the persistent taboo relating to solitary pleasures is insidiously rooted in western language: etymologically, masturbation refers to the notion of prostitution (in greek, mastropeuein means “to pimp or procure”). as for the term “onanism”, although it is colloquially used as a synonym for masturbation, the sin of the biblical figure Onan, after whom it is named, was actually an instance of coitus interruptus. onan was struck down by God because he spilled his seed on the ground rather than impregnate his dead brother’s wife, thus refusing to procreate in his place. the Judeo-christian tradition redirected the moral of this verse to condemn masturbation and, by extension, all forms of sexual pleasure (since lust is counted among the seven deadly sins). with the declining influence of religions in the west, these taboos, while not disappearing entirely, have lost much of their former interdictive strength… but only for men. for women, the sexual revolution has been a mirage in this regard, since their access to pleasure is still conceived as in service to male fulfilment. considerable efforts have been devoted to exploring sexual function in men and unlocking the mysteries of the male libido. the advent of viagra testifies to the phenomenal progress made by science. but no female equivalent exists to this day. not only have the female genitalia been far less well studied, but to add injury to insult, much of the research done until recently tended to deny the importance of the clitoris.

> les branleuses

hippocrates, the father of western medicine, referred to this organ as the site of sexual excitation. scientists have thus long known it to be true! but as soon as it was determined that this organ was not essential to reproduction, they quickly lost interest.
science sought to prove, against all logic, that women could only reach orgasm through coitus: a conceit invented by men to serve their own purposes! It was in this way that the G-spot, a hypothetically erogenous zone deep within the vagina wall, became so popular. without delving into a discussion of whether or not such a zone even exists (the jury is still out), it is still astounding to note that the indisputable existence of the clitoris was passed over in favour of a mere hypothesis! freud went so far as to claim that clitoral stimulation corresponded to an immature stage of sexual development and that in order to be truly mature sexually, a woman had to have vaginal orgasms. these theories would later be disputed by masters and johnson, who found that most women do not experience orgasms directly from intercourse, and that female orgasms require clitoral stimulation, whether external or internal, putting an end to the artificial distinction that had prevailed between vaginal and clitoral orgasms (although this quasi-scientific jargon persists in the collective imagination). we would like to end this brief lesson by pointing out that much still needs to be discovered, and that anatomy is of course not the only key to sexual pleasure.