Sex and Love - Are You in the Mood?

The Orgasm: The Peak of Sexual Pleasure

Here are the four stages of the sexual response cycle: Excitement is characterized by increases in blood pressure, pulse, and respiration rate. During the stage of plateau, prior increases in physiological activity are maintained at a more or less constant level. The orgasm is an involuntary response in both sexes. During the stage of resolution the individual becomes temporarily unresponsive to sexual stimulation.

Female Sexual Dysfunctions: When Sex Is Not Satisfactory

There are three sexual dysfunctions associated primarily with females: 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. 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.

Male Sexual Dysfunctions: Men Can Have Problems Too

There are three sexual dysfunctions associated primarily with males: 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 An older term for this disorder, now considered to be somewhat out of date, is impotence, meaning “lack of power.” Premature ejaculation exists when the span of time between excitement and orgasm is overly brief. There is no precise definition of “overly brief. 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.

Dysfunctions Affecting Either Sex: When Desire Is Absent

There are three dysfunctions that affect either sex. These are: Hypoactive sexual desire disorder exists when the individual’s desire for sex is absent. Sexual aversion disorder exists when the individual finds the thought of sexual relations revolting, disgusting, or nauseating. Dyspareunia exists when sexual intercourse is painful.

Sexual Variance: Of Fetishes and Voyeurism

The term sexual variance is used to characterize sexual behaviors that are statistically deviant. Here are the principal paraphilias, or kinds of sexual variance, that will be identified in this section:

1. Bestiality refers to sexual contact between a human being and an animal. Another term for this kind of behavior is zoophilia.
2. Exhibitionism is characterized by sexual excitement associated with the voluntary exposure of one’s body, including the genitals.
3. Fetishism is characterized by the use of an inanimate object such as a stocking, a pair of underwear, or a shoe as a sexual stimulus.
4. Incest refers to sexual relations with a close relative such as a parent or a sibling. The most common form of incest is between siblings.
5. Masochism refers to extracting sexual pleasure from physical or psychological pain. Pederasty refers to homosexual relations between an adult male and a prepubertal male.
6. Pedophilia is characterized by the sexual attraction of an adult to a prepubertal child.
7. Sadism refers to inflicting psychological or physical pain on another person in association with sexual gratification.
8. Sodomy refers to sexual practices thought by a given society or culture to be in violation of natural behavior patterns.
9. Transsexualism is characterized by a strong desire to become a person of the opposite sex.
10. Transvestic fetishism (transvestism) is characterized by dressing in the clothing of the opposite sex (i.e., cross-dressing).
11. Voyeurism is characterized by using a visual stimulus as a primary way to induce sexual excitement.
12. Homosexual behavior is characterized by sexual relations with a member of the same sex. The term can be applied to both male and female behavior. However, lesbianism refers exclusively to female homosexual behavior.

Intimacy: What Is This Thing Called Love?

Romantic love is a mental and emotional state characterized by moments of joy and the idealization of one’s partner. In her book Love and Limerence, the psychologist Dorothy Tennov uses the term limerence to identify the distinctive pattern of thoughts and emotions associated with being in love.

The idealization-frustration-demoralization (IFD) syndrome is a common interpersonal pattern, often destructive to marriages. The first stage, idealization, is characterized by a tendency to project on the partner, or potential partner, special attributes such as unusually good looks, great intelligence, outstanding creative ability, and so forth. The second stage of the IFD syndrome, frustration, emerges when the unrealistic expectations set up by the first stage cannot be met. The third stage, demoralization, is characterized by the conviction that the relationship is hopeless, that even valiant efforts to improve the relationship are doomed to failure.