Masturbators have really taken a beating over the years (ahem), what with all the anti-pud-pulling propaganda—disinformation that once suggested mankind would go blind if it didn’t resist its natural instinct to touch oneself. Today, we like to believe the world is enlightened and that most consider self-pleasure to be a normal, healthy part of life. But Dr. Eric Sprankle claims the radical revolt against rubbing one out is far from over. In fact, the average paw-mauling mortal might be surprised to discover just how many naysayers out there still believe jerking the gherkin strips men of their machismo and even pits them against God. In his new book, DIY: The Wonderfully Weird History and Science of Masturbation, Dr. Sprankle—professor of psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and codirector of their sexuality studies undergraduate program—exposes mind-baffling myths surrounding masturbation and disputes outright lies and misinformation. HUSTLER recently caught up with the good doctor to discuss the truth about solo sex. Why it has been dealt such a bad hand?
HUSTLER: How does one go from jerking off in his teens to writing a book about it?
DR. ERIC SPRANKLE: Well, I’d like to believe that can be everyone’s trajectory. Thinking back to when I was a teen and coming across HUSTLER, I feel that experience wasn’t unique. I couldn’t imagine any other adolescent boy coming across pornography for the first time and not just being instantly hooked, like This is the greatest thing that I’ve ever seen in my life. I grew up in the ’80s and the ’90s, pre-internet age. I was pretty young, maybe nine or ten. I went from Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition to full-spread vulva pics. No in between. Seeing that for the first time, I was like, This is going to be the focus of my life in some way. And I think that transition for me happened in college, taking a human sexuality class and realizing everything that I thought I knew about sexuality and sexual health was either a partial truth or an outright myth or misinformation. Hearing the information coming from a credible source that was medically and scientifically grounded was just very eye-opening. It was from that point, I was like, Okay, I can make this a career, and I can blend my personal interest into my professional life. And I’ve been on that trajectory for 20 years now.
What specifically attracted you to the topic of masturbation?
Internet weirdos leaving comments on Instagram, primarily for a post I wrote along the lines of, “Feel free to have a worry-free orgasm today.” And these dudes saying I’m unethical, unprofessional, that I should be warning my followers about all the dangers of masturbating and how it’s going to lead to loss of testosterone, increases in depression, social anxiety—you’re not going to be able to hit the gym well or get the girls. I was like, where the fuck is this coming from? I was aware of some masturbation myths, but I thought hairy palms and going blind were just things we heard as kids and grew out of. I didn’t know that adults still believed this, and I don’t think they were making it up. Clearly they were reading it someplace. So I wanted to understand where was this misinformation coming from, and why were they so gullible to believe it?
Are these anti-whackers practicing what they preach, or is this just some ploy for social media?
