Yes, wanking is something lads wear with pride, right up with shaving off mates' eyebrows and nicking traffic cones. So why is it different for girls?
Only the most brazen hussy would dream of admitting to such a taboo. "It's weird," says Lucy, 24, from Morden. "Touching yourself is for mingers who can't get a shag." Yet most blokes don't have the same attitude: "I think all women should masturbate, a lot. If only so they can teach blokes who know fuck all about the female body," says Marc, 27, from Mitcham.

Let's get this clear, when girls masturbate, some use their fingers, others use sex toys, and some have been known to use anything to hand from snooker cues to vegetables! Although if this idea grabs you as you bend over the salad drawer, it is worth thinking about what you intend to say at A&E should anything become 'lost'.

In the toy box today

Sex toys have come a long way. Gone are the days when a vibrator came in the form of a malformed corn on the cob missile that could poke someone's eye out at ten metres, and buzzed so loud your neighbours could hear and interfered with the television, informing everybody that you are either drying your hair, or frigging again.

Kathryn at Sh!, the women-only sex shop, talks sex toys with us. Don't feel you have to don a fake moustache and tan raincoat to go in either, most people feel a bit shy when they first go into a sex shop, Kathryn explains: "Women can be quite intimidated when they first come in, it's important to make them feel welcome and safe. We make them tea and assure them that they can relax in a friendly environment."

Sex sells, who's buying?

But what type of woman would go to a sex shop I hear you cry? Kathryn recounts: "All women from young to your nana's age. There have been mothers pushing their babies around in here as well as lawyer types, and it's very popular with couples. Remember these are just playthings, like when you had toys as a child, well these are playthings for adults. Women have a complicated sexual response and it can take a long time for a woman to learn to orgasm. Playing with a vibrator that oscillates at a rate of 200 times a minute can certainly help."

The vagina is a complicated thing. God knows how many blokes have cried out that they should come with instructions, but how can you communicate to your partner what you like if you don't know yourself? If you can bring yourself to orgasm in the time of a Countdown Conundrum then maybe you can teach your partner too. Then everybody is happy aren't they?

Updated: 30/09/2011