The Science of Sex - Sexual Response

In 1957 William Howell Masters, a gynecologist, and Virginia Eshelman Johnson, a psychology researcher, teamed up to examine human sexuality. Rather than interviewing people as past researchers did, Masters and Johnson observed sexual activity in a laboratory setting. They created tools and techniques that helped them accurately measure the physical responses of hundreds of men and women during masturbation and intercourse (penis-vagina penetration). In 1966, they published their findings in the book Human Sexual Response. This book greatly demystified and destigmatized the physical aspects of the sexual experience. Further research has been done on the subject of the psychological aspects of sexual response and we know have very good understanding of how it all tends to work.

So what is typical human sexual response? It can be broken into 5 phases. Depending on the situation you can have sex by going through all these steps or while mixing up a few (i.e. desire may be experienced after sexual stimulation begins or might continue after orgasm).

Desire

Just like you can be hungry for food, you can be hungry for sex. It is a psychological feeling. This appetite for sex can be specific for one person or it can be a general feeling. Often it is instigated from outside cues (visual, verbal, or intellectual).

Arousal/excitement

This is when your brain sends signals to your body so that it can be ready for sex. When this happens physical changes occur. Both men and women experience an increase in heart rate, muscle tension and blood flow. This results in an engorgement of the genitals, lips and breasts, general body warmth and flushed skin. This tends to cause men to have erections, the contraction of the scrotum and the elevation of the testicles. Women often experience vaginal lubrication, swelling of the clitoris and the labia, opening up of the vagina and lifting up of the uterus. Granted, not every man or woman experiences all these things every time they are aroused. There is a range of reactions. For example, not all men and women experience nipple erection when aroused, but many do. We can also be aroused by a number of things - physical contact, visual stimuli, or emotional cues. They can occur independently or together. There is also great variety here.

Plateau

At this point there is a continuation of the arousal/excitement phase. People often describe it as being on the edge because the excitement has been building. Physically women find that the clitoris retracts under the hood and the outer third of the vagina becomes even more congested with blood (hence the change in colour of the labia majora and minora). At this point men often secrete precum, which may contain some sperm. This is a clear glandular fluid that is thought to prepare the way for the ejaculate that may be expelled soon.

Orgasm

This is the peak of the sexual excitement. Sexual tension is discharged through involuntary contractions. Three to fifteen contractions occur at intervals of eight-tenths of a second. Men experience the contractions in the prostate gland, vas deferens and seminal vesicles and this usually causes the ejaculation of semen. For women there are a series of muscle contractions around the outer third of the vagina and within the uterus. While some women experience ejaculation and/or vaginal secretion during orgasm, not all women do. In both men and women, the blood is released from the engorged genitals and there is a sense of relaxation throughout the whole body and especially in the pelvic region.

Resolution

Now the body returns to its normal state. The blood flows from the genitals. Men lose their erections and women's genitals return to their normal size, shape and colour. Heart rate and breathing return to normal. If you have been aroused, but have not had an orgasm it may take a bit longer for the blood to flow out of the congested areas. This may feel uncomfortable, but there are no long-term effects to this.

The interesting part of this process is that it is mostly described as a mechanical one. Sometimes though your body may mislead you. You may have the signs of arousal (such as vaginal lubrication or erection), but be feeling emotionally not aroused at all. Physiological arousal does not necessarily mean we are interested or ready to engage in sexual activities. Desire and arousal can operate quite separately from one another and in the end sexual response is a very fluid thing. It can go one way or another depending upon both our bodies and our minds.

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