The Organ of Tactility: Fantasy, Image, and Male Masturbation

This article explores the interplay of fantasy and image in male solitary masturbation in the virtual age. Online pornography has drastically changed the intimate relationship between the hand and the penis. The case of a 17-year-old boy and his excessive use of Internet pornography is used to highl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pastoral psychology
Main Author: Hamman, Jaco J. 1967- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science Business Media B. V. [2018]
In: Pastoral psychology
IxTheo Classification:NBE Anthropology
NCF Sexual ethics
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Brett Kahr
B Michael Taussig
B Sex
B Mark Twain
B Pornography
B Masturbation
B Samuel-Auguste Tissot
B Technology
B Men
B Sexuality
B Boys
B Erotic fantasy
B Internet
B Onanism
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:This article explores the interplay of fantasy and image in male solitary masturbation in the virtual age. Online pornography has drastically changed the intimate relationship between the hand and the penis. The case of a 17-year-old boy and his excessive use of Internet pornography is used to highlight pornography's impact on a person's well-being and neurology. A brief exploration of three histories of masturbation shows how the discourse on masturbation often serves political agendas and addresses the central role of sexual fantasy in the practice. Sexual fantasy is explored through the research of British psychoanalyst Brett Kahr. To examine the significance of the eye in pornography, philosopher Michael Taussig's concept of “the eye as the organ of tactility” is discussed. The essay concludes by offering a framework for discerning whether masturbating to images might be disordered or not. Fantasy, which is nonvisual sexual arousal, can relieve a person from the tyranny of the eye and of compulsive masturbation.
ISSN:1573-6679
Contains:Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11089-017-0797-6