My latent but now obvious realization was that masturbation was not a peripheral part of my sexuality, but central to it. However, in our culture, masturbation has never been afforded equal respect to partnered, penetrative sex. Though most informed people would consider masturbation healthy, they might renege on that if one dared to claim that masturbation was THE preferred sexual activity.
Source: Introducing Gooning: Portrait of a Masturbator | TheBatorBlog