A Firm Grasp On It

Having a firm grasp means that you have a good understanding of something, especially the finer points, which includes the basic rules, details, methods and principles.  Last night the young man caved in to his desires and he got a grasp on the situation, but now he is wondering if his masturbation will result in a variety of physical maladies, including going blind and growing hair on his palms.  Back in the dark ages rumors were spread about people who practiced self-abuse, would have their growth stunted, it would render them weak and feeble after the act, they would experience instances of madness or complete idiocy, they would suddenly sprout hair on their palms and eventually they would go blind.  This rumor spread because people believed in a half-baked logic that said whatever was responsible for new hair growth in boys, like that on their face, armpits, and in their groin area was being carried by their semen, which would of course end up in the palms of the masturbators.

In the dark ages, religion used desperate tactics so they could make people feel bad about normal things, usually this was done by priests, or some opportunist that attempted to blame nearly every single bad possible conceivable thing, on masturbation.  People began to read after Johann Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press and now in 1455 the Western world was able to read and examine the Bible.  One of the stories tells about Judah who was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah and he married Shua, a Canaanite woman and they had three sons named Er, Onan, and Shelah.   Er married Tamar, but he did a wicked thing during intercourse, by pulling out of his wife and spurting his load on her belly in order to avoid getting her pregnant.  Er wanted Tamar to maintain her beauty and the Lord saw this as a vile act, so Er was killed for doing this.  Judah told his second born son Onan to go to his dead brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir for his brother.  Onan knew that the heir would not be his, so he emitted his semen on the ground, that way he could have sex with Tamar and not give his dead brother an heir.  God disapproved of Onan’s attitude, and He took Onan’s life also.

Back in the dark ages, no one would ever question a priest, so if they were told something by a priest, no matter how incredibly stupid it would sound, they would believe it.  Here today, we still have people who actually believe this insanity.  Masturbation is the act of touching oneself in a sexual manner for pleasure or sexual release, although it has been long been the center of taboo and many misconceptions.  From time to time, everybody does it, as it is not restricted to just adult men, married folks and the elderly do it too as well.  Teens and children engage in it, although it is thought that children are driven to do this more from a self-exploratory point of view than sexual.  Masturbation is not a sin and it does not have to be avoided at all costs.  Contrary to the demonizing myths surrounding masturbation, it is completely healthy and it can even benefit you mentally and physically.

Masturbation is the form of sexual behavior that most of us learn first, as it happens quite instinctively, although until recently, it was probably the type of sex least talked about.  Society has become more tolerant of it, but only when this activity is done in private, however it still carries shameful connotations with it and it is generally seen as a something that is done by a sad character.  I always thought that I would just do it until I needed glasses, and then I would stop, oh crap, I am already wearing glasses.