The Science of Sex |
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| Pina | In males, the typical experience is of a build-up to one big orgasmic release followed by the refractory period of the resolution phase of rest and relaxation before the next build-up can begin. The length of the refractory interval between orgasms varies from minutes to hours and is partly a function of age, partly of the novelty of the partner, and partly of individual differences that presently are unexplained. Some men have reported a series of lesser, anejaculatory orgasmic peaks, with associated anogenital muscular contractions, prior to the final big one (Robbins and Jensen, 1978). The multiorgasmic phenomenon is prevalent also among women, far more so than among men, though not universally so. A woman is not multiorgasmic on every coital occasion, nor with each partner she may be orgasmic with. Also, a woman may on some occasions experience a series of multiple lesser orgasmic peaks without reaching the big orgasmic climax that heralds the onset of a refractory period during which the vagina dries and contracts and the body rests, relaxed, ready to drift off to sleep. Men and women both, especially as they get older, may feel erotically quite content on some occasions without arriving at the orgasmic grand finale. There are no fixed passing grades for erotic performance! Performing itself is the enjoyment, and there are many ways of performing. The variations, though partly idiosyncratic to each partner and each occasion, are especially a function of what, for what of a better term, may be called the "vibes" – the looks, movements, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, pressures, and warmths – that feedback between two partners. That is why an autoerotic orgasm is quite different from an alloerotic orgasm. It is also why oral and penovaginal orgasms differ, and likewise homoerotic and heteroerotic orgasms. Whether the different orgasmic experiences are ranked as inferior, superior, or equal, is a matter of personal idiosyncracy. The social tolerance of personal idiosyncracy used to be nil. Now it is slowly expanding. Oral sex – fellatio and cunnilingus – is no longer considered abnormal, and the same applies to various other personal and playful erotic idiosyncracies. Some orgasms are not only different from, but better than others. Water at the end of a dry desert climb is better than water at a riverside swimming picnic. So also with orgasm: the place, the person, the frequency and the recency of orgasmic occurrence all influence the quality of the next one. So also does health, fatigue, age, sex, experience, imagery, novelty, and so forth – but above all, the mutual reciprocity of the partnership, the match for erotic versatility, movement, noise and abandon, the build-up of the proceptive phase, and possibly a drug-induced sensory enhancement. Whatever the antecedents to an orgasm that is better than others, the final common pathway is the same. The two lovers are able to experience a feeling of unrestrained and untamed abandonment to one another. It is not necessary for them to pay attention either to what the self is doing or what the partner is doing. All the movements take care of themselves, as if reflexively. The sensations greedily absorbed by the vulva, externally and through deep interior pressure, tell the vaginal cavity how to selfishly pulsate, ripple, quiver, and contract on the penis, in order to release itself in orgasm. Reciprocally, the penis selfishly probes and presses, twists a little, withdraws and tantalizes at the portals, and sinks deeply again, it too greedily building up its own orgasmic pleasure. The two bodies writhe, unheedingly. The two minds drift into the oblivion of attending only to their own feeling, so perfectly synchronized that the ecstasy of the one is preordained to be the reciprocal ecstacy of the other. Two minds, mindlessly lost in one another. This is the perfect orgasmic experience. This is how an orgasm sighs, moans, exclaims, expires, exhausts itself into exultant repose. The Science of Sex: Glenn Wilson on Homosexuality and the Brain There are many people who seem to be physically normal representatives of one sex or the other but who prefer sexual contact with members of their own sex. Increased tolerance of this behaviour in recent decades has led some people to argue that no theoretical explanation of homosexuality is called for, any more than one needs to 'explain' heterosexuality. To the evolutionary theorist this is nonsense; heterosexuality has obvious survival benefits while homosexuality does not, so the latter is bound to arouse more scientific curiosity and demand special explanation. A popular biological theory says that, during the process of masculinization of the developing male, some critical nuclei in the brain that are concerned with sexual preference somehow escape exposure to the circulating male hormone and the sex target 'switch' is therefore not reset in the male direction (Feldman and MacCulloch, 1971). This leaves us with an individual who is male in body but female in sexual preference. Less commonly, the theory supposes, this sex-target switch get accidentally masculinized in a constitutional female who otherwise remains normal, thus yielding a lesbian. The strength of this hypothesis is shown in a recent review of research by Ellis and Ames (1987), although the effect of pre-natal sex hormones is probably more complex than that stated above. Apart from a masculinizing process that is largely under the control of foetal testosterone, we may have to recognize some separate feminizing effects upon the brain under the control of female hormones, especially luteinizing hormone (LH). This means that people can be more or less feminine, as well as more or less masculine, these two dimensions yielding a wider array of sexual types. In addition, it is necessary to separate brain settings for sex orientation from brain settings for sex-typical behaviour. It is possible, for example, to have an individual who is macho both in body and personality but who prefers male sex partners, or vice versa. This is because the masculinization/feminization effects occur in different parts of the brain and, more importantly, at different times during pre-natal development. Indications are that sex orientation in humans depends critically upon the hormone balance prevailing during the third and fourth months of pregnancy, while secondary sex characteristics and sex-typical behaviour patterns are influenced more by hormones circulating during the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy. If the hormone balance changes from one phase of foetal development to the next, inconsistencies between sexual orientation and sex-role behaviour may be observed. Sex orientation is fixed relatively early in the old 'limbic' part of the brain, whereas sex-role behaviours are laid down later on in pregnancy in more diverse, 'newer' parts of the brain. Ellis and Ames go on to review an impressive body of animal and human research which establishes pretty much beyond doubt that what we call homosexuality (an inversion of the normal relationship between body type and sexual orientation) may be created by five different procedures: Direct alteration of hormones (by injection or castration) during foetal development. Using drugs to block or augment the effects of androgens. The list of drugs which may at least partially divert masculinization of the brain include Depo-Provera, cyproterone acetate, barbiturates, diazepam and marijuana. Exposure of the mother to severe emotional stress. Stress hormones carried in the mother's blood may cross the placenta and interfere with testosterone production in the baby. In some circumstances the immune system may react against the biochemicals necessary for sexual differentiation, identifying them as foreign substances and attacking with antibodies that destroy them. Ultimately this can also reverse sex orientation. Raising young animals in isolation from the opposite sex also impedes heterosexual adaptation, though the problem may be one of social skill and confidence rather than sex orientation as such. |
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