From Fleabag to Gentleman Jack to Big Mouth, women masturbating on screen is no longer the stuff of taboo it once was. "Indeed, whether it’s humping a pillow, angling a shower head or using a vibrator, the idea of women young or mature putting their pleasure first has been historically controversial," says Eleanor Morgan. "I remember my heart sinking when Sally Draper was carted off to a psychotherapist for masturbating in Mad Men, but such was the pervasive attitude of the era. Women were pleasure-givers, not receivers; or, if pleasure was received, it was incidental. Luckily, contemporary TV writers are now centralising female pleasure in both celebratory and matter-of-fact ways."
TOPICS: Fleabag, Big Mouth, Gentleman Jack, Sex