happened to me when I touched myself was called an orgasm. I didn't know what it was. Only that it felt good.

I'm pretty sure this is due, in part, to the fact that I learned about sex almost entirely from my school. Luckily, our school was progressive enough to teach us that abstinence ensured that you didn't have a baby at a young age, and didn't catch any STDs, but that if we were gonna have sex, we should definitely use protection. Considering how long ago that was, and the current climate surrounding teaching kids about sex, that's saying something.

Another contributing factor was my mother's insistence that sex was something you just don't talk about. With anyone. Except, perhaps, a doctor or therapist. And even then, it was only when necessary.

Obviously, I've grown to disagree with her.

So my questions for you are:

Did you always know what masturbation was, and what an orgasm was? Or did you find out later in life? And if so, how old were you when you realized what you did had a name? less

I grew up thinking only boys masturbated. It wasn't that I didn't touch myself. I just didn't know that was masturbation.

And I was probably 16-17 when I realized what an orgasm was. It wasn't that I hadn't had one. I just didn't know that what happened to me when I touched myself was called an orgasm. I didn't know what it was. Only that it felt good.

I'm pretty sure this is due, in part, to the fact that I learned about sex almost entirely from my school. Luckily, our school was progressive enough to teach us that abstinence ensured that you didn't have a baby at a young age, and didn't catch any STDs, but that if we were gonna have sex, we should definitely use protection. Considering how long ago that was, and the current climate surrounding teaching kids about sex, that's saying something.

Another contributing factor was my mother's insistence that sex was something you just don't talk about. With anyone. Except, perhaps, a doctor or therapist. And even then, it was only when necessary.

Obviously, I've grown to disagree with her.

So my questions for you are:

Did you always know what masturbation was, and what an orgasm was? Or did you find out later in life? And if so, how old were you when you realized what you did had a name? less