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Three cases in which testicular or scrotal masturbation was present have been described. Eight-year-old Eddie initiated this activity after being threatened with circumcision. Cathexis was displaced from the penis, which had been the centre of masturbatory interest, to the testicles. Drive discharge or masochistic wishes were achieved and mastery of fear of penis and testicular injury was attempted through testicular and scrotal masturbation. Painful squeezing of the testicles satisfied masochistic wishes. Al, also 8, defended himself from oedipal wishes and hostile impulses due to feelings that he was deprived, by resorting to a masochistic position. This boy rubbed his testicles while fantasizing putting out a fire with urine produced by his testicles. The fire represented his sexual and aggressive strivings and the urine both his burning impulses and the defences against them. Mr L., an adult, found pleasure in holding his testicles or having them held. Through stimulating his testes, which were felt to have attributes of both sexes, he could picture himself as the masculine impregnator appreciated by women or the feminine person in contact with a beloved man. By identifying with a woman possessing testicle-breasts, he could feel maternally cared for as he held his genitals.
Having demonstrated that scrotal stimulation can be pleasurable and used for masturbation and that painful testicular pressure served to evoke masochistic gratification, I described the additional role of attempted mastery of past traumata to the testicles or penis in the testicular masturbation.