Every girl’s magazine will tell you that masturbation is normal. They are aimed at young girls, but for me it was all a lot of words. I am now 24 and I only masturbated for the first time when I was 20. Not many people believe me, but it is entirely true.
Perhaps it was because I lived in a small city, about an hour by train from Sydney, which was just large enough to have its own full-size swimming pool. Perhaps it was because my folks were very keen for me to do all the right things. I did music and sciences and art and ballet, but the only thing I really, really loved was swimming.
From the age of 11 onwards I started going to the pool every week and it became my second home. At that age it is almost impossible to swim properly, muscles are not developed well enough. But soon I got older and got bigger muscles and before long I was in school competitions and then state finals.