In our world today, sex becomes a shadow that never leave our side, we encounter it in everything, everywhere and in everyone, most times disguised as subtle nuances, other times, blatantly addressed. Thus to avoid sex and its urges is almost an impossibility, unless an individual chooses to embrace the life of a hermit, secluded from the world.

While the pursuit of celibacy and abstinence is no mean feat, a few adults have mastered the art of suppressing and controlling these urges. Others are fortunate to have a willing and consistent partner, who relieve them.

For those not so privileged, which becomes the vice of choice, when assuaging these inescapable sexual desires?

Masturbation or Promiscuity?

For most, promiscuity is a preferable choice for relieving lust; this is the troubling norm of indiscriminately engaging in random sexual acts with different partners.  Evidently the risks that come with being promiscuous is all but negated; dangers which promises an assorted cocktail of STIs; stunted emotional and mental health; lets not forget that the individual becomes ‘a rolling stone that gathers no moss’.

Masturbation becomes parallel with promiscuity, while the latter, anticipates sexual satisfaction, by having casual sex with different partners, the former is self reliant, in other words, you are your own sex partner. Therefore, It is the self stimulation of the sex organs, to achieve sexual pleasure and reach orgasm, for men it is the stimulation of the penis, for women, the clitoris or the vulva.

Unlike promiscuity, there are no dangers of contracting an STI, although studies show that a major disadvantage of masturbation, is the fact it fosters addiction, it is arguable that it promotes sexual perversion.

Promiscuity or Masturbation – both are social vices, thus it tells of a deeply hypocritical society, when one becomes an acceptable pattern of behaviour and the other a perversion; why one is culturally permitted and the other is prohibited. It is also a reason why the promiscuous shame the ‘masturbator’, showing our inclination as a people to harshly judge those who sin differently from us.