Dr. Joycelyn Elders lost her job as surgeon general after using the "M" word, but some sex experts say her ideas make sense.
At an AIDS conference, Elders said masturbation "is part of human sexuality and it's a part of something that perhaps should be taught" in school.
Psychologist Paul Pearsall, author of Sexual Healing (Crown, $20), says, "It belongs in any sex education class that's comprehensive. When you teach sexuality, you must not be a censor. And masturbation is one part of human sexual behavior."
But it should be talked about only with kids of an appropriate age. Further, don't teach that kids should or shouldn't do it, he says. Do teach what it is, who does it and what people believe about it.
Dr. Harold Bloomfield, a psychiatrist, says it's crucial that masturbation be part of sex education to clear up misconceptions. "Not so long ago it was thought to cause blindness and warts on the palms. There is still an incredible amount of distorted thinking."
Not all the experts agree. Psychologist Joyce Brothers says it's not appropriate to talk about masturbation in the classroom because "of the attitude a good portion of the population has toward it."
But parents who believe it's OK should discuss it with their children as a way of handling the surge of hormones until they are ready for a long-term, monogamous, committed relationship, she says.
