Great piece, Donna — truly, masturbation has to be one of the most taboo subjects there are, even in these so-called enlightened times. I remember when I was probably 10 or 11, telling a priest during confession about masturbating — I figured it was going to cost me at least 10 Hail Mary’s, but the Catholic guilt I was feeling made me disclose. That dude damn near came through the screen, reading me the riot act about how bad it was. That was the last attempt I ever made to tell the truth to a priest!

In the late 70’s, there was a tremendous musical that enjoyed a really long run at a theater called Grendel’s Lair on South Street in Philadelphia, called “Let My People Come”, that dealt with just about every sexual taboo there is, including a lot about masturbation. The lyrics of the songs were nothing short of brilliant. It really helped me to lay my Catholic guilt to rest, regarding the issue of masturbation. I saw it at least 3 times, with friends and family. It was really great stuff.