[postalblowfish7]

people are animals. people like to pretend that we're not animals. we cover up our skin, paint our faces, pretend to be oh-so-civilized as we figure out new and creative ways to blow each other up - but at the end of the day we're animals, still holding onto the basic animal psyche buried deep inside our over-evolved brains.

sexual pleasure is built into us. sex feels good so we'll do it a lot, and continue to reproduce. it's a basic survival instinct. the purpose of any animal is to reproduce and die - it's the cycle that's kept earth a living and evolving planet for hundreds of millions of years.

but we're also human, which means that we don't just go out, grab a mate, and start nesting. we have all of these complicated social structures set in place to aid in the successful coming together of two people for the purpose of reproduction. we've also realized that you don't even need a mate to achieve a climactic orgasm, and every now and then it's a nice way to relive sexual pressure.

of course having sex is always better than masturbation - especially sex with someone you are (or at least at the time you believe to be) in love with. eye contact, the physical closeness of another human, the heat, the sound - it's an intimate experience. a moment of complete submission, all of your barriers are torn down and you give yourself completely to another person. that is what makes sex special i think, not just the orgasm.

that's why i think there's nothing wrong with masturbation. i don't think it 'cheapens' sex. porn is a different story - but i'm assuming this thread is just about the physical act of masturbation. we're human, but we're also animals - and what's wrong with making ourselves feel so good?