The Collegiette's Guide to Pleasuring Herself (Oh Yeah, We're Going There)

As collegiettes™, we get immense gratification from a variety of things: finding the perfect nude peep-toe pump, running three miles without stopping, acing the impossible-to-pass biology final. Finding pleasure in things isn’t a difficult topic to discuss. But, pleasuring ourselves? (Yes, like that.) Well, that’s a whole different story.

Are you blushing? Did you just choke on your lunch? Don’t worry. That’s normal. And so is female masturbation.
At Her Campus, we don’t like to shy away from delicate subjects — not even the blush-inducing, make you choke on your lunch ones. We surveyed a group of 75 real college girls to find out everything you’ve always wondered about female masturbation. Read on to see what the girls had to say, and get answers to your most pressing questions from sexperts Amber Madison, author of Hooking Up: A Girl's All-Out Guide to Sex and Sexuality and Are All Guys Assholes?, and Dr. Debby Herbenick, founder of MySexProfessor.com.

The Subject Has a Taboo Stigma…
Mom may have given you the speech about your growing body and the birds and the bees, but we can bet this is one topic she didn’t dare delve into. Though it’s pretty safe to assume our male counterparts weren’t getting tips and advice from their dads either, the stigma that male masturbation is okay while female masturbation isn’t still exists.

“Women just aren't ‘allowed’ to be the sexual creatures that men are, and as a result girls feel like there is something shameful about masturbating,” Madison says. “Look at the words we have for masturbation. Guys get to jerk off, jack off, wack off, or 8 million other funny sounding words. Girls have to go with ‘masturbate,’ which is just a gross word, or something ridiculous like, ‘flicking the bean.’”

…But it’s Totally Normal.
Out of the 75 collegiettes™ we asked, 55 percent of the girls admitted to masturbating. So, those sweaty palms and side-to-side glances that occur at the mention of the topic really aren’t necessary — especially within your own group of friends.

“Sex and the City changed that for many women, as have in-home sex toy parties such as those by Pure Romance and Passion Parties, among others,” says Herbenick.

The final verdict? Female masturbation is more common than you think (collegiettes™ everywhere are doing it!) and it’s the best way to figure out what you like down there. So, let’s dive in a little deeper, shall we?