Masturbation is a pretty sad and sordid thing to do whether you are a Christian or not. That's why the term 'mental masturbation' is used which such derision even in the secular media. It is a selfish acts which relies on the exploitation of images, real or fake, for temporal self-stimulation.
Are all selfish acts bad? Is eating food you like or listening to music wrong if it makes you a happier and more well-rounded person? Surely unless you're harming someone else, it's okay to be a little bit selfish now and again, especially if it makes you a nicer person to be around. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your body, and there is nothing sad or sordid about masturbating. I often think a lot of people on this forum would be much more laid back and pleasant to be around if they played with themselves once in a while..
That brings me onto pornography, the industry that is only a few shades better than the prostitution industry (I can back that point up if you want). But then the God of the Atheist world is oneself so the mistreatment of others is something to be sophisticatedly ignored rather than regarded as a reason to stop doing something.
Um, not everyone who masturbates uses pornography. Plenty of people who touch find pornography and the porn industry abhorrent. Personally, I dislike most pornography because of the way the participants are portrayed and treated, and the lack of imagination or artistic value displayed. There is, however, some pornography which is made with a genuine desire to create something thoughtful, stimulating and beautiful, as well as arousing, without degrading or exploiting any of the people who participate in its production. It is rare to find pornography like this, but it does exist. You may as well condemn a whole genre of music or literature on the basis of the lacklustre mainstream majority.
Alternatives include erotic writing, non-pornographic photography and art, long-distance communication via phone, instant messaging or however else, and of course (heaven forbid) the sheer, solo brilliance of the human imagination.
So firstly, you're wrong if you think that everyone who masturbates uses pornography. Secondly, this notion that atheists care less about other people's misfortune than anyone else is utter, misinformed baloney. I think that condemning masturbation is a very effective way of causing unnecessary suffering to people by making them feel guilty and ashamed of something which is quite natural, often beneficial, and frankly, hardly worth getting so upset about. And I can't begin to speculate about whom you think could possibly be harmed by a work of such literary elegance as, for example, Anaïs Nin's
Delta of Venus. What could be more liberating and reassuring than Nancy Friday's thought-provoking catalogues of women's sexual fantasies, including
My Secret Garden and
Women on Top? Telling young people (or any people, for that matter) that the desire to touch themselves should be shunned and suppressed is unnecessary, harmful and a waste of time and resources. Far worse behaviour, in my opinion, than occasionally enjoying a quiet night in with Henry Miller and a Rampant Rabbit.
