Solitary Sex

by Thomas Walter Laqueur

"This is the first cultural history of the world's most common sexual practice: masturbation. At a time when almost any victimless practice has its public advocates and almost every sexual act is front-page news, the easiest and least harmful one is embarrassing, discomforting, and genuinely radical when openly acknowledged. But this has not always been the case. The ancient world cared little about maturbation; it was of no great concern in Jewish and Christian teaching about sexuality. In fact, as Thomas Lacqeur dramatically shows, solitary sex as an important medical and moral issue can...

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