Origins of masturbation traced back to 40 million years, found primarily in male primates

London

The origins of masturbation—historically believed to be pathological or a by-product of sexual arousal—has been traced back to ancient primates, around 40 million years before the first humans walked the Earth.

The scientists found this trait primarily in males and have argued that the apes engaged in self-pleasure tactics to improve their reproductive capacity, and, in turn, avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings were published in Proceedings of The Royal Society B journal after collating information from nearly 400 sources, including 246 published academic papers, 150 questionnaires and personal communications from primatologists and zookeepers.

The authors tracked the distribution of autosexual behaviour across primates to understand when and why it evolved in both females and males.

“Our findings help shed light on a very common, but little understood, sexual behaviour and represent a significant advance in our understanding of the functions of masturbation,” Dr Matilda Brindle, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

There is, however, a scientific reason as to why primates regularly engaged in masturbation.

Based on their hypothesis, the scientists argued that male masturbation boosted the chances of impregnating a mate, and helped males shed old sperm, leaving them with fresher, more competitive sperm for sex.

Panacea against sexually transmitted diseases

However, that was not the only driver. The researchers claimed that male masturbation in primates rose in line with levels of sexually transmitted infections.

One possible explanation provided by the scientists is that masturbation after sex helps flush the genital tract, reducing the risk of an infection taking hold.

Though the study extensively delves into the functions of male libido, their research is largely silent on female masturbation.

That’s because biological studies from the past tended to ignore females, so the team had far less information and data for reference.

“More data on female sexual behaviour is needed to better understand the evolutionary role of masturbation,” she said.

Explaining why she decided to focus her research on this topic, Brindle said she found it “absolutely baffling that nobody has researched such a common behaviour across the animal kingdom".

“For people who think masturbation is wrong, or unnatural in some way, this is perfectly natural behaviour. It’s part of our healthy repertoire of sexual behaviours,” she added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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