Sexual potency

“ As regards the informants, it may be that, having had such exceptional potency on one or two occasions, they really believe it to be a normal requisite of full manhood; more often, however, the mistake originates from a young man taking at its face value the boasting of one of his comrades who has lied freely about his own "virile potency." I have known similar things happen in the case of women, among whom boasting about the intensity of the voluptuous sensations experienced during sexual intercourse is by no means uncommon. ”

“ In our own part of the world, voluptuaries make use of an india-rubber ring beset with spines, which before coitus is passed over the corona glandis, in order to promote sexual gratification in the woman during intercourse. In cases of diminished potency in the male, in order to produce sufficient sexual excitement in the female by more powerful erection of the penis, various mechanical means are now employed. ”

“ Steinach found that, when sexually mature white rats were castrated, though at first they remained as potent as ever, their potency gradually declined; sexual excitement, however, and sexual inclination always persisted. ”

“ It is the topmost pinnacle of all human experiences. For a husband and wife to reach this climax, at exactly the same instant, is a consummation that can never be excelled in human life. It is a goal worthy the endeavor of all husbands and wives, to attain to this supreme height of sexual possibilities.
On the part of the man, the orgasm throws the semen into, and all about the vaginal-uterine tract. The amount of semen thus discharged at a single climax is about a tablespoonful, enough to entirely flush and flood the area into which it is thrown. ”

“ One of the chief things to which a woman responds is a cumulative tenderness expressed in words or in acts.
Whatever the stimulus, however, the brain receives the signal and, through the nervous system, sends out preparatory reactions throughout the body. The response of men to stimuli perceived by the brain as sexual is amazingly fast; some men arrive at full sexual preparedness for intercourse within three seconds—that is, their penis becomes fully erect and ready to enter the vagina within that time. ”

“ Thus, in some instances, the influence of stimulation of the clitoris in leading to conception has been clearly shown; in others, the performance of coitus in some unusual position, varying with the woman concerned, is alone competent to arouse sexual sensibility to its full extent, and to bring about the orgasm. ”

“ Thus in the male, intercourse is always pleasurable, while in the female, pleasure is experienced only when certain conditions are fulfilled.
Contact with the male genital organs stimulates in the female the sensory nerves of the vulva, the vestibule, and the vagina; the nervous stimulus is transmitted to the cerebral cortex, where it gives rise to the sensation of sexual pleasure, and causes, through the intermediation of the genito-spinal centre, a number of reflex actions. ”

“ The psychical stimuli consist of ideas relating to the male. The physical stimuli may, just as in the case of the other sex, vary in their nature. Thus, the condition of the reproductive glands may act as a physical stimulus to erection; also the touching of certain regions of the body, especially the clitoris, the labia minora, or other erogenic zones. Under the influence of such stimuli, the venus plexuses making up the vaginal bulbs also become distended with blood. In fact, speaking generally, sexual excitement is characterised by a vigorous flow of blood to the genital organs. ”

“ The latter cause is in operation when there are diseases of the female reproductive organs preventing the physiological completion of intercourse; but especially in consequence of the modern practice of coitus interruptus, in which the man breaks off the act of intercourse the moment he feels that ejaculation is imminent, without troubling himself regarding the natural course of sexual excitement in the woman. ”

“ In such involuntary orgasms the male ejaculates semen, the female indifferent glandular secretions. As a rule, the ejaculation is accompanied not merely by a voluptuous sensation, but also by a psychical process corresponding with the mode of sexual sensibility of the person concerned. A normal man during the orgasm dreams that he is embracing a woman; a normal woman that she is embracing a man; a homosexual man dreams of the embraces of another man. ”

“ The Sexual Appetite in Woman.—In the sexual act the role of the woman differs from that of the man not only by being passive, but also by the absence of seminal ejaculations. In spite of this the analogies are considerable. The erection of the clitoris and its voluptuous sensations, the secretion from the glands of Bartholin which resembles ejaculation in the male, the venereal orgasm itself which often exceeds in intensity that of man, are phenomena which establish harmony in sexual connection. ”

“ It is only in cases in which the female genital organs are wanting, wholly or to a considerable extent, or in which there are important cerebral disturbances or states of mental degeneration, that the sexual impulse is wanting. ”

“ Now let us suppose that the young man, instead of curbing his sexual appetite, resorts, after a season of erotic imaginations, to the act of masturbation. We may picture the seminal ducts, vasa deferentia and ampullæ as being gorged with the secretion of the testes, including, of course, myriads of just released and nascent spermatozoa, together with several cubic centimeters of the liquid portion of the testicular secretion. The act of masturbation causes an orgasm and leads to a complete emptying of all these ducts. ”

“ Occasionally such psychical impotence is not absolute but relative, it relates, that is to say, to one particular woman—unfortunately, as a rule, a man’s own lawful wife,—whilst coitus with another woman, even in default of any measures for artificial sexual stimulation, is easily effected. ”

“ More particularly in such circumstances are evil effects on the nervous system likely to ensue, since we have a combination of excessively prolonged and frequent sexual intercourse, and of interference with complete sexual gratification. ”

“ A vague belief in the transformation of sexual energy has long been widespread. It is apparently shown in the idea that continence, as an economy in the expenditure of sexual force, may be practised to aid the physical and mental development, while folklore reveals various sayings in regard to the supposed influence of sexual abstinence in the causation of insanity. ”

“ It is of great practical interest, alike from the gynecological and from the neuropathological standpoint, to determine the consequences in women of ungratifying sexual intercourse. In the present state of our experience it must be assumed that the effect of abnormal sexual intercourse, that is of intercourse which does not culminate in gratification produced by the sensation of ejaculation, is deleterious. ”

“ The culmination of the act of sexual intercourse is called the orgasm. It is the moment at which the pleasurable sensation is at its highest point, the body experiences a thrill, there is a spasmodic contraction in the genital organs, and there is a secretion of fluid from the genital glands and mucous membranes. This fluid in women is not a vital fluid like the semen in man; it is merely mucus, and in some women it is very slight in amount or altogether absent. Adult women who live without sexual relations occasionally have sexual or erotic dreams ”

“ Again, sexual intercourse must always be effected in such a manner that the act attains its physiological conclusion, and that in the woman as well as in the man the orgasm has its normal outcome, that is to say that at the conclusion of the act the woman’s cervical glands are evacuated with the accompaniment of the sense of ejaculation. ”

“ In men it manifests an organic variation of intensity in consonance with the collection and expenditure of semen; in women the increase of sexual desire coincides with the process of ovulation, and in such a way that libido sexualis is greater after the menstrual period. ”

“ From what we know of the physiology of the sexual apparatus, it must be evident that a sexual orgasm could be produced during waking hours only through strong stimulation of the activity of the testes, accompanied by liberation of spermatozoa and of the other elements of the vital fluid. ”

“ Education and mode of life have a marked influence on the intensity of the vita sexualis. Strenuous mental activity, earnest study, severe physical exertion, mental depression, and sexual continence, notably diminish the excitability of the sexual impulse. At first, indeed, abstinence leads to an increase in the intensity of the impulse, but sooner or later the functional activity of the organs of generation declines, and therewith also the intensity of the sexual impulse. ”

“ You will remember that in the female genitalia both the clitoris and the vagina are capable of experiencing orgasm. This fact is of decisive importance to the problem of frigidity in women.
Why? It means, in effect, that women have two distinct sexual organs, both capable of bringing her release from sexual tension. In the unconscious sense many women can “choose” one type of sexual satisfaction in preference to another. This ability to choose often spells disaster, for one of these methods of gratification represents immaturity and is allied to neurosis.
A man has only one organ: his penis. ”

“ That total sexual abstinence may have very injurious effects on the nervous system, as mentioned in Chapter IV, and assist in the development of hysteria and neurasthenia, is shown by the fact that when there is an accumulation of semen in the male, or a swelling of the Graafian follicles in the female, then an excitation of the nervous system follows, with sexual desire. ”

“ It is then directed towards the male, but is not in any way associated with the wish for a definite sexual act. Most commonly, however, in woman also the two components of the sexual impulse are united, and from this union results the impulsion towards coitus. But to this extent the conditions in woman are apt to differ from those in man, inasmuch as, in the former, voluptuous sensations are more often in abeyance; or in woman voluptuous pleasure may not arise during coitus, but may be produced in some other way, as, for instance, by a masturbatory act. ”

“ He had shown, where we had failed, that erotic activity of some sort is universal, that the earlier and more vigorously such activities are commenced, the more potent and sexually capable its practitioners become—that use, not restraint (as the "pure" have decreed) , develops the nerves, capillaries and muscles of the sexual organs precisely as it does those of other organs and that what we call sins and perversions are as ubiquitous as what we call normal sex acts. ”

“ There have been detailed studies made of the physical reactions of both men and women during intercourse. I think it is important to realize that in almost every detail, including orgasm, these reactions and the subjective experience of pleasure parallel each other in the sexes. The major differences are that the woman is slightly slower to respond at the outset than the man, and the orgasm of the man is characterized by the ejaculation of sperm into the vagina. ”

“ Conversely, on many girls, masculine attributes, and especially the male genital organs, sometimes exert a stimulating influence. But in these cases also, the complete fusion of the processes of detumescence and contrectation occurs very gradually. Sometimes the boy himself is greatly astonished to discover that close contact with a person whom he loves leads to erection and even ejaculation. ”

“ Some two years later I heard of sexual practices between women as a frequent habit in certain quarters. I again interested myself in masturbation, for I had been told something that led me to believe that there was much more for me to discover. Not knowing the most elementary physiology, I questioned some of my friends, and then commenced again. I restricted myself to relief from local congestion and irritation by calling forth the emission of mucus, rather than by seeking pleasure. At the same time, I sought to discover what manipulation of the clitoris would lead to. ”

“ Sexual Power.—The individual variations in the sexual instinct are enormous, and may be said to vary from zero to an intense and perpetual excitation called Satyriasis. By sexual power is understood the faculty of accomplishing coitus. This power in the first place requires strong and complete erections, as well as the faculty of following them by frequent seminal ejaculations, without being precipitate. Impotence or incapacity for coitus belongs to pathology and consists usually in the absence or defectiveness of erections. ”

“ Anaesthesia in women is, as a rule, due to inexcitability of the genital nerves and to lack of excitation at the centre of libido. Sometimes anatomical anomalies of the genitals may cause impotence of libido. The integrity and the free exercise of the generative organs are necessary for the integrity of the libidinous feeling, although sexual pleasure is experienced at the nervous centres, and the generative organs play only a secondary part. ”

“ I have myself known cases in which women were able to experience the voluptuous acme in intercourse with men whom they earnestly loved, whilst in intercourse with men to whom they were indifferent, the voluptuous sensation and the sense of satisfaction were wanting, even though in some of these cases the peripheral processes culminated in ejaculation. Such a physically complete sexual act, without voluptuous acme or sense of satisfaction, may occur when the woman, having intercourse with a man whom she does not love, pictures in imagination that she is having intercourse with her lover. ”