The Orgasm: The Peak of Sexual Pleasure
The Orgasm: The Peak of Sexual Pleasure
It is generally acknowledged that the orgasm is the peak of sexual pleasure. However,
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 scientific
journals, very little factual information was available concerning the physiological
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. Excitement is 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 of plateau, prior increases in physiological activity are maintained
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 minutes,
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 diminish
or amplify the momentary intensity of erotic stimulation.
(a) The first stage of the sexual response cycle is characterized by increases in blood pressure,
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 compressor
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 unresponsive
to sexual stimulation. Stimulation that had erotic value only a few minutes
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.
176 PSYCHOLOGY
(a) The third stage of the sexual response cycle is associated with the peak of sexual pleasure.
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 temporarily
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 questionnaires
and interviews.)
Returning to the first and second stages, excitement and plateau, it is
important to note that when sexual intercourse—without self-imposed delaying
tactics—is the primary stimulus used to induce orgasm, the average male
takes about two to four minutes to achieve an orgasm. Under similar conditions,
the average female takes about ten to twenty minutes. This is an important
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.
Sex and Love: Are You in the Mood? 177
Female Sexual Dysfunctions: When Sex Is Not
Satisfactory
A sexual dysfunction exists when the sexual response cycle manifests one of its
stages in an abnormal, unsatisfactory manner. The word dysfunction means, loosely,
"working wrong." The various sexual dysfunctions are characterized by such
problems as lack of sexual desire, inability to become sexually excited, inability to
attain an orgasm, and other related problems. Either sex can be troubled with a
sexual dysfunction.
There are three sexual dysfunctions associated primarily with females: (1) female
sexual arousal disorder, (2) female orgasmic disorder, and (3) vaginismus. Female
sexual arousal disorder exists when the female does not respond to the kind of
stimulation that is otherwise expected to induce excitement. An older term for this
disorder, now considered to be obsolete, is frigidity. The female may herself be
either surprised or distressed by the inability of her partner's efforts to bring forth
the first stage of the sexual response cycle.
(a) A sexual dysfunction exists when the sexual response cycle manifests one of its stages in
an , unsatisfactory manner.
(b) What disorder exists when the female does not respond to the kind of stimulation that
is otherwise expected to induce excitement?
(c) What is an older, obsolete term for the above disorder?
Answers: (a) abnormal; (b) Female sexual arousal disorder; (b) Frigidity.
Female orgasmic disorder exists when the female is seldom, or never, able
to attain an orgasm during sexual activity. A female suffering from the disorder
often experiences a normal level of excitement. This leads to a prolonged plateau
period, and then excitement subsides without the satisfaction of an orgasm. The
individual feels she was on the verge of an orgasm, but it can't seem to be triggered.
Females regularly report the experiences associated with the disorder to be
frustrating and disconcerting.
Vaginismus exists when the muscle associated with the vaginal entrance
cramps, making entry into the channel both difficult and painful.
The causal factors associated with the female disorders include poor health,
chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, anxiety, feelings of guilt and shame, disgust
with sexual activity, fear of pregnancy, an unresolved Oedipus complex, emotional
conflicts, boredom with a particular partner, and hostility toward a particular partner.
The factors both overlap and interact. When physicians and therapists treat a sexual
disorder, the individual history of a particular patient must be taken into account.
There is no one general, sweeping explanation for a particular person's suffering.
178 PSYCHOLOGY
Sex and Love: Are You in the Mood? 179
(a) What disorder exists when the female is seldom, or never, able to attain an orgasm during
sexual activity?
(b) What disorder exists when the muscle associated with the vaginal entrance cramps, making
entry into the channel both difficult and painful?
Answers: (a) Female orgasmic disorder; (b) Vaginismus.
Male Sexual Dysfunctions: Men Can Have Problems Too
From a cultural point of view, there has been a tendency to look upon men as sex
machines. But men are not always smooth-running machines. They are not
robots. Like women, they too have health problems and emotional conflicts. Consequently,
it is possible to identify male sexual dysfunctions. There are three sexual
dysfunctions associated primarily with males: (1) male erectile disorder, (2)
premature ejaculation, and (3) male orgasmic disorder. Male erectile disorder
exists when the male is either unable to attain an erection at all or is unable to
attain an erection that is sufficient to complete an act of sexual intercourse. An
older term for this disorder, now considered to be somewhat out of date, is impotence,
meaning "lack of power."
(a) What disorder exists when the male is either unable to attain an erection at all or is
unable to attain an erection sufficient to complete an act of sexual intercourse?
(b) What is an older, somewhat out-of-date term for the above disorder?
Answers: (a) Male erectile disorder; (b) Impotence.
Premature ejaculation exists when the span of time between excitement
and orgasm is overly brief. There is no precise definition of "overly brief." In general,
if a male attains his orgasm before a female is able to attain hers, both the
duration and the outcome of sexual intercourse are considered to be unsatisfactory
to both participants.
Male orgasmic disorder exists when the male is unable, after both excitement
and a sustained period of plateau, to attain an orgasm. This dysfunction is
also known as retarded ejaculation.
The causal factors listed earlier in connection with female dysfunctions also
apply to male sexual dysfunctions.
(Although for convenience of exposition, heterosexual relations were
assumed in the above presentation, the dysfunctions also apply to homosexual
relations.)
180 PSYCHOLOGY
(a) What male dysfunction exists when the span of time between excitement and orgasm is
overly brief?
(b) Male orgasmic disorder is also known as .
Answers: (a) Premature ejaculation; (b) retarded ejaculation.
Dysfunctions Affecting Either Sex: When Desire
Is Absent
There are three dysfunctions that affect either sex. These are: (1) hypoactive sexual
desire disorder, (2) sexual aversion disorder, and (3) dyspareunia. Hypoactive sexual
desire disorder exists when the individual's desire for sex is absent. He or she
neither fantasizes about sexual relations nor seeks sexual contact as a goal. A term
frequently used in psychoanalysis and psychiatry for this condition is loss of libido.
Psychosexual energy is simply not present. In the vast majority of cases, hypoactive
sexual desire disorder is preceded by a sustained period of normal sexual desire.
Sexual aversion disorder exists when the individual finds the thought of
sexual relations revolting, disgusting, or nauseating. The individual may think of
sexual intercourse as "dirty" or "messy." One woman in psychotherapy told her
therapist, "I can't stand the thought of a man slobbering over me." Sexual aversion
disorder may be present from early adolescence. Or, in other cases, it may follow
a sustained period of normal sexual attraction.
Dyspareunia exists when sexual intercourse is painful. In the case of females,
vaginismus, already noted, can be a factor in dyspareunia. In the case of males,
thickening of the fibrous connective tissue within the penis, which induces the
erect penis to bend at an angle, can be a cause of dyspareunia. In either sex, genital
infections, often associated with sexually transmitted diseases, can play a role
in dyspareunia.
Again, the set of causal factors already specified in association with specific
female and male dysfunctions plays a role in general dysfunctions that affect
either sex.
(a) What disorder exists when the individual's desire for sex is absent?
(b) What term frequently used in psychoanalysis and psychiatry is associated with absence of
sexual desire?
(c) What disorder exists when the individual finds the thought of sexual relations revolting,
disgusting, or nauseating?
(d) What dysfunction exists when sexual intercourse is painful?
Answers: (a) Hypoactive sexual desire disorder; (b) Loss of libido; (c) Sexual aversion
disorder; (d) Dyspareunia.
Sex and Love: Are You in the Mood? 181