From "Blindness" to Pleasure: A Bibliometric Journey Through Masturbation

What is it about?

Masturbation is one of the most common sexual practices across the lifespan. It is part of solitary sexuality, but it can also be present in shared experiences. Despite this, for centuries it has been surrounded by myths, prejudices, and moralizing discourses that have made it a topic as frequent as it is uncomfortable. How has the scientific view of this behavior changed? What does current research tell us? Through a bibliometric analysis of 3,239 scientific articles published between 1840 and 2025, the authors reconstruct the historical evolution of research on masturbation and reveal how the ways of studying it have changed. The most relevant results show a gradual increase in scientific interest over time, with a particularly marked boost beginning in the 1970s and a historical peak reached in 2025. However, the earliest works reflect a very different reality. The oldest article identified, published in 1840, linked masturbation to vision problems. This association, now considered unfounded, illustrates how nineteenth‑century medicine contributed to spreading negative beliefs that shaped scientific understanding of this behavior for decades. With the development of modern sexology and the progressive recognition of sexual rights, research began to move away from approaches centered on disease and pathology. Masturbation then started to be addressed from perspectives related to pleasure, sexual health, bodily autonomy, and psychological well‑being. The analysis of the keywords used in the scientific literature confirms this transformation. The most frequent topics relate to sexual health and functioning, including sexual satisfaction, desire, orgasm, and sexual dysfunctions. In addition, the growing presence of terms related to women reflects an increasing interest in incorporating a gender perspective and better understanding female sexual experience, a historically understudied area. However, the study also identifies new trends that have emerged in the digital era. Concepts such as NoFap or manosphere have gained visibility in recent years. These movements, highly present on social media and online communities, promote masturbatory abstinence or disseminate narratives that may reinforce old stigmas. Their appearance in scientific literature highlights the need to critically analyze the information circulating online and to combat misinformation related to sexuality. In contrast, terms traditionally associated with pathologization, such as homosexuality, have lost prominence, reflecting the evolution of scientific knowledge and social attitudes. Despite the growth of research, the authors point out important limitations. Most studies come from North America and Europe, making it difficult to understand how masturbation is lived and interpreted in other regions of the world. Moreover, international collaborations between research groups remain limited, restricting the development of cross‑cultural studies capable of offering a more diverse and comprehensive view.

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Photo by Allyssa Olaivar on Unsplash

Photo by Allyssa Olaivar on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Taken together, this work shows how masturbation has shifted from being considered a problematic and stigmatized practice to becoming a legitimate object of study for disciplines as diverse as medicine, psychology, and the social sciences. Understanding this evolution not only allows us to better grasp the history of human sexuality, but also to move toward more inclusive, representative, and prejudice‑free research capable of promoting sexual health, personal autonomy, and well‑being based on scientific evidence.

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