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Authors: Desmond Morris
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to two or three times the normal proportions. The inner labia also become distended to two or three times their normal diameter and they protrude through the protective curtain of the outer labia, adding as they do so an extra centimetre to the overall vaginal length. As arousal progresses there is a second striking change in the inner labia. Having already become vaso-congested and protuberant, they now change colour, turning bright red.
The clitoris (the female counterpart of the male penis) also becomes enlarged and more protuberant as sexual arousal begins, but as higher levels of excitement are reached, the labial swelling tends to mask this change and the clitoris is retracted under the labial hood. It cannot at this later stage be stimulated directly by the male’s penis, but in its swollen and sensitive condition can still be affected indirectly by the rhythmic pressures applied to that region by the thrusting movements of the male.
The penis of the male undergoes a dramatic modification with sexual arousal. From a limp, flaccid condition it expands, stiffens and erects by means of intensive vasocongestion. Its normal, average length of nine and a half centimetres is increased by seven to eight centimetres. The diameter is also considerably increased, giving the species the largest erect penis of any living primate.
At the moment of male sexual climax there are several powerful muscle contractions of the penis that expel the seminal fluid into the vaginal tube. The first of these contractions are the strongest ones and occur at intervals of 0.8 of a second—the same rate as the orgasmic vaginal contractions of the female.
During arousal the scrotal skin of the male becomes constricted and the mobility of the testes is reduced. They are elevated by a shortening of the spermatic cords (as, indeed, they are in states of cold, fear and anger) and are held tighter against the body. Vaso-congestion of the region results in a testicular increase of up to fifty or even a hundred per cent.
These, then, are the principal ways in which the male and female bodies become modified by sexual activity. Once the climax has been reached, all the changes noted are rapidly reversed and the resting, post-sexual individual quickly returns to the normal quiescent physiological state. There is one final, post-orgasmic response that is worth mentioning. There may be a copious sweating by both male and female immediately following sexual climax and this may occur regardless of how much or how little physical effort has been put into the preceding sexual activities. However, although it is not related to total physical expenditure, it does bear a relationship to the intensity of the orgasm itself. The film of sweat develops on the back, the thighs and the upper chest. Sweat may run from the armpits. In intense cases, the whole of the trunk, from shoulders to thighs may be involved. The palms of the hands and soles of the feet also perspire and, where the face has become mottled with the sexual flush, there may be sweating on the forehead and upper lip.
This brief summary of the sexual stimuli of our species and the responses given to them can now serve as a basis for discussing the significance of our sexual behaviour in relation to our ancestry and our general way of life, but first it is worth pointing out that the various stimuli and responses mentioned do not all occur with equal frequency. Some occur inevitably whenever a male and female come together for sexual activity, but others appear only in a proportion of the cases. Even so, they still occur with a sufficiently high frequency to be counted as ‘species characteristics’. As regards the body responses, the sex flush is seen in 75 per cent of females and about 25 per cent of males. Nipple erection is universal for females, but only occurs in 6o per cent of males. Copious sweating after orgasm is a feature of 33 per cent of both males and females. Apart from these specific
The clitoris (the female counterpart of the male penis) also becomes enlarged and more protuberant as sexual arousal begins, but as higher levels of excitement are reached, the labial swelling tends to mask this change and the clitoris is retracted under the labial hood. It cannot at this later stage be stimulated directly by the male’s penis, but in its swollen and sensitive condition can still be affected indirectly by the rhythmic pressures applied to that region by the thrusting movements of the male.
The penis of the male undergoes a dramatic modification with sexual arousal. From a limp, flaccid condition it expands, stiffens and erects by means of intensive vasocongestion. Its normal, average length of nine and a half centimetres is increased by seven to eight centimetres. The diameter is also considerably increased, giving the species the largest erect penis of any living primate.
At the moment of male sexual climax there are several powerful muscle contractions of the penis that expel the seminal fluid into the vaginal tube. The first of these contractions are the strongest ones and occur at intervals of 0.8 of a second—the same rate as the orgasmic vaginal contractions of the female.
During arousal the scrotal skin of the male becomes constricted and the mobility of the testes is reduced. They are elevated by a shortening of the spermatic cords (as, indeed, they are in states of cold, fear and anger) and are held tighter against the body. Vaso-congestion of the region results in a testicular increase of up to fifty or even a hundred per cent.
These, then, are the principal ways in which the male and female bodies become modified by sexual activity. Once the climax has been reached, all the changes noted are rapidly reversed and the resting, post-sexual individual quickly returns to the normal quiescent physiological state. There is one final, post-orgasmic response that is worth mentioning. There may be a copious sweating by both male and female immediately following sexual climax and this may occur regardless of how much or how little physical effort has been put into the preceding sexual activities. However, although it is not related to total physical expenditure, it does bear a relationship to the intensity of the orgasm itself. The film of sweat develops on the back, the thighs and the upper chest. Sweat may run from the armpits. In intense cases, the whole of the trunk, from shoulders to thighs may be involved. The palms of the hands and soles of the feet also perspire and, where the face has become mottled with the sexual flush, there may be sweating on the forehead and upper lip.
This brief summary of the sexual stimuli of our species and the responses given to them can now serve as a basis for discussing the significance of our sexual behaviour in relation to our ancestry and our general way of life, but first it is worth pointing out that the various stimuli and responses mentioned do not all occur with equal frequency. Some occur inevitably whenever a male and female come together for sexual activity, but others appear only in a proportion of the cases. Even so, they still occur with a sufficiently high frequency to be counted as ‘species characteristics’. As regards the body responses, the sex flush is seen in 75 per cent of females and about 25 per cent of males. Nipple erection is universal for females, but only occurs in 6o per cent of males. Copious sweating after orgasm is a feature of 33 per cent of both males and females. Apart from these specific
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