Roughly half of all women report having masturbated at some point in their lives, though the real number is likely higher due to underreporting. Among adolescent girls, about 48% say they have masturbated, and that figure climbs with age. Among adult women, rates continue to rise, and recent surveys show the percentage of women who say they’ve never masturbated is steadily shrinking.
How Common It Is Among Teens
A nationally representative U.S. study of 14- to 17-year-olds found that 48% of girls reported having masturbated at least once. The numbers shifted noticeably by age: 43% of 14-year-old girls had masturbated, compared to 58% of 17-year-olds. For comparison, 74% of boys in the same study reported masturbating, a gap that persists into adulthood.
The average age girls first begin masturbating is around 15, though there’s a wide range. Some start earlier in childhood, others not until their 20s or beyond. There is no “normal” timeline.
Adult Women: Lifetime and Recent Rates
Large-scale British surveys tracking sexual behavior over more than a decade found that about 76% of women have masturbated at some point in their lives, and that number is growing. The share of women reporting they had never masturbated dropped from 28.5% to 24.1% between survey periods. In terms of recent activity, about 40% of women reported masturbating in the past month, up from 37% in the earlier survey period.
A separate U.S. study found that 52.5% of women had used a vibrator at some point, with about 46% having used one during solo masturbation. Around one in five women had used a vibrator for masturbation in the previous month alone. These numbers serve as a useful secondary measure, since they capture behavior women might not label as “masturbation” on a survey.
The Gender Gap and Why It Exists
In virtually every study, men report higher rates of masturbation than women. Men’s past-month rates hover around 73 to 78%, compared to 37 to 40% for women. But researchers consistently note that women’s numbers are almost certainly undercounted.
The stigma around female masturbation has deep roots. For centuries, both religious authorities and physicians treated it as dangerous or immoral, with punishments historically ranging from surgical interventions to physical restraints. While attitudes have shifted dramatically, the cultural residue lingers. Studies confirm that masturbation is discussed more openly among men, and women are less likely to report it even in anonymous surveys. The true prevalence gap between men and women is likely narrower than the data suggests.
Why Women Masturbate
The motivations are varied and, for many women, closely tied to partnered sexual dynamics. Women who wanted more frequent sex than they were currently having were more likely to report masturbating. The same was true for women who felt their level of sexual interest differed from their partner’s, who were dissatisfied with their sex life, or whose partners had sexual difficulties. Rather than being a substitute for partnered sex, masturbation among women tends to complement it. Women who had more frequent intercourse were actually more likely to also masturbate.
Stress relief and sleep are also major drivers. Orgasms release endorphins that promote relaxation, reduce tension, and can make falling asleep easier. Many women use masturbation specifically as a sleep aid.
Physical and Mental Health Effects
Masturbation has several well-documented physical benefits for women. The endorphins released during orgasm act as natural painkillers, which is why many women find that masturbating helps ease menstrual cramps. The increased blood flow to the pelvic area and the muscle contractions of orgasm may also contribute to that relief.
The psychological effects depend largely on how a woman feels about masturbating, not how often she does it. Research from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America found that women who felt powerful during masturbation reported higher levels of desire, easier orgasms, and greater overall sexual satisfaction. Frequency alone didn’t strongly predict sexual function or genital self-image. What mattered was the emotional experience.
Negative feelings like shame or guilt were relatively uncommon in the study sample, but when present, they correlated with lower sexual satisfaction and a more negative view of one’s own body. Having a positive relationship with masturbation, rather than simply doing it more often, appears to be the meaningful factor for sexual well-being. A stable relationship and positive genital self-image were also linked to better sexual function overall.
Trends Over Time
Female masturbation is becoming more common, or at least more commonly reported. Across successive British national surveys spanning more than a decade and including over 26,000 participants, the proportion of women who masturbated in the past month rose from 37% to over 40%. The proportion who said they had never masturbated fell by more than four percentage points. Men’s rates increased too, but from an already higher baseline.
These shifts likely reflect both genuine behavioral change and greater willingness to disclose. As cultural conversations around female sexuality have become more open, fewer women may feel the need to underreport. Either way, the trajectory is clear: the gap between how many women masturbate and how many say they do is closing.