Inside NoFap ‘cult’ that claims masturbation causes erectile dysfunction & urges followers to abstain from watching porn

A community of men abstaining from watching pornography and masturbating has claimed it's helping their sexual health, but some studies suggest their belief may be misplaced.

Testosterone levels in young men are plummeting in both the US and the UK, according to studies conducted in 2006, 2007, and 2013, and some have suggested that excessive consumption of graphic pornography is to blame.

NoFap, a rapidly evolving online community, has devoted itself to helping men give up porn, boost their testosterone levels, and get an even firmer grip on life.

It was founded by Alexander Rhodes, who in his own words, was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder and struggled with porn addiction in the past.

NoFap encourages men to refrain from masturbation and even sex for up to three months at a time.

Today, its unaffiliated Reddit community has over one million fapstronauts.

“I think I was relying on pornography as some kind of emotional crutch,” Rhodes told The New York Times in 2016 about his experience with porn addiction.

“If anything bad would happen, you would go to porn because it would always be there.”

Members of the NoFap community have claimed giving up porn and masturbation increases penis sizes, boosts energy, and prevents brain fog.

Both have been blamed for causing erectile dysfunction (ED), a growing problem in young men, according to a 2013 study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

While it was previously thought that only five to 10 percent of men younger than 40 experienced ED, the 2019 study indicated that ED was a problem for 26 percent of men younger than 40.

In addition to excessive porn watching, obesity may also accelerate the natural dip in testosterone substantially, according to a 2007 study.

Another study in 2008 found that a higher BMI level was a stronger predictor of low testosterone.

NoFap purports to offer a solution.

They say refraining from self-pleasure for 90 days can boost a man's testosterone and essentially rebooted it.

By channeling your inner Marcus Aurelius, you can become a new man.

NoFap’s promises have triggered skepticism from scientists.

Research carried out by Dr. Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist specializing in human sexual behavior at UCLA, and James Binnie, an addiction specialist based in London, has shown the many ways in which the Nofap movement has created more problems than it solves.

Some of these problems are sizable ones.

In a recent paper published in the journal Sexualities, the authors found that NoFap members tend to feel more anxious, depressed, and suicidal after a perceived relapse.

Moreover, NoFap membership may make the problem of ED even worse in young men.

Dr. Prause told The U.S. Sun that she believes "the more a person is involved with NoFap, such as posting more often in their forums, the worse their symptoms of erectile dysfunction."

This is in contrast to other health forums, where Dr. Prause said that more engagement is associated with lower symptoms.

She suspects that the higher ED symptoms are due to two processes.

"Most of the NoFap followers who claim to have ED and describe their sexual experience would never qualify for a diagnosis of ED from a licensed professional," said the expert.

Dr. Prause claims that NoFap plays into the fears of men "for the purpose of profiting off their belief that NoFap can cure their ED."

NoFap offers three monthly payment plans, ranging from $20 a month to as much as $120 a month.

Second, along with fear, NoFap exploits another deep-rooted emotion - shame.

Rhodes has previously agreed with a Reddit post advocating for a wall of shame to ridicule participants who had failed to refrain from pleasuring themselves.

"True erectile dysfunction is driven primarily by self-reinforcing anxiety," said Dr. Prause.

As she sees it, the shaming experiences promoted by Rhodes and his adherents likely increase the risk of ED by increasing negative emotional associations with the desire to engage in bodily pleasures.

In addition to battling on the pages of scientific journals, Rhodes and Prause have a contentious history in court.

In October 2019, Rhodes sued Prause for defamation for numerous false and defamatory statements"made against him.

Meanwhile, Prause claimed that she was regularly harassed by NoFap followers.

In Rhodes’ suit, Prause was accused of allegedly relaying false information about himself and NoFap to journalists, making false accusations about Rhodes to TV producers on the show The Doctors who had invited him on as a guest, and saying she reported Rhodes to the FBI.

"Alexander Rhodes and NoFap's lawsuit has no merit, nor do his libelous and unfounded assertions regarding me, my character, or my business.

"He is entitled to his opinions, however, he is not entitled to spread complete falsehoods about me to profit himself and silence speech," Prause told Motherboard at the time in response to the lawsuit.

Rhodes claimed in a statement made in response to a separate libel lawsuit that detractors had: "sought to falsely portray us as being affiliated to religious groups, hate groups, and extremists in an attempt to discredit us."

Rhodes’ case against Prause was settled in March 2021.

"The lawsuit was settled on confidentially and mutually agreeable terms," Prause confirmed to The U.S. Sun.

NoFap has been compared to a cargo cult, a belief system that sees adherents perform rituals that they believe will bring great rewards, by some individuals online.

Some NoFap members believe that by not masturbating, all men, regardless of their financial or professional circumstances, can reach greater Buddha-like levels of enlightenment.

Members are encouraged to engage in Fabstinence, which is a play on abstinence.

Rhodes did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.

However, in a 2016 New York Times interview, he described himself as a very sex-positive person.

“I’m not a religious person. I’m not someone who supports religion. I’m not against religion, but I don’t support it. And I completely, firmly believe in premarital sex,” he said.

Interestingly, a study carried out by two academics at the University of Waterloo, Canada found an overlap in user interests between the NoFap subreddit, which is separate from Rhodes’ NoFap, and an Incels subreddit in that they were both similar to The Red Pill’s subreddit.

Although excessive porn consumption can be harmful, NoFap’s philosophies are unhelpful.

Furthermore, masturbation itself is not harmful.

In fact, it has numerous physical and mental health benefits, including the alleviation of stress, boosting mood, improving one’s focus, and helping ease anxiety.

"More masturbation has been correlated with a variety of positive health outcomes, which are likely from sexual arousal and orgasm that also occurs with partners," Prause said.

"The best-documented health benefit of masturbation is shortening sleep latency, possibly due to the vasopressin released, which may allow people to avoid taking medications to sleep more quickly," she added.