Seeking Pleasure Behind Bars: Should Masturbation in Prison Really Be Prohibited?
/Gunning: a term generally describing public masturbation in prison. “Gunning” may more specifically refer to the act of masturbating to the sight of a female guard in which the guard may be able to observe said “gunner” (Cusack, 2014).
For inmates in most North American correctional facilities, masturbating is a prohibited and punishable offense. Most of us Westerners can agree that masturbation is only acceptable (and lawful) when done in private. However, when you get sent to the slammer, your right to privacy is little-to-none. By default, this ends up making most cases of masturbation in prison public and, therefore, prohibited (Cusack, 2014).
This prohibition, however, does not keep inmates from seeking a little autoeroticism from time to time. One study that explored the prevalence of masturbation and consensual same-sex activity in a Southern correctional facility found that of the 142 inmates who agreed to participate, only one had never masturbated in prison (Hensley et al., 2001). The same study reported that 30.5% of inmates masturbated two to three times per week, and 22.7% reported masturbating multiple times a day (Hensley et al., 2001). Another study conducted in an all-female Southern correctional facility reported that of the 245 inmates who agreed to participate in the research, 18.6% masturbated two to three times per week, and almost 3% reported masturbating more than once a day (Hensley et al., 2001).
According to Marty Klein (2012), a certified sex therapist, “criminalizing something that everyone does [referring to autoeroticism in prison] makes selective enforcement inevitable,” which further perpetuates inequity and distrust in the judicial system. So why is it so wrong for inmates to seek a little erotic “me time” in the darkness of their cells at night?
Why Masturbation is Currently Prohibited in Most Prisons
There are several reasons for the prohibition of masturbation in correctional facilities. As previously mentioned, almost all areas inside prison walls, including individual cells, are considered public spaces, making masturbation almost anywhere within a prison a punishable offense (Cusack, 2014). Some have argued that maintaining the taboo nature of public masturbation (in prison and in the general population) is important due to the “high comorbidity between public masturbation and other paraphilic sex crimes” (Cusack, 2014) such as frotteurism (i.e., the act of touching/rubbing one’s genitals against another non-consenting individual). Others who support prohibiting acts of autoeroticism behind bars suggest that frequent masturbation is associated with lower energy levels and reduced drive and could therefore negatively impact inmates’ motivation to improve themselves while serving their sentence (Cusack, 2014). Though many studies suggest masturbation is a form of self-soothing, a source of pleasure, and a way to alleviate boredom, others argue that “inmates should use their vitality, time, and energy to learn, rehearse, and engage in more sophisticated, productive, and deeply satisfying coping skills and activities” (Cusack, 2014).
Maintaining masturbation in prison as a punishable offense supposedly protects inmates. Relationships between masturbation and sex abuse in prison have been reported, such as inmates using masturbation as a weapon to terrorize fellow inmates and/or correctional officers (Kot, 2019), but these associations remain controversial. Because of this, prison management systems have decided that eliminating all sexual behaviours in prison is essential to protect inmates from said abuse (Cusack, 2014). Additionally, displays of masturbation in prison have been used to harass fellow inmates, threaten future rape, or initiate a physical fight (Cusack, 2014). In recent years, the hammer has come down even harder on masturbation in prison with the increased presence of female correctional officers. Female guards working in prisons that permit masturbation report that being sexually harassed is a common occurrence, and they don’t feel protected by their employers (Cusack, 2014). As a whole, courts agree that correctional facilities must prohibit and eradicate masturbation in order to prevent sexual abuse and harassment (Cusack, 2014).
Sam Hughes, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Cruz argues that today’s “prisoners are also dealing with residuals from Christian-based prison programs which were ruled unconstitutional in 2006” (Dold, 2017). These programs forced prisoners and guards to believe that masturbation, as well as same-sex sexual behaviour and premarital sex, were sinful, and Hughes believes that such “education” has perpetuated the stigma of masturbation in the prison system today (Dold, 2017).
Why The Prohibition of Masturbation in Prison Should Be Reconsidered
Although there are solid reasons for forbidding masturbation in prison, many prisoners’ rights activists believe that denying inmates the right to one of the most primitive, natural forms of relaxation and stress relief is appalling. Hughes, for example, fully disagrees with studies that have found a correlation between masturbation and sexual abuse, arguing that autoeroticism could not only help to minimize rape of other inmates, but also reduce the occurrence of issues such as prostitution and transmission of STIs behind bars (Dold, 2017).
Klein argues that punishing inmates for masturbating in prison is counterproductive (Klein, 2012). “How do people feel after they orgasm? Relaxed!” he writes, suggesting that the opportunity for a little self-pleasure now and then would help release pent up frustration, stress, and anxiety among inmates and give them the opportunity to obtain “a sense of control in otherwise repressive circumstances” (Klein, 2012). He believes it is simply outrageous to expect inmates to behave completely asexually for months or years on end (Klein, 2012).
The fact of the matter is: masturbation is an extremely healthy and normal behaviour. Hosting a regular party-of-one for yourself often results in orgasm, flooding your brain with endorphins that make you feel good, producing a natural high (Vagianos, 2017). Engaging in autoeroticism also helps to relieve pent-up stress (Vagianos, 2017). This alone has endless health benefits, considering that many doctors believe most illness nowadays is stress-related. Masturbating also effectively relieves sexual tension (Vagianos, 2017). The long-term social, mental, emotional, and physical implications of spending extended periods of time in an extremely sexually repressive environment cannot be healthy for inmates. Knowing that sex is an important component of many people’s lives and relationships, how can the judicial system confidently say that they are doing all they can to rehabilitate inmates during their time in prison while also starving them of an experience that is so innately human? How can we expect inmates to not exhibit deviant sexual behaviour or experience any form of sexual dysfunction once they are released into the general population after going through extreme sexual deprivation?
Future Directions
Although it won’t be easy to find a solution to the issue of masturbation in prison, it is crucial that we do so for the health, well-being, and proper treatment of inmates everywhere. Attempting to enforce legislation on when and where inmates are permitted to masturbate (e.g., in your bed, lights off, covers up) could often become a situation of a guard’s word against an inmate’s, to which the inmate will likely lose every time (Dold, 2017). Additionally, until the issue of overcrowding in North American prisons is addressed, it will be almost impossible to designate safe, private spaces for autoerotic purposes (Dold, 2017). Similar to the way we must provide inmates with nutritious food and the opportunity for physical exercise, these individuals should not be denied the ability to practice safe, healthy, solo masturbation, considering that to many individuals, regular masturbation plays an important role in proper mental, emotional, and sexual functioning.
Taylor Brohm, BScH in Life Sciences, Queen's University
References:
Cusack, C. M. (2014). No stroking in the pokey: Promulgating penological policies prohibiting masturbation among inmate populations. JL & Soc. Deviance, 7, 80.
Dold, K. (2017, January 6). Why It's Illegal for Prisoners to Masturbate. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ypvk7g/why-its-illegal-for-prisoners-to-masturbate
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Koscheski, M. (2001). Masturbation Uncovered: Autoeroticism in a Female Prison. The Prison Journal, 81(4), 491–501. doi: 10.1177/0032885501081004005
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Wright, J. (2001). Exploring the dynamics of masturbation and consensual same-sex activity within a male maximum security prison. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 10(1), 59-71.
Hughes, S. D. (2020). Release within confinement: An alternative proposal for managing the masturbation of incarcerated men in US prisons. Journal of Positive Sexuality, 6(1), 4-23.
Klein, M. (2012, January 19). Should Prison Inmates Have the Right to Masturbate ... Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sexual-intelligence/201201/should-prison-inmates-have-the-right-masturbate
Kot, Y. (2019). The Fundamental Right to Sexual Autonomy in Prison. American Criminal Law Review, 56(511), 511–530. Retrieved from https://www.law.georgetown.edu/american-criminal-law-review/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/04/56-2-The-Fundamental-Right-to-Sexual-Autonomy-in-Prison.pdf
Vagianos, A. (2017, December 7). 13 Reasons Every Woman Should Masturbate. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/reasons-women-should-masturbate_n_6172092?ri18n=true