May is Masturbation Month and while here at ATMS we are all about singing the praises of masturbation from the rooftops (it's all part of the job), we wanted to know how you feel about it! How you do it, where you do it and why you do it.
Sex data and especially data about masturbation can be hard to find so we surveyed 2500 Kiwi and Australians to fill the gap.
We used a mixed-method survey using quantitative & qualitative research methods to understand the masturbation habits of a diverse range of respondents across New Zealand & Australia. The study involved a self-reported questionnaire about masturbation frequency, habits, preferences and experiences of pleasure and/ or shame. The study aims to normalize conversations about solo pleasure, encouraging more open discussions and understanding of masturbation as a healthy and normal part of human sexuality.
We know that our data may not necessarily be representative of the general public as it was sent to our database who may be a little more into self-love than your average Kiwi or Aussie, but we did receive responses from a wide range of people.
Our respondents ranged in age from 18 to 70 from across New Zealand and Australia.
41% of were women, 56% were men, 2% were non-binary and 1% didn't specify.
99.8% of respondents said they had masturbated at least once before.
0.2% of respondents said they have never masturbated.
So just how much are people masturbating? The survey revealed that the most common response was a few times a week with 74% of people saying that masturbate at least once a week. Of those practising self-love a little more frequently, our non-binary cohort are leading the charge, with 22% of the group masturbating daily.
Those in casual relationships are masturbating the most, with 90% masturbating at least once a week. Single respondents were close behind with 86% of those respondents reporting the same. 78% of married respondents and 77% of respondents in a serious relationship reported masturbating at least once a week.
The majority of customers are happy with how often they masturbate, although 46% of women indicated that they would like to masturbate more. Only 2% of respondents said they want to masturbate less.
It seems no place is off-limits for a little self-indulgence either. Respondents indicated that the place they masturbate most frequently is not just in the bedroom, but also on the couch, in the bathroom, in the car - and even (for men) in the home office.
Our hands are great tools for self-love but plenty of our respondents are happy to include a sex toy in the mix too.
Women were the most likely to report using a sex toy for masturbation with 96% of female respondents saying they do. 53% of women reported using them every time.
Non-binary respondents are also frequent sex toy users with 93% of that group reporting using them during masturbation. 44% of those who said yes use them every time.
Men were the least likely to use a sex toy during masturbation with 71% of male respondents saying they do and only 5% reporting doing so every time.
Respondents aged between 18 - 24 were the most likely to use a sex toy during masturbation with 91% saying they do use sex toys.
Respondents aged 45 - 54 were the least likely to use a sex toy during masturbation with 24% saying they don't use toys.
Single respondents reported the highest use of sex toys during masturbation with 92% of them saying they use them. The group least likely to use sex toys were married respondents with 75% of respondents saying they use toys for masturbation.
The majority of respondents masturbate for pleasure but there are many other reasons to enjoy a little me time.
Our customers overwhelmingly believe that masturbation is good for their health! And we agree.
The 65+ age group were the most likely to state that masturbation is good for their health with a whopping 95% of respondents agreeing. And 96% of that same group say they include it part of their self-care routine.
Women and non-binary respondents were more likely to report considering masturbation as good for their health. 94% of women and 93% on non-binary folks said so. While 89% of men said the same.
Masturbation has lots of proven health benefits including impacting the quality of our sleep, stress reduction, relief from pain and even increasing our desire for sex with a partner. Our respondents reported all sorts of benefits.
It's clear that while masturbation is considered healthy by most, shame around the activity persists. As a society, we have come a long way in terms of sex positivity and encouraging open conversation around masturbation, but evidently there are groups that are still experiencing unnecessary shame.
Gender plays a big role in individuals' experiences of shame. Men were more likely to receive positive messages around masturbation than women and non-binary folk, while women were more likely to receive shameful messages.
Even Gen Z - who we'd like to think are a bit more progressive - are the most likely to have experienced shame around masturbation. What's interesting though, is that despite experiencing the most shame, this age group are talking about it the most.
Unfortunately, we received mixed messages about masturbation growing up with the majority of respondents learning that it shouldn't be talked about.
But the tide may be shifting, with 65% of our respondents saying that they do talk about masturbation with others.
Despite receiving messages that masturbation shouldn't be talked about, the 18 - 24 age group is doing it the most with 73% of respondents reporting doing so.
The 65+ group was the least likely to talk about it with others with only 50%.
Women were the most likely group to talk about masturbation with others with 74% of that group reporting they do. Non-binary folks also reported similar levels with 73% of non-binary respondents reporting they also talk about it. 54% of men also reported talking about masturbation with others.
The group most likely to talk about masturbation with their partners was those aged 35 - 44 with 74% of those respondents. The group least likely to talk about masturbation with their partner was those aged 18 - 24 with only 58% of respondents saying they do.
Women were the most likely to talk about masturbation with their friends with a huge 78% reporting doing so. 70% of non-binary respondents and 53% of men also reported talking about masturbation with their friends.
Although our customers are happy with how often they masturbate, there are still lots of things that might prevent them from doing so.
When asked whether our customers have ever felt annoyed or upset with their partner masturbating, the majority said no.
Those aged between 25- 44 were the most likely to report becoming annoyed or upset with their partner for masturbating with 12% of that age group saying it had occurred at least once. Those aged between 55 - 64 were the least likely with 2% of their group responding yes.
Women were more likely to report feeling annoyed or upset with their partner for masturbating with 16% of female respondents saying they had. 4% of men and 2% of non-binary respondents also reported this.
When asked if a partner had ever been upset or annoyed with our respondents for masturbating, the majority still said no but there was an increase in those who said yes and those who weren't sure.
Again the 35 - 44 age group were the most likely to report having their partner become upset or annoyed with them for masturbating with 26% of that group responding yes.
Those aged 18 - 24 were the least likely to report this with 10%.
Men reported the highest level of a partner becoming annoyed or upset with them for masturbating with 22% of male respondents reporting this. 18% of women and 16% of non-binary folks also reported this occurring.
For those that said yes, there were a few common threads in why they thought their partner was upset.
This survey highlights the importance of fostering open discussions about solo pleasure as part of our sexual health. This highlights the need for scientific sex education for youths and adults which discusses the benefits of pleasure. The gender differences in their experience of shame and societal messaging highlight the need for inclusive education across the gender spectrum to reduce shame and encourage satisfying sexual experiences.