Thank the monkey – masturbation has been going on for 40,000,000 years
‘It’s completely natural’ might be the awkward sentence uttered by sex education teachers or parents giving ‘the talk’ across the globe, but as it turns out, masturbation evolved literally millions of years ago.
Evolutionary biologists at University College London have studied the origins of autosexual behaviour – its science name – and suggest it existed around 40million years ago in the common ancestor of humans and primates.
And while in survival terms the act may not be deemed very forward-thinking, the team argues it could actually increase a male primate’s chances of having offspring by two surprising mechanisms.
Firstly, ejaculating after masturbation helps shed low-quality semen, leaving fresh sperm available for mating.
Secondly, it may reduce the chance of contracting sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) by cleansing the urethra – the tube that removes semen and urine from the body, which is also the main site of infection for many STIs.
‘Our findings help shed light on a very common, but little understood, sexual behaviour and represent a significant advance in our understanding of the functions of masturbation,’ said lead researcher Dr Matilda Brindle.
Masturbation is common among animals but is thought to be more prevalent in primates, including chimpanzees, apes and humans. Bonobos, from the same genus as chimpanzees, are famous for their friendly nature and active sex lives.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B, focused on primate animals, both wild and captive.
Dr Brindle and her colleagues gathered information from 246 published academic papers and 150 questionnaires, with the aim to understand when and why masturbation evolved.
They also analysed personal communications from primate experts and zookeepers.
‘This is such a common behaviour across the animal kingdom, I find it absolutely baffling that nobody has researched it before,” said Dr Brindle, speaking to the Guardian.
‘For people who think masturbation is wrong, or unnatural in some way, this is perfectly natural behaviour. It’s part of our healthy repertoire of sexual behaviours.’
As is often the case in data sets however, there was insufficient information to ascertain what drives female masturbation.
And so, the female orgasm continues to remain a mystery.
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