Scarleteen

a few days ago a was talking with a group of relatives (all older women) and my aunt said that she had stopped masturbating because it was “hindering her relationship with jesus” and everybody else agreed. i cant stop thinking about it and now i feel extremely guilty. i’m not even religious but they just all agreed that masturbating was something sinful and disgusting and now i feel gross. is masturbating actually a sin?

Hi there, Brandii

I'm sorry you had to hear that kind of thing! While some religious people do believe that masturbation is sinful, many others don't- for them, masturbation doesn't weaken their faith or their relationship with God. We here at Scarleteen agree with the latter. If someone wants to masturbate, they should- it's normal and healthy.

I want to reassure you that you are not gross and you don't have to feel guilty. If you'd like, check out
Undoing Sexual Shame- it is a good guide for these sorts of situations.

You might also like to read this article: Impurity Culture: Masturbation Is Self-Care- it has a section on the Biblical text that people sometimes use to justify their belief that masturbation is sinful, and it suggests that it has been misinterpreted.