Death-grip and death-grip syndrome are slang terms for suffering adverse effects from one's aggressive and recurrent male

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

technique, which result in an unsatisfactory experience when engaging in regular sexual intercourse with a partner. A similar condition, dead-vagina syndrome, has been asserted to exist in women.

Concept

Death-grip syndrome, sometimes abbreviated as DGS, was arguably coined in 2003 by

sex columnist A sex columnist is a writer of a newspaper or magazine column about sex. Sex advice columns may take the form of essays or, more frequently, answers to questions posed by readers. Sex advice columns can usually be found in alt weekly newspapers, w ...

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...

and is an issue that affects both men and women. For women the slang term used is "dead vagina syndrome." Although men with the indisposition may still experience an

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...

, it may impact a relationship negatively due to a sense of being sexually incompatible with a partner due to the habit of lasting too long during sexual activity, and subsequent side-effects such as

blue balls Blue balls is slang for an uncomfortable testicular sensation that can occur during a state of male sexual arousal. The term is thought to have originated in the United States, first appearing in 1916. Another slang term used for the condition ...

or inhibited

ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential componen ...

. Some people who have claimed to "experience the death-grip" state that although they can still experience pleasure, the typical vagina feels too loose, and

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may ...

provides insufficient friction to produce an orgasm. Richard Santucci, chief of

urology Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

Detroit Receiving Hospital Detroit Receiving Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, is the state's first Level I Trauma Center. Receiving's emergency department treats more than 105,000 patients annually, and nearly 60% of Michigan's emergency physicians are trained at Receiving. ...

's Center for Urologic Reconstruction, believes that "too strong masturbation" is not a common cause of delayed ejaculation, and states that "

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

low testosterone Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the gonads—the testes or the ovaries—that may result in diminished production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred to as hypoandrogenism and low estrogen ...

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

" are the common causes.

Perception

The concept of death-grip syndrome is not recognized by any mainstream medical bodies. Some analysts have argued that sexual techniques that have a vacuum effect, such as oral

pompoir Pompoir is a sexual technique in which the woman uses her vaginal muscles to stimulate the man's penis.Suzie Heumann, Susan M. Campbell, ''The Everything Great Sex Book: From Sensuous to Sizzling, the Hottest Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for S ...

or vaginal pompoir could alleviate DGS. Some analysts have argued that there are other forms of

social conditioning Social conditioning is the sociological process of training individuals in a society to respond in a manner generally approved by the society in general and peer groups within society. The concept is stronger than that of socialization, which is t ...

ingrained during

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

that occur concurrently with DGS, such as a reluctance among men to make audible sounds of pleasure such as moaning. Such silence during sex is learned from growing up in one's household and attempting to remain discreet when around

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

.Melnick, Alexandra S.
But What Does “It” Mean: An Analysis of Feminist & Mainstream Pornographies
" (2016).

References

{{Authority control Neologisms 2000s slang Sexual slang Male masturbation 2003 neologisms

Concept

Perception

See also

References