Few boys masturbate before the onset of adolescence. Only 10% of boys are masturbating by the age of nine and only 13% by ten years of age. Male masturbation frequencies vary significantly in the population indicating not only a range in responsiveness but also variations in how different men can use their minds to enjoy their arousal cycle from erection to ejaculation.
Boys only start to use fantasies once they have some sexual experience (either alone or with a partner). A boy engages in sexual fantasies (at least to start with) because he enjoys remembering how someone aroused him. He uses his memories (perhaps enhanced over time by imagination) to achieve what initially occurred spontaneously or through physical stimulation alone. For a man, eroticism is inextricably linked to opportunities for penetration. When masturbating, a man imagines graphic activity with a real-life partner.
Men masturbate by emulating the male role in intercourse. Men use the fingers of one hand or their whole fist to vigorously massage the shaft of the penis. Male masturbation simulates intercourse as much as one can by just using a hand. The action of using fingers to massage the skin covering the shaft of the penis rapidly up and down over the glans, stimulates the shaft of the penis in a similar way to intercourse. Men masturbate by using mental images or fantasies that involve fairly realistic opportunities for intercourse.
Men typically stand and move their foreskin firmly and with considerable speed back and forth over the glans (head of the penis). The glans is only stimulated through the foreskin and it is a fleeting movement. Most of the stimulation is directed towards the shaft of the penis, which is where the blood flow is concentrated in the corpora cavernosa. Men may observe their erection as they push their penis downwards and thrust their hips forwards.
Men are usually fairly flexible about where and in what position they can masturbate. Standing is the most natural position for male masturbation, which allows a man to easily tense his buttocks. Men can also stimulate themselves to orgasm when sitting or lying down, with a lover for example.
Men have no difficulty being masturbated to orgasm by a lover. Some young men masturbate in public, for example, in front of their same-sex friends. Men masturbate with their eyes open. A man is aroused by the visual evidence of his own arousal. He typically watches the action of his hand pumping the shaft of his penis. A man may squeeze out some pre-cum liquid to lubricate the glans. As he approaches orgasm, a man raises himself up on tiptoe and pushes his hips forward. This has the effect of tightening the buttock muscles, which pressures the internal erectile organ from behind.
Only 92% of men masturbate. Out of every hundred men, eight men never masturbate. Some boys have their first ejaculation through intercourse. They may never masturbate because they have intercourse sufficiently frequently that they never need the additional sexual outlet. A very small number of men have sufficiently low sex drive that they never feel a need to masturbate. Men masturbate when they are alone. They are typically much less interested in masturbation with a lover. Manual stimulation of the penis tends to be a transitory activity with a lover that rarely proceeds as far as ejaculation.
Men can orgasm through a variety of penile stimulation techniques including intercourse, masturbation and fellatio (oral sex). Men masturbate to orgasm within a minute or less because of the more specific physical stimulation that masturbation provides. Some men choose to masturbate because they enjoy the variety of sexual outlet. Most men would not masturbate if they had an opportunity for intercourse, which is much more erotically rewarding.
Although male speeds to orgasm are quicker with masturbation (than intercourse) the orgasms may be less emotionally rewarding. Masturbation relies on being able to imagine turn-ons. Whereas with intercourse a man has the turn-on of a partner that allows him to achieve the best sexual release. Intercourse has the benefit of providing a warm and wet environment. Men enjoy the arousing sensations of whole-body contact and thrusting that intercourse provides (especially as they age and their hormone levels fall).
Highly responsive and younger men are easily aroused. So men only need to use fantasy to boost their natural arousal during masturbation alone. Some men rely purely on imagination but often visual material is more effective. Masturbation relies on having a creative imagination. The closer a scenario is to real life, the easier it is to create a scenario in one’s imagination. Pornographic movies work better than still images. Young men naturally transition to sex with a lover because their fantasies reflect realistic scenarios.
Men’s dependence on a partner is reflected in the popularity of inflatable dolls as masturbation accessories for men. Sex dolls are always available. The fact that a heterosexual man can use a sex doll to ejaculate into reflects the active male sexual role and the passive female sexual role. Women do not use sex dolls because they are not aroused by real-world erotic stimuli. Responsive women do not imagine real people or realistic scenarios when aiming for orgasm. They have to use surreal situations and fictional people. This mechanism (that makes men into sex objects) is much more naturally achieved by a man, who can view a partner in terms of their sexual attributes.
In the human male, masturbatory techniques are largely manual. … Most males carry the activity though to climax as rapidly as is possible, which means it does not ordinarily continue for more than a minute or two. (Alfred Kinsey)
Excerpt from Learn About Sexuality (ISBN 978-0956-894748)