Erotic stimulation of one's own genital organs, usually to achieveorgasm. Masturbatory behavior is common in infants andadolescents, and is indulged in by many adults as well. Studiesindicate that over 90 percnt of U.S. males and 60–80 percnt ofU.S. females have masturbated at one time or another. Christianmoral teaching condemned masturbation as the sin of Onan, who inthe Old Testament was censured for spilling his seed, and theRoman Catholic Church still officially condemns it.
