Of all the different genres of masturbation, pre-bating is definitely a crowd favourite. Procrasti-bating is up there, but the undeniable psychological and physical benefits of pre-bating take the crown.
Whether or not you’re familiar with the term, chances are you’ve probably engaged in the practice. And if not – I can guarantee it comes highly recommended.
‘Pre-bating’ is the official name given to masturbating specifically to relieve yourself before an event. That ‘event’ could be a date, work, sleep, or anything you might want to de-stress before. Whatever it is, a well-timed self-love session can work wonders for you.
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The psychological benefits of masturbating are not a myth, there is actual science to back us up here. On Triple j’s The Hook Up, sex therapist Chantelle Otten explained what exactly is happening in our bodies that makes pre-bating feel so effective.
“Scientifically when we masturbate we release oxytocin. And Oxytocin is basically something that mediates cortisol, which is our stress hormone,”
“When we get stressed, if we’re a little bit nervous, then we release cortisol, and then if we masturbate we release oxytocin, which then reduces stress levels and reduces blood pressure.”
So feel validated by the fact that indulging in a session is not only going to be a great time, but also make everything after it better too. As far as relaxation techniques go, it’s free, it’s natural and it’s on hand (haha) any time you need it, so have no shame in getting around it.
Pre-bating is perhaps most iconally known as a tactic to avoid premature ejaculation, and yes, that is a valid strategy. Think Ben Stiller in Something About Mary (A glorified stalker film), rubbing one out before his date with Mary to get some sexual energy out of his system and thus, appear less horny.
For those of us working with different genital equipment, that reason doesn’t necessarily apply because orgasming too soon is rarely the issue (am I right!).
But there are plenty of different reasons to pre-bate. Countless. Is there a wrong time? As long as the time and place allows for it, I think not.
Pre-bating has long been mis-conceived as sitting within a man’s domain, along with the general act of masturbation. Sigh. It’s traditionally seen as filthy and for boys.
But at this point I should hope it’s not news that people of any and all genders masturbate. It’s normal. Leave your shock, horror and stigma at the door – women are autonomous sexual creatures who masturbate too. We are all just humans who like to get a lil freaky. Moving right along.
We don’t see or hear nearly as much about women masturbating in mainstream pop culture as we do men, but gradually, that is changing. Just this year, within the first 10 minutes of the season two premiere episode of Netflix’s outstanding show Dear White People, we get a fairly explicit shot of the main character very literally feelin’ herself.
More specifically, and as her roommate Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson) calls out after walking in on the action, Sam (Logan Browning) is pre-bating. In this context, Joelle describes pre-bating as,
“When you take care of yourself so you don’t lose your mind in the company of problematic dick.”
Time to learn you some #DearWhitePeople Volume 2. The definition of "prebating" is… pic.twitter.com/iuprbuuuAq
— Dear White People (@DearWhitePeople) May 8, 2018
Ah yes, problematic dick – yet another valid reason to take matters into your own hands.
Basically, when you take into account the psychological benefits of masturbating, the conclusion is clear: pre-bating is always a good idea. Not that you need a reason to masturbate, but hell, there’s no shortage.
And it’s definitely nothing to be embarrassed about, whoever you are. So go ahead and make yourself happy whenever the moment calls.