Hierarchy of needs.
Sure, it is not oxygen, it's not water, food, shelter or clothing (oh damn, it IS clothing!) so it is not needed for survival.
But survival is a pretty bloody low standard.
If survival is all you expect from life, then one should assume that you would be equally happy living in a cave as you would in a Madison Ave. penthouse. But something tells me that most of us don't willingly live like Ted Kazinsky for a reason. We want more out of life than mere survival.
We want to thrive.
In order to thrive there are needs that go beyond survival. Safety, love, trust, vulnerability, among many others - including for some of us, the opportunity to wear something frilly from time to time, are all things that we need to thrive, to live full, healthy, fulfilling lives.
There are lots of people who have given up lots of things that are supposedly "unessential" and it doesn't make them happier people. Giving up something that brings you joy just because you have been duped into thinking that it is bad, or perverted, or evil, or dirty, or wrong or whatever else you have been hoodwinked into believing will not bring you joy. A better idea would be to give up believing that external things make you bad.
Will it kill you if you "quit?" No, of course not, but it won't make your life better either. It won't make you a healthier person, and it won't make you happier. But by all means, "quit" if you feel like it will make you feel better.
It's not that you can't "stop" it's that the very motivation for stopping is, at best, misguided.
