Although a child’s very first experiences with masturbation tend to be public, occurring as a baby when they simply discover some pleasure from manipulating their privates, it isn’t long before they are taught that masturbation is not something to be openly shared. While socially this is true, it does of course create a situation in which people are afraid to masturbate in front of anyone else, even a partner who loves them very much. Masturbation, of course, is involved in a comprehensive penis health regimen to varying degrees, and there’s a lot that a partner can learn from witnessing  how their mate self-gratifies.

Although a child’s very first experiences with masturbation tend to be public, occurring as a baby when they simply discover some pleasure from manipulating their privates, it isn’t long before they are taught that masturbation is not something to be openly shared. While socially this is true, it does of course create a situation in which people are afraid to masturbate in front of anyone else, even a partner who loves them very much. Masturbation, of course, is involved in a comprehensive penis health regimen to varying degrees, and there’s a lot that a partner can learn from witnessing  how their mate self-gratifies.

Letting a partner watch him masturbate, or especially inviting a partner to watch him, can be awkward for many (though not all) men. It also is likely to be more difficult for a man who is involved sexually with a woman, rather than one whose partner is another man (although some gay men experience similar hesitancies about masturbation as their straight counterparts; every individual is different, after all.) But it can also be beneficial in several ways:

It can bring a couple closer. Ironically, since masturbation is usually thought of as something which a man does all by himself, in many cases the act of manipulating one’s penis for pleasure in front of a partner can actually strengthen the bond of intimacy in a relationship. By sharing his masturbation, a man is opening up a very private part of himself. He is exposing some form of vulnerability. By doing so, he is acknowledging that he implicitly trusts the person watching him with a part of himself that he is not willing to open up to most people.

It can teach a partner a great deal. Although a woman who has been a man’s partner for a long time undoubtedly knows many sexual secrets and tricks about him, there are still likely to be many things she does not know. (The same applies to men with male partners as well.) Often, the things she can learn from watching a man masturbate may have more to do with detail or nuance than “big picture” lessons. For example, perhaps she notices that when he masturbates, he squeezes the head of the penis more rapidly just as he is approaching orgasm, or that he strokes the underside of his shaft with two fingers just after it becomes erect. These tips can be incorporated into their own lovemaking and foreplay.

It can teach a man a great deal. Sometimes a man can also learn about himself from masturbating in front of a partner. He can pinpoint specific emotions that it arouses and how he reacts to them. He may discover that, despite his best efforts to be “natural,” he feels self-conscious masturbating in front of someone – and that’s okay. Or he may feel he has to “perform” somewhat, rather than simply sit back and be himself – and that’s okay, too. Or he may have the opposite experience and find that he became even more at ease, more natural because he let himself masturbate willingly for a partner. Whatever reactions he has, they can be valuable and enable him to learn more about himself.

Most men will find masturbation in front of a partner easier if he knows his penis is in good shape, a result of regularly using a first rate penis health oil (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin). Like the rest of the body, the penis needs vitamins to enrich and empower it, so the best oil should include important vitamins like A, B5, C, D and E. In addition, that oil should provide access to alpha lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant which battles oxidative stress and the damage that can inflict on sensitive penis skin.