Written by Tickle Yourself
The penis is a fascinating piece of biological architecture. It is so loaded with neurons that it’s no wonder the current joke is "thinking with the little head." It’s also
fascinating how each of us responds to different types of touches, and I’m only talking about touching the penis. For some of us, an incredibly light touch is incredibly erotic, while a strong grip can be even suffocating. For others, it’s the opposite: softness is gentle and goes unnoticed, but they need a solid meaty hit.
These preferences for sensation can inhibit us, preventing us from being able to engage more fully in eroticism. The preference for sensation can prohibit us from recognizing the different parts of the penis and how to tickle them in ways that eliminate softness in favor of hard intensity. It can even pigeonhole us: one acquaintance might only orgasm by rubbing against a pillow or outdoing another guy; another could only orgasm if using a specific type of lubricant; another could only reach orgasm if their penis had a death grip and was stroked in a very, very particular way.
Often, these fixations limit us in how we enjoy each other, or even simply enjoy when pleasure is in our own hands. It seems there can be a lot of emphasis or expectation placed on orgasm/ejaculation ('also known as the destination'), rather than enjoying the eroticism of getting there (also known as 'the journey'). Here are some techniques that can make masturbating yourself or others a bit more erotic:
Make Your Fantasy
'Tickling': there is a ridge of tissue on the ventral (underside) side of the penis; it is pleasantly sensitive and deserves as much attention as the glans (head). There are two subtle techniques you can use here: a) drumming with your fingers and b) fingertip touches. Drumming with your fingers is when the fingertips of your dominant hand face up, underneath the penis. Starting with your ring finger, then your middle finger, then your index finger, lightly tap the ridge, making the fingers swing one after the other. This can be singularly erotic and pairs well with stroking the testicles, perineum, etc. The feathering is somewhat similar: the fingers of your dominant hand face up, palm open, at the bottom (ventral) edge, and you swing the ring, middle, and index fingers upward (toward the head/glans). However, instead of drumming, the swing is more of a tap-tap-tap of three fingers toward the head. Think of a movement similar to throwing a scent toward your nose, but each finger is floating, floating, floating. Feathering is really helpful with lubricant, while drumming benefits without lubricant.
'Flicking the Lighter': the glans (head) of the penis is incredibly sensitive, and the ridge that runs around the glans is no different. Where the ridge meets at the 'top' of the head is exceptionally sensitive. It forms this little pouch of flesh right next to the opening of the urethra (or "pee hole"). When moved very gently as if moving the wheel of a cigarette lighter, it can be incredibly exciting. Using the tip of your index finger, a little lubricant is helpful, gently press just below where the ridge of the glans meets the urethral opening. Make the smallest stroke with your index finger toward the hole, like a brush flicking a bit of paint onto a canvas, and repeat that movement repeatedly and quickly. The sensation is very much like a tongue gently licking right at that point and is thrilling when done well.
'Stick Shifting': this can be wonderfully and ridiculously overwhelming, because it overloads the mind with intense waves of pleasure. It takes a lot of lubricant for this to work (so if you salivate like there’s no tomorrow, great! Otherwise, use another lubricant). Start by getting the penis hard, REALLY hard. . . then cup your hand around the glans as if you were forming a scoop of ice cream. Keep this shape and rub around the glans as if you were polishing the head of a gear shift. Keep doing that as the intensity grows and grows and grows. Relax and stroke the shaft of the penis with a fairly strong grip as the intensity increases in a different way. Go back to polishing the head and work up until you can’t take it anymore. Stroke the shaft of the penis until it feels like you’re getting close to orgasm and IMMEDIATELY go back to polishing just the head.
Try adding these to your solo or duo sex repertoire and see how they fit. Different styles like these can take some practice to enjoy and incorporate, mainly because we generally feel more comfortable with what we are already familiar with.
Trying different techniques is fun and, after all, variety is the spice of life.