Sexology of the Vaginal Orgasm (7 page)

1. The Deaf Vagina of the Sexual Pioneers
   

In a survey of all the relevant studies the question arises as to why the vagina was so long overlooked or ignored as a source of pleasure. One possible explanation is the way Alfred Kinsey, the pioneer of modern sexology who became famous for the report named after him, carried out his studies. In the 1950s he and his team of researchers tried to determine which parts of the female genitals caused the gre- atest sexual stimulus. Three male and two female gyneco- logists tested more than 800 women by examining sixteen predefined points of the female sexual organs, including the clitoris, the large and small labia, the mucous surface with- in the vagina and the orifice of the uterus. To avoid being accused of a pornographic, “pseudo-scientific approach”, the Kinsey team did ground-breaking work in a decidedly cli- nical and detached way. They used glass, metal sounds or ones wrapped with cotton gauze to gently touch the speci- fied zones. Since, however, the G spot only responds to strong pressure and not to gentle touch, Kinsey automati- cally came to the conclusion that the vagina was practical- ly deaf. 86% of the women examined did not even notice when they were touched here! Does it come as a surprise in light of this superficial and inhibited approach? Yet Kinsey concluded hastily: “
In view of the evidence that the walls of the vagina are ordinarily insensitive, it is obvious that the satisfactions obtained from vaginal penetration must depend on some mechanism that lies outside of the vaginal walls themselves
” (Kinsey, 1953; p. 581).

William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the sexual pioneers of the 1960s reinforced this impression even more. Proceed- ing from Kinsey’s studies they tacitly assumed that the cli- toris was the sole source of female excitation. Volunteers in

their test program were selected on the basis of the alacri- ty with which they were able to trigger orgasm through cli- toral stimulation. (Masters & Johnson, 1966)

As Gräfenberg once wrote: “
Innumerable erotogenic spots are distributed all over the body, from where sexual satisfaction can be elicited; these are so many that we can almost say that there is no part of the female body which does not give sexual response, the partner has only to find the erotogenic zones.
” (Gräfenberg, 1950; p. 145)

It might be a consolation for many men that even Kinsey and his team were unable to find the G-spot – but not because it does not exist. According to an old adage one shouldn’t look for the key where the lantern burns but where it has been lost...

6.

The Orgasm-Promoting Vaginal Muscle Structure

1. The Lost-Penis Syndrome
   

   

   The clitoris is only indirectly stimulated by the penis during intercourse. The build up of sexual arousal is further com- plicated by the fact that as a woman becomes more arou- sed, the vagina dilates considerably – extending in length by up to 30% and widening in the inner two-thirds (
   bal- looning effect
   ) (Singer-Kaplan, 1974; p. 8). In addition, the anterior vaginal wall also arches, creating a tent-like cavi- ty (
   tenting effect
   ) (Matters and Johnson 1970b; p. 76, 79).
   

   Fig. 21
   

   Fig. 22
   

   

   Ballooning effect Tenting effect
   

   It would thus seem that achieving an orgasm actually becomes more difficult the more stimulated the female becomes, if only because the penis does not provide sufficient stimulation to the
   G spot
   , a key erogenous area in the interior of the vagina. Particularly if that portion of the pelvic floor surrounding the vagina, the so-called Kegel muscle (pubococcygeus) (fig. 24) is weak and slack; in other words the vagina serves as a thin ring rather than a wide, firm cuff (Kahn-Ladas, Whipple & Perry, 1982; p. 93 f.). This is a case of the
   Lost Penis syndrome
   .
   

   This syndrome can cause such a lack of stimulation that the penis is unable to maintain an erection during intercourse. For the woman, on the other hand, this can lead to anor-
   

   

   Fig. 23
   

   gasmia, as the G spot, for one, does not have sufficient contact with the penis. This lends credence to the often de- monstrated correlation between orgasm and
   

   Lost Penis syndrome
   

   Kegel muscle strength.
   

2. The Love Muscle
   

   

   Based on 3,000 diagnoses, Arnold Kegel discovered back in 1952 that sexually stimulating sensations within the vagina are closely linked to the pubococcygeus or PC muscle and thus can be positively impacted by special training (Kegel, 1952a; p. 522).
   

   Fig. 24
   

   Pubic bone
   

   Urethra Vagina
   

   Rectum
   Musculus pubococcygeus (MPC)
   

   Os coccygis
   

   lowest part of
   

   the spine
   

   Pubococcygeus muscle (PC)
   

   In subsequent decades several studies confirmed these find- ings (e.g. Rudinger Edwin A., 1976; Meier Evelyn, 1977; Graber Benjamin & Kline-Graber Georgia, 1979; Perry John D. & Whipple Beverly, 1981; Kline Georgia, 1982; Lavoisier Pierre, 1982; Huey Candance J. et al., 1982; Eicher Wolf, 1991; Graziottin Alessandra, 2000; Beji Nezihe K. et al., 2003; etc.). The husband and wife team of Graber and Graber analyzed data from 281 women, who were divided into three groups. The first group did not generally experience orgasm, the second experienced orgasm through clitoral stimulation, and the third could also experience orgasm during intercourse. The last group was distinguished by the fact that it exhibited by far the strongest vaginal muscle structure. The first group, which was generally anorgasmic, also had the weakest values. The pressure values of the three groups were 17:12:7. The pressure was measured by means of a perineometer, which inflates a balloon in the vaginal cavity and registers the pressure produced by the cavity walls just like a manometer.
   

   

   Frequency of orgasm (%)
   

   100
   

   Eicher registered vaginal pressure with 130 of the female subjects. Fig. 25 reveals that the group of women producing pressure higher than 10 mm Hg also reached orgasm three times more frequently than women who did not generate such high vaginal pressure.
   

   Increase in peri-
   

   vaginal pressure
   

   80
   

   60
   

   40
   

   20
   

   0
   

   <10 mm Hg
   

   >10 mm Hg
   

   Orgasm always or often
   

   Orgasm seldom or never
   

   Fig. 25
   

   An analysis by Perry (1995) found that those few studies which failed to determine such a direct correlation (Roughan, Penelope A. & Kunst, Lisbeth, 1981; Chambless, Dianne L. et al., 1982, etc.), proved to be methodically faulty or even
   

   downright odd. To cite one
   

   Intensity and frequency of orgasm
   

   such example, Dianne Chambless (1982) came to the conclu- sion that the subjects’ own estimation of the “intensity of the orgasm” did not relate to the strength of the PC muscle, even though in a different part of the study she reported a close correlation with the pleasure of orgasm. The central muscle group, which is located between the pubic bone and tail bone, plays a key role in this context. The urinary tract and the vagina pass through the muscle cleft, to which they are firmly connected. This area is supplied by the perineal nerve (a branch of the pudendal nerve), which consequently accords the PC muscle not only motor, but also sensory functions (cf. Eicher, 1984).
   

   The muscles in the upper layer of the pelvic floor do not only have significant influence on vaginal sensation, they also have an effect on the erectibility of the penis and the clitoris (De Lancey, 1994, Van Kampen, 2000). The con- tractions of the pelvic floor are attributed as having a deci- sive triggering function in orgasm. According to Sherfey (1974) orgasm is the reflex triggered off in the pelvic mus- cles by the activation of the stretch receptors, the so-called muscle spindles. During sexual excitation the MPC is expanded as the genitals are increasingly filled with blood. Mould (1980) wrote that the main effect of this additional blood influx is to make the muscle spindles more sensitive so that the dynamic expansion reflex provides the necessa- ry conditions for orgiastic contractions.
   

   This mechanism shows that a tensing of the pelvic floor reduces the influx of blood, possibly resulting in a reduced orgiastic capacity. (Shafik 2000) It can also be a factor causing painful intercourse. In classical vaginism the muscles are so contracted that sexual intercourse becomes impossible. An overly sustained contraction of the pelvic floor also leads to it being interspersed
   

   with connective tissue. This can also lead to a reduction of its elasticity as well as of its ability to contract.
   

   Historically, attention has always been called to the PC mus- cle. Prior to Arnold Kegel’s work, the focus was placed on increasing men’s pleasure. The famous Arabian textbook on the art of love, The Perfumed Garden, written in 1450, often mentions the woman’s “
   jabeda
   ” which translates as “
   sucking motion
   ”. “The ultimate sexual pleasure depends on one factor alone: It is decisive that the vagina be capable of sucking … Especially her
   Jabeda
   had me in awe,” wrote an Arabian wise man, Abu Abdallah Muhammad Nafzâwî (trans. 2002).
   

   Around the same time, the Indian scribe Kalayânamalla spoke of the love muscle in similarly glowing terms. In his ancient Indian love doctrine, “Ananga-Ranga”, he advises the woman to contract her vagina so that the lingam (penis) is tightly surrounded, then to release the pressure and to repeat this contraction at will; in one word, as the hand of the milkmaid,
   Gopala
   , when she milks a cow. Achieving this skill requires prolonged practice and full concentration on this one organ. A similar process is used to sharpen one’s own sense of hearing or touch. Her husband will then prize her over all his other wives and will not trade her even for the most beautiful Rani (princess) of the three worlds. This is how precious the contractible yoni (vagina) is to men (Kalyânamalla, ~1500AD; trans. 1985; p. 147).
   

   The great English adventurer Sir Richard F. Burton reported that women with such capabilities were highly coveted, causing slavers to pay high prices for them. Not only did he discover the source of the Nile River, Lake Tanganyika, in 1858, but he also had a passion for travelling and exploring sexuality. He comments from his vast experience: “Amongst some races
   

   the constrictor vaginæ muscles are abnormally developed. In Abyssinia, for instance, a woman can so exert them as to cau- se pain to a man, and, when sitting upon his thighs, she can induce the orgasm without moving any other part of her per- son. Such an artist is called by the Arabs, ‘Kabbazah’, literally meaning ‘a holder’, and it is not surprising that the slave deal- ers pay large sums for her. All women have more or less the power, but they wholly neglect it; indeed, there are many races in Europe which have never even heard of it. To these the words of wisdom spoken by Kalyana Malla, the poet, should be pe- culiarly acceptable” (Comfort, 1972).
   

   Until recently, there were several tribes in Africa not permitting young girls to marry as long as they were unable to squeeze their vaginal muscles tightly. This ability was ascertained by a mid- wife inserting her fingers into the female’s vagina and thereby determining the appropriate bride price. Men valued women with strong vaginal muscles in Europe as well. The following passage is taken from a French work dating back to the 19th century entitled Tableaux Vivants: “I penetrated and thrust – oh heaven, what bliss! The vagina of this chamber maid was like pliers. This servant possessed what duchesses lacked, what I had searched for in vain among marchionesses – casse-noisette, the nutcracker. She constricted herself around me, pinched into me. This pinching and pulling felt like a furious vacuum to my asto- nished penis and surprised me as well. I enjoyed it; I emptied myself and fell onto her with all my weight …..” (Swift, 1994;
   

   p. 8). This love technique is often referred to as “pompoir”.