A: Basically, no. Masturbation-and just so we're clear on the definition, it means touching yourself for pleasure-is many things to many people. Besides the obvious sexual enjoyment, it can be a way to de-stress, to focus during a study break, to relax before going to sleep, to relieve menstrual cramps or to amuse yourself when there's nothing good on TV. It can substitute for a quick trip to the gym on days when it's just too cold to go anywhere, or it can offer an all-natural, drug-free cure for a migraine (well, about half the time, but it's at least a momentary distraction).
For some, masturbation violates religious mores about sex. While we don't want to flippantly sidestep that meta-issue, we only have 600-700 words bi-weekly with which to disseminate practical health knowledge. This article aims to answer our reader's question about masturbation, not to settle the entire issue.
To return to the question, masturbation is actually recommended by sex therapists as a means to better your sexual encounters with partners. For women who have not yet experienced orgasm, who may be uncomfortable touching (or seeing) their own genitals, or who have had difficulty reaching orgasm with a partner, masturbation can be a low-pressure way to practice. (Lesson from figure skating: It's advisable to learn to skate solo before you get paired up.)
For you men and women who want to build sexual stamina, the tantric method of start-and-stop (stimulation almost to climax, then breaking to grab a snack, à la George Costanza, then going back to it) can help you develop a greater awareness of how much physical and mental stimulation you require before having an orgasm. Furthermore, the practice of holding off orgasm can increase your general threshold for stimulation, allowing you to prolong pleasurable arousal if you so choose. But orgasm isn't a sure-fire thing (excuse the pun): Your body is constantly fluctuating based on innumerable variables (food, sleep, exercise, hormones, time since last orgasm, etc.) that may affect, in one direction or another, the stamina you've built.
The tiny grain of truth that we can cull from the panoply of junk on the Internet is that, primarily for men, extremely frequent masturbation that involves lots of pressure and repetitive motion (we mean, like, the exact same hand movement every time for the whole time-we're talkin' no variation, folks) can make it difficult to orgasm from other kinds of stimulation. Training yourself with one particular routine might make new and different stimulations feel uncomfortably unfamiliar instead of exciting and arousing. Trying something new once in a while on your own (switching hands, changing position or location, fantasizing about something novel) will help to keep that from happening.
A related question that we often encounter involves battery-operated devices (not a toothbrush or a clock radio …). Many straight women worry that their fondness for their vibrators may interfere with their responsiveness to their partners' less animated tools. ("Less animated" isn't intended as an insult: We are currently unaware of any penises that can vibrate, twirl, light up, play music and please a woman all at the same time.) Some women find that using a sex toy gives them the ability to direct pressure precisely to where it feels best; masturbation even without the aid of a plastic, silicone or cyberskin implement affords the same advantage. But for most women, masturbation-learning what they like and where they like it-allows them to get more out of sex with a partner, not less. If you enjoy masturbation, don't fret about it: Find a way to translate what you learn on your own into tips for a partner.
Regardless of what we know about masturbation and sex, or masturbation and health, generalities about our bodies never account for every single person (that's why they're generalities). If your personal experience differs from what we've described, and you need advice that's particular to you, we wholeheartedly recommend that you talk to a Student Health Educator or Peer Advocate, or, if you'd prefer, visit a physician if the issue seems purely physical, or a counselor if there's more involved.
E-mail she@amherst.edu with your questions (we won't ever use your name in the column), and check back in two weeks to see which one we've chosen to tackle. Go forth, and be healthy!