Masturbation is good for women - Sexologist defends self-pleasure after Spice’s ‘sex demon’ comments

Sexologist, author and activist Dr Shelly-Ann Weeks is advocating for women to practise 'self-pleasuring' even as Queen of the Dancehall Spice said masturbation can cause spiritual and relationship problems.

On Angela Yee's Lip Service podcast, the Grammy-nominated artiste was questioned as to whether masturbation was taboo for her growing up. Spice admitted that she used to masturbate but stopped when she learned that by doing so, she was having intercourse with a sex demon.

"It's a sex demon called incubus and succubus. So, you have a male sex demon and a female sex demon and when you masturbate, you're having sex with the male sex demon. It will also be in a relationship with you and cause problems in your actual relationship," Spice explained to the podcasts hosts.

But Weeks, who said she was no expert on demons, told THE STAR that masturbation is not only beneficial, but extremely necessary.

"The body goes through cycles and changes and whenever we deprive our body of certain things, we pay the consequences. If we deprive our body of good nutrition, we pay the consequences. If we deprive our body of rest, we pay the consequences. We also deprive our body of all the great things that the body can experience in a pleasurable way, we pay the consequences as well," she said.

Weeks said masturbation allows women to discover what is best for them sexually and allows them to have a voice in terms of what they want for their own pleasure and satisfaction.

"Our culture says that when a woman masturbates it is an indication of her being 'sex deprived' or 'No man nuh want har' or 'She lonely'. I think it is not only not true, but it is dangerous. What it does is force women to not be able to express their sexuality and be truthful about what it is they want. How can they ask for what they want when they don't know? They don't know what feels good because they are taught that it is not okay to touch themselves," she explained. Weeks said that she wanted women to understand that sex should be pleasurable for them.

"The way how we see sex, we see ourselves as tools. So we don't enjoy it, we think that it is supposed to be painful, we see it as a chore. And the truth is, when done right, it is amazing. So we should be able to benefit from all those offerings that come with having a healthy, happy, satisfactory sexual experience. Show me a woman who is sexually satisfied and I will show you a woman who is more confident and calm, and able to tolerate more stressful situations," she said.