For ages, solo sex was hardly taboo. What led to its centuries-long dry spell?

For the vast majority of humans throughout history, masturbation has been a natural norm rather than a taboo. The brief animation ‘Masturbation: A Short History of a Great Taboo’ (2022) traces much of the blame for ‘the offensive against solo sex’ across the past several centuries back to a curious pamphlet titled Onania: Or, the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution (c1712), which, written by a now-unknown author, attributed both moral injury and physical malady to self-pleasure. The short is part of the documentary series Magical Caresses, dedicated to ‘solo sexuality’, by the Canadian filmmaker Lori Malépart-Traversy, who previously employed her charming animation style to explore sexuality with Le Clitoris (2016).