The Phases Of Sexual Response - Understanding Sexuality: Womens Sexual Health

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The phases of sexual response

In the heat of sexual excitement, few people want to bother deciphering the dynamics of their sexual response. However, in cooler moments, acquainting yourself with the physiology of sex can offer clues to help you heighten your pleasure and improve your sexual capabilities.

The process that begins with the first glimmer of desire and culminates in the series of pleasurable rhythmic contractions we know as orgasm can be divided into four distinct phases. Each is characterized by a set of anatomic and physiologic changes. The four phases are as follows:

Desire. Also called lust or libido, desire is the wish for sex. A sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell may spark it. Or it may be ignited by a memory or fantasy. Desire occurs before any physical signs of sexual readiness take place in your body. Desire often leads to arousal and orgasm, but this isn't always the case. Arousal can also lead to desire, and desire can linger on its own indefinitely.

Arousal. During arousal, blood floods into the genitals, triggering the man's penis to stiffen and the woman's labia, clitoris, and upper vagina to swell. Moisture begins seeping from the vaginal lining, creating lubrication. The vagina lengthens, the uterus rises, and the inner and outer lips pull apart, exposing the vaginal opening. The man's testicles pull closer to his body, and his scrotum becomes thicker and flatter. In both sexes, breathing and heart rate accelerate, muscles throughout the body tense, the skin flushes, and nipples become erect.

Orgasm. When muscle tension and genital engorgement peak, a series of rhythmic contractions occurs in the sex organs. The contractions force the congested blood out of the tissues and back into circulation. Along with this comes an abrupt release of muscle tension and a pleasurable sensation. In a man, penile contractions expel semen out of the urethra; this is known as ejaculation. Some women also release fluid during orgasm. While this fluid comes out of the urethra, it's not urine. Glands located in the same area as the G-spot may produce the fluid.

Resolution. Following orgasm, heart rate and blood pressure gradually return to their normal levels. In a man, the penis becomes flaccid; in a woman, sex organs gradually return to their unaroused state. After orgasm, it takes some time before an individual can have another orgasm. For a woman, this stage may pass quickly, allowing her to have multiple orgasms in a short span of time if stimulation continues. A man generally needs to wait longer — from several minutes to hours or days, depending on his age — before he is able to ejaculate again.

While it's possible to identify these discrete parts of the sexual response cycle, not every sexual encounter needs to progress through all four phases in an orderly manner. Nor must the process necessarily include orgasm. This much is true for both women and men.

Differences in male and female response

In the decades after William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson introduced the concept of the stages of sexual response in 1966, it was widely assumed that a woman's response closely mimicked that of a man. More recently, however, researchers have focused attention on women's sexual response. Rosemary Basson and her colleagues at the University of British Columbia have found that the patterns of response may vary widely between the sexes.

For example, when it comes to desire, male and female sexual responses diverge. The sex drive of men tends to be goal-oriented, setting its sights on intercourse and orgasm. This drive is propelled by frequent sexual fantasies and thoughts. Although women are equally capable of strong sexual urges, typically desire manifests itself as a more diffuse, sometimes elusive, drive. Women are more likely to become aroused by demonstrations of emotional intimacy — such as acts that reveal caring, commitment, or tenderness — rather than sexual fantasies alone.

This school of thought also contends that women may experience the stages of sexual response in a nonlinear manner. That is, arousal may need to occur before desire appears. In turn, the emotional intimacy that typically occurs between partners following lovemaking ("afterplay") can trigger a woman's desire for sex in the future. Women may also find that arousal and orgasm progress in the form of a series of rolling hills, rather than as a steady buildup to a dramatic peak followed by a steep drop.

Last updated:	January 23, 2007