ordinarily
culminates in ejaculation, in the child this is not usually the case; at
any rate, as regards many children the occurrence of ejaculation is not
demonstrable. I refer in this connexion to what I have already stated on
page 54 _et seq._ It is self-evident from what has been previously said
that during the second period of childhood masturbation is more likely
than during the first period to culminate in ejaculation.
The methods by which the artificial stimulation of the genital organs is
effected are extremely variable. The commonest way to masturbate is with
the hands, but this is by no means the invariable practice. All kinds of
little artifices are employed, partly to render it possible to
masturbate unobserved in the presence of others, and partly in order to
increase the intensity of the stimulus. Boys sometimes manipulate their
genital organs through their trouser pockets; some even make a hole in
the pocket to enable them to masturbate more effectually. In other
cases, children, especially girls, lean against some article of
furniture--a chair or a table--apparently in a harmless manner, but
really in such a way that pressure is exercised upon the genital
organs, which are stimulated by pressure or friction. In some, strong
mechanical stimulation is required; in others, weaker stimuli suffice,
because the way has previously been sufficiently prepared by psychical
processes. In female children frequently, but less often in males,
masturbation is effected by rubbing the crossed thighs one against the
other. We learn from many girls that they tie a knot in the nightgown or
chemise, and masturbate by rubbing this against the genital organs. I
must allude also to horseback riding, working the treadle of a sewing
machine, cycling, the vibration of a carriage or railway train in
motion; we must, however, be careful not to attach undue importance to
these factors of masturbation, for in such cases much depends upon the
individuality, and much also upon the external mechanical conditions---
as, for instance, on the construction of the saddle used in cycling and
the like. In the case of the male genital organs, the glans penis is the
most sensitive portion, and mechanical stimulation of this structure in
especial is likely to induce the practice of masturbation; in the case
of the female genital organs, on the other hand, it is the clitoris
which is most sensitive, and of which, therefore, we have especially to
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