It is generally acknowledged that the orgasm is the peak of sexual pleasure. How- ever, the orgasm itself is a part of a four-stage sexual response cycle. Using physi-
ological recording devices and motion picture cameras, the physician William H.
Masters and the psychologist Virginia E. Johnson studied the actual sexual responses of volunteer subjects. Their trailblazing book, Human Sexual Response, was published in 1966, and summarizes the results of their investigations. Until the publication of this book and associated articles by the same authors in scien- tific journals, very little factual information was available concerning the physio- logical facts associated with the sexual response cycle.
Here are the four stages of the sexual response cycle: (1) excitement, (2) plateau, (3) orgasm, and (4) resolution. Excitementis characterized by increases in blood pressure, pulse, and respiration rate. The individual is highly responsive to erotic stimulation. This varies greatly, of course, from person to person, and is largely a matter of individual differences, perception, and sexual preferences. In males, the penis becomes erect. In females, the clitoris swells in size. In general, there is an intensified flow of blood to the genital area.
During the stage ofplateau,prior increases in physiological activity are main- tained at a more or less constant level. In males, the penis becomes somewhat larger. In females, the clitoris retracts a little. The variation in the time associated with the plateau stage is considerable. The stage can last two minutes, twenty min- utes, or more. Some of this is under the control of the individual. Plateau can be shortened or increased based on voluntary responses, responses that aim to dimin- ish or amplify the momentary intensity of erotic stimulation.
(a) The first stage of the sexual response cycle is characterized by increases in blood pres- sure, pulse, and respiration rate. What is this stage called?
(b) In the second stage of the sexual response cycle, prior increases in physiological activity are maintained at a more or less constant level. What is this stage called?
Answers: (a) Excitement; (b) Plateau.
The orgasm is an involuntary response in both sexes. Although it can be induced by sexual behavior, it cannot be directly willed. Brief in duration, it is experienced as intensely pleasurable. Blood pressure and similar measures increase in intensity. In the male, there is an ejaculation accomplished by com- pressor muscles in the penis. In the female, there are waves of contractions in the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle, a muscle surrounding the channel of the vagina.
During the stage of resolution the individual becomes temporarily unre- sponsive to sexual stimulation. Stimulation that had erotic value only a few min- utes ago has no capacity to induce excitement. Blood pressure and other physiological measures decline. The duration of the stage of resolution varies from individual to individual. For some individuals in some instances, it may last for only a few minutes. For others, the duration may be twenty minutes, an hour or two, or longer.
(a) The third stage of the sexual response cycle is associated with the peak of sexual pleas- ure. What is the third stage called?
(b) What muscle in the female surrounds the channel of the vagina?
(c) During the fourth stage of the sexual response cycle, the individual becomes temporar- ily unresponsive to sexual stimulation. What is the fourth stage called?
Answers: (a) Orgasm; (3) The pubococcygeus (PC) muscle; (3) Resolution.
One of the important findings associated with the Masters and Johnson research is that some individuals are capable of multiple orgasms. Multiple orgasms take place when a person has an orgasm, remains excited (or possibly experiences the resolution stage very briefly), and has at least one more orgasm. It is necessary to speak of the sexes separately when discussing multiple orgasms.
Women have substantially greater multiorgasmic capacity than do men. Women who have second and even third orgasms report them to be more pleasurable than the first orgasm. It is estimated that about 15 percent of women sometimes have multiple orgasms.
Men who have a second orgasm within a brief span of time report it to be less pleasurable than the first orgasm. Unlike women, very few men will be capable of, or interested in seeking, a third orgasm without a well-defined resolution stage. It is estimated that about 7 percent of men sometimes have multiple orgasms. (In the case of multiple orgasms, the percentage estimates for both sexes are somewhat unreliable. The data are based primarily on the responses of subjects to question- naires and interviews.)
Returning to the first and second stages, excitement and plateau, it is important to note that when sexual intercourse—without self-imposed delay- ing tactics—is the primary stimulus used to induce orgasm, the average male takes about two to four minutes to achieve an orgasm. Under similar condi- tions, the average female takes about ten to twenty minutes. This is an impor- tant difference in male and female sexual response, and it provides useful information to couples. In general, it is preferable for the female to attain orgasm before the male.
In the case of masturbation, both males and females can often attain orgasm within two to four minutes.
(a) Which sex has greater multiorgasmic capacity?
(b) Men who have a second orgasm within a brief span of time report it to be pleasurable than the first orgasm.
(c) When sexual intercourse is the primary stimulus used to induce an orgasm, which sex usually takes longer to achieve an orgasm?
Answers: (a) Women; (b) less; (c) Women.