I’m asexual and I masturbate. I do it because I like it. It feels good.
I never feel like I have to, there’s rarely even a phone call from downstairs demanding attention. It’s a bit like deciding to turn on the TV or deciding to eat a piece of candy, it’s just something I want to do at that moment. I pretty much always have to kickstart the arousal process, because that rarely happens on its own, and even more rarely at a time when I can do anything with it.
On average, I do it once or twice a day, usually once in the morning and again before bed. I used to do it exclusively in the shower, but now it’s far more common to be at the computer or in bed. Sometimes it’ll take just a couple of minutes, other times I might stretch it out for an hour.
If I don’t do it for a while, nothing changes: No spontaneous erections, no nocturnal emissions, no rising lake of libido building up. Just a slight bit more sensitivity downstairs. Maybe the skin’s a little softer? I don’t know. But no genital explosions from unreleased sexual whatever.
These days, I typically use toys. Most often, it’s a Fleshlight, but it can be another type of sleeve. I like the way they feel, and they help to contain the situation for easy cleanup. Occasionally, I’ll use a vibrator, but those don’t work very well most of the time. Very rarely, I’ll try something else, but I’ve had very little success outside of my hand or sleeves.
I do not need to be turned on before I start. It’s rare that I ever feel particularly “turned on”. Even if I get a spontaneous erection, it’s typically more of a nuisance than something that makes me think “I’d like to do something with that!”. Since I don’t want to wait around for random arousal to kick in, I usually need some deliberate manual intervention to get started. Gently tugging, softly pinching and pulling around the frenulum, combined with muscle tensing will usually do the trick.
I would say that libido does not play a role in what I do. I don’t really think I have one. Feeling “horny” is a really rare experience, and it’s definitely not a driver of my masturbation, nor is it required. Most often, I do it because I feel like it, not because I feel compelled to and not because my body is saying “Hey, do this now!”. Nothing builds up if I don’t do it, and there isn’t any kind of nagging sense of whatever that gets temporarily relieved when I’m done.
As for orgasm, well, the sudden spike in pleasure, the rhythmic pulsing of muscles, and ejaculation are a fairly clear giveaway. Then again, I have ejaculated without orgasm and orgasmed without ejaculation, so… And orgasm is a distinctly different sensation than anything else going on. It usually feels good before, but then there’s a sudden shift to a sort of automatic mode. There’s a surge in how good everything feels as the orgasm takes over. I let muscles do their own thing, as there’s pleasure in the tension. And afterward a drift into relaxation and either oversensitivity or slight numbness downstairs. It’s much, much more than just a simple muscle twitch.
For me, orgasms are definitely the point. I don’t do it for stress relief or to get to sleep or to scratch an itch or to avoid wet dreams (does that even make a difference?) or anything like that. I would have no reason to do it otherwise.
In general, I think the entire topic should be more openly discussed, or at least not be seen as some sort of embarrassing secret. Lots of people do it, so what? I think sex toys should be sold in a common drugstore. (I know some already have vibrating rings in with the condoms, but those hardly count, since they’re typically not good as either cock rings or vibrators. And the “back massagers” should just come out and say what they’re really for…) I think people should stop with the harmful myths about hairy palms or eternal damnation or making you go blind, and then stop with the even more harmful myths that masturbation is somehow “artificial” or “replacement” sex for people who can’t get “the real thing”.