Santé – Sex with yourself and with your partner

Published in Santé magazine
On March 20, 2023

“You know, I did see you the other day, when you walked out of the bedroom with your vibrator!” Says Katelyn emotionally. Emma’s cheeks turn red. She clearly feels cought. “What does that have to do with it? What does it matter? I find it really weird that you’re suddenly bringing that up in this conversation. This is very embarrassing, Kate!”

Almost bellowing, Katelyn’s responses. “What does that have to do with it? What do you think! It has everything to do with it… We are here to improve our sex life because it clearly is not going very well. While you just keep masturbating. If we had sex more often, you wouldn’t need that vibrator of yours. Doesn’t that make sense!?” She looks at her girlfriend fiercely. “You should really make a choice, it’s either me or your vibrator!”

Although it does happen that solo sex can get in the way of sex with a partner, research actually shows that people who masturbate are more likely to have partner sex as well. Of course, this may be because people who masturbate have a high appetite for sex and therefore not only masturbate more, but also have partner sex more often. But one thing can also lead to another. Because masturbating exposes you to sexual stimuli, as a result, you might get aroused more easily and might also be more open to the idea of partner sex. Moreover, masturbation helps you to get to know your own body. That, in turn, usually leads to better partner sex, making that kind of sex more desirable.

So solo sex can have a very positive effect on the sex you have with a partner and I regularly recommend it to people.

Katelyn continues to look at me sternly as I am sharing this information. “But if your sex life is satisfying, then surely you no longer need to masturbate anymore,” she sputters. “And if our sex life isn’t satisfactory, Emma can replace that by masturbating.” Then she turns toward her girlfriend.

Praktijk van relatietherapeut seksuoloog Jolien Spoelstra Haarlem
Hoe zeg ik sorry?

“What i’m trying to say is… if you’re enjoying the sex you have with yourself, I’m afraid there’s no reason to work on our sex life anymore,” she adds bemusedly. Emma lovingly takes her hand. “You know, Kate, I’ve always enjoyed sex with myself. But that’s something separate from the sex I have with you. It’s not a replacement for what we have together, and so you don’t have to see it as a threat at all. I’m here with you now, after all, to improve our sex life.” Katelyn squeezes her lips together and nods. “Yes, that’s true.”

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This post is also available in: NL ENG

This post is also available in: NL ENG