Self-love Survey: What Australians Think About Masturbation

Ever wondered what your mates think about jerkin the gherkin? How about flicking the bean? Charming the cobra? Polishing the pearl? (We could keep going in case you were wondering, but moving on.)

Loving your sexy self has always had a certain level of stigma surrounding it even in this day and age. It’s why we at Lovehoney decided to conduct a survey on masturbation habits in Australia, because if there’s one thing we know about how to break those barriers down, it’s talking about it.

To get down to the nitty gritty of all the self-loving going on out there, our resident sex coach — and one of the most wonderfully sexually open people we know — Tamica Wilder stepped in to help us out. We asked over a thousand Aussies about their masturbation habits and here’s what we found.

A lot of us are doing it

Of all the people surveyed, 75.5% said they masturbate with the average person masturbating six times a month. More than one in ten (11.5%) masturbate at least once a day, while slightly more (12.3%) only do it less than ten times a year.

Whether you’re a regular self-lover or a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of person, it’s important to remember this activity is completely and utterly personal. In fact, it’s probably one of the most personal things you can do, so when and how (if at all) you decide to rub one out is completely up to you.

“While there is still some stigma around masturbation, it is completely healthy and normal sexual behaviour that has a tonne of feel-good side-effects. When you masturbate hormones are released such as oxytocin and serotonin which can have a whole range of health benefits including stress reduction, better sleep, pain relief and more,” Tamica Wilder explains.

We are all riding solo in many different ways

There is truly no normal when it comes to sex and especially not when it’s a ménage-à-moi. Take visual stimulation for example. We found people who identify as male were more than twice as likely to use visual aids such as photos and videos while masturbating (48%) compared to those who identify as female (22%). That doesn’t mean vulva-owners don’t use any tools though; they tend to mentally visualise people and scenarios to float their boats (36%) more so than their penis owning peers (28%).

Some of us are taking the solo out of solo play and getting into the ultra fun time which is mutual masturbation (30%). One in ten of those surveyed even stated it’s their favourite method of self-love.

It’s awesome to see people enjoying feeling connected to their partner and learning from each other in this way, because when it comes to masturbation, Tamica says, “it’s also a great way to explore your sexuality and sexual pleasure to uncover and discover more about what you like, which also improves partnered sex.”

The timing for Aussies and maturbation also greatly varied with most people surveyed normally dancing with themselves at night (35.5%) rather than during the day (16.8%).

Sex toys are being brought in on the action too

It wouldn’t be a Lovehoney survey if we didn’t ask about sex toys and according to our findings, one in ten Australians are using them while masturbating. Every two in five vulva-owners said they prefer to masturbate with a toy which makes the top toys used no surprise. They were revealed to be:

1. Clitoral stimulator (20.6%)

2. Wand vibrator (15.9%)

3. Dildo (15.9%)

4. Rabbit vibrator (15%)

5. G-spot vibrator (9.3%)

“You only get out what you put in and it’s about staying in touch with our bodies, relaxing and enjoying it. Go with the theme of the month, shake things up, discover new sensations and rediscover your body. It’s Masturbation May - love yourself more,” Tamica says.