Scoping review of discourses on masturbation in Africa: an afrofeminist analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Masturbation – self-sexual stimulation of the genitalia – literature is underdeveloped, especially in terms of non-Western samples. More importantly, there remains very little or no research about how masturbation as a sexual practice contributes to understanding the gender dynamics of sexual choices in Africa. Using the African feminist resistance framework of ‘radical rudeness’, developed by the Ugandan feminist Stella Nyanzi, this paper, through a scoping review of twenty-five studies, aims to review and synthesise the literature on masturbation discourse by identifying the socio-demographic dynamics of masturbators, their understanding of masturbation and its rationale, and the agentic and innovative ways of masturbation as reflected in existing works. The author argues that masturbation offers a space to experience one’s own sexual pleasure, as they push for a conceptually nuanced viewpoint about African sex. The analysis thus makes a clarion call to rethink the sex discourse in order to better appreciate and promote the sexual diversity of Africa.