The Nature of Intercourse

In a previous chapter it was stated that there exists a definite guide for determining the readiness of a woman for intercourse. It is an unfailing signal. Unless it clearly manifests itself, a woman has not been sufficiently aroused and has not reached a high peak of her excitement prior to the sex act. No intelligent or considerate lover should force intercourse until this signal appears.

This guide is the amount of slippery secretion that issues primarily from a region just below the vaginal entrance and, secondarily, within the vagina. It is a viscous, pale, transparent fluid, varying in texture. In some females, particularly in those who have not borne children and in younger girls, it is thinner in quality; generally, however, it is of about the same consistency. If a woman has been thoroughly aroused, this emanation, provided by nature as a necessary lubricant, can be distinctly felt upon stroking the vulva, and it allows itself to be easily spread over the entire area. It flows from Bartholin's glands, two small glands, located within the small lips and slightly beneath the vaginal entrance. The vaginal interior will be found to contain a similar secretion seeping from the uterus into the vaginal vault. This allows the canal walls to become adequately coated and ease the friction caused by the incessant motion of the male organ. The penis also emits a like substance, so that lubrication does not depend exclusively upon the female organs. Since Bartholin's glands are located in the lower part of the vulva, the fluid naturally pools there. It must be brought up by the male finger to coat the clitoris and surrounding area to avoid their chafing.

So long as a woman is excited, this fluid flows continuously and abundantly. Every woman knows how moist and uncomfortable she may feel at times following some minor intimacy. When she begins to cool, the flow ceases at once, the area dries with surprising rapidity, and continued friction upon it will result in painful irritation.

This fluid must not be confused with the general moist-ness that is constant about the interior and exterior genitals; no experienced man will so mistake it. These areas consist of mucous membrane which must remain moist if dryness and roughness are to be avoided. For that reason, the genital region will at all times feel moist upon contact, but the moistness is of a light, watery consistency which immediately dries with friction, whereas the other appears in far greater quantity, increasing in amount as excitement increases, is definitely slippery in body, and continues to flow so long as a woman requires satisfying, should it be fifteen minutes or an hour. Unless this fluid issues in unmistakable quantity, nature is indisputably indicating that a woman is not yet prepared for intercourse and must be further stimulated; as soon as she is ready, nature never fails to release the fluid in abundance.

There are occasional instances, however, when, in arranging for the proper satisfaction of a woman, nature will require assistance. A considerate wife is ready and willing at all times, barring certain days, to accommodate her husband's sexual needs, just as the considerate husband is alert to fulfill his wife's requirements. Such women and such men are usually happily married. This type of wife goes even further. Although she may not feel in the mood for one reason or another, her husband coming home from work may not be aware of this. Since she senses an amorous mood on his part, she either does not make her feelings known or deprecates them at bedtime. She may even initiate the preliminaries herself. The consequence is that, despite all the proper observance of foreplay, particularly with a woman of the lowly sensitive type, the husband will discover when his hand reaches the genital area that the fluid has not yet started to flow and try as he may, he cannot induce it to flow. He will also discover, as he continues to stroke the genitals, that he cannot produce a sensation in the clitoris, that the area becomes dry; and he will observe obvious twinges of very definite pain due to chafing if he persists.

Of course, the proper thing to do is to abandon intimacy for that night; if the wife is not aroused, as indicated by the failure of the fluid to flow, she will not be disturbed by a discontinued relationship. However, if he fails to desist, it is understandable; he is excited, and there is no doubt that his wife, who has already proved her thoughtfulness, will insist upon his satisfying himself.

The solution is very simple, and will result in complete satisfaction all around. A forefinger dipped in Vaseline, cold cream, hand lotion, or similar convenient substance, and applied to the externals, will lubricate the area so that without pain to his wife he can devote himself to a stimulation of the clitoris, which in time will respond by developing sensation. However, no woman in a normal mood will ever require an artificial lubricant, and notwithstanding any advice to the contrary, an artificial lubricant should never be used as a constant or general practice. The natural flowing of the fluid is a man's best guide to the emotional pitch of his partner, and the indiscriminate use of artificial lubricants circumvents the very thing that nature has sought to provide: a foolproof signal as to the opportune ness of the intercourse. Furthermore, something is decidedly wrong either with a husband's technique or his wife's physical condition if artificial lubricants must constantly be resorted to.

It is now assumed that the woman is well lubricated and ready for the intercourse. How does she respond? Let us first consider the highly passionate type. It is in this phase of the relationship more than in any other that such a female distinguishes herself from the majority and makes it difficult for any man to delay his own orgasm; she may require five to thirty minutes or even more to satisfy herself, depending upon the extent of her passion. Since, as is explained in a chapter dealing with self-control on the part of the male, the masculine instinct is to achieve a speedy orgasm, it is obvious that his self-restraint will be abnormally taxed.

To begin with, a highly passionate woman requires no clitoral stimulation whatever during intercourse itself, since she is a mass of genital sensation internally and externally. Furthermore, her type of orgasm differs materially from that of others, which a subsequent diagram will illustrate clearly. She experiences what may be described as a sustained orgasm and almost from the moment the penis is inserted until the end of the period required for her satisfaction, she undergoes a continuous sensation of rapture which gradually bores into her nervous system and eventually results in satiety, swooning, sobbing, or the inability for further copulation. Any of these four reactions is immediately heightened by the male orgasm regardless of when it occurs, and a simultaneous climax need not be considered, since her entire sensation is practically one sustained orgasm. Furthermore, any highly sensitive woman can experience all four reactions over a period of time, not necessarily during one relationship, but a different one on different occasions; these represent merely the four levels of excitement. Although it is unusual for a girl or woman to experience more than one or two consistently, one can encounter women who travel the entire range.

Satiety usually requires the longest time to achieve; the woman involved seems better conditioned to withstand the height of sensation than do women of the other three levels. Hence, she can revel in her excitement until her appetite is thoroughly satisfied. She herself, rather than her nervous system, brings the relationship to an end.

Swooning comes next in time, because in this instance a woman withstands the sensation, craving more and more, until nature finally intrudes by throwing her into a faint.

Sobbing follows, but not far behind; the woman herself suddenly breaks off the relationship in a wild, uncontrollable burst of tears which shakes her completely. She requires several minutes of tender quieting.

Finally, and covering relatively the shortest period, is the simple inability further to withstand sensation. In this case, the woman is unable to allow it to carry her as far as the swooning or sobbing stage; after having asked her partner a number of times previously to desist for a moment, she finally directs him to stop altogether.

Those readers who have ever laughed themselves into a fit of crying will recognize that it is characteristic to laugh at a certain level for a time, the level rising until the limit of endurance is reached. Then, one finds the laughter automatically changing to tears and becoming disagreeable.

Furthermore, at no time during a sex relationship, when passion is at its peak or approaching it, will the countenances of either man or woman ever take on an appearance of pleasurable or peaceful relaxation. To the contrary, the features are distorted as if the partners were undergoing severe pain rather than experiencing the most exquisitely delightful of all sensations.

For the benefit of those women who form the majority and who may wonder how orgasm can drive a woman to tears, it should be stated it is common knowledge that tears can be produced by a reaction diametrically opposed to sorrow. The sensation of joy so frequently experienced when women and children, long separated, are reunited is also accompanied by tears. It is not to be wondered at, then, that those women who experience the pleasure of intense orgasm are also uncontrollably moved to violent weeping.

All of these four levels may vary in length of time with different women. The period may also vary for the same women, depending upon her mood. As a rule, however, it is usually of consistent duration, unless shortened by the inability of the male to delay his orgasm.

To a male unaccustomed to a violent climax, the situation is startling. One can understand that he is shocked when a woman suddenly emits a series of piercing screams loud enough to waken a neighborhood and to suggest that she is being abused. His heart practically stands still. He experiences somewhat the same reaction when a woman who is violently panting, gasping, scratching, and biting suddenly heaves a tremendous sigh and becomes limp and insensible, or seemingly so. Her partner's first thought is that she has suffered a heart attack and may be dying. It would be a paralyzing experience for an uninitiated groom.

It is appropriate to describe, also, the emotional expression of this highly passionate type during intercourse and prior to its discontinuance. A large proportion of this group will whimper, emitting a sound similar to the whining a child indulges in when he is denied something. It gives the impression that the girl is in pain. Another large proportion will engage in whispered exclamations, repeating them continuously throughout the intercourse. Others will alternately ask the male to desist and proceed, being able to stand the sensation only in spurts. Others, those who thoroughly satisfy themselves, make no sounds at all but demand a continuous motion throughout. Others will dig and claw at the male back with their fingers and nails, leaving painful scratches and even drawing blood. It is impossible to have repeated relationships with such women without confining their hands, which of course limits their expression, or without wearing a heavy shirt. Many women will bite at the male mouth or breasts and will break through the skin of the hand if it is placed in their mouths to prevent even more serious damage. A large proportion will shout loudly enough to be heard throughout an apartment or private dwelling, calling upon their mother or uttering such exclamations as may occur to them as an outlet. As mentioned before, a certain percentage will shriek and scream so piercingly as to cause an investigation unless they rigidly control themselves by asking their lover to desist. Others will draw their legs back and fling them forward as if trying completely to absorb the male organ. There are women who prefer the male to penetrate slowly and deeply, some who prefer the most rapid, violent movement possible, and others who prefer early orgasm in the male because, following this, the penis loses some of its rigidity, and this practically limp state produces for them a more desirable sensation.

The size of the male organ is of no importance whatever to the vast majority of women, whether they be moderately or highly passionate. A woman is interested only in the ability of her partner to satisfy her regardless of how he may accomplish it. Nor has the size of the vaginal canal any apparent effect upon the excitement of a female. Some of the most highly passionate women are constructed with extremely wide and long canals; while many others, with vaginas almost as narrow following childbirth as before marriage, are completely devoid of sensation other than that induced in the clitoris, and are only lowly passionate.

A wide canal is no indication that a woman has consorted with numbers of men. Some canals are wide, some are narrow, some are long, and some are short. These variations do make-a difference to the preferences of some men, but a male should be able to adjust himself to whatever condition exists.

A man's physical build is a matter of minor importance to most women. There are some, as has been said, who are irresistibly attracted to muscular men, and one of less prominent proportions will never stimulate them as much.

The responsiveness during intercourse of women other than the highly passionate falls into a relatively standard pattern of behavior, and varies little throughout the group. At least half are sensitive only at the clitoris, the vaginas of most being so insensitive that only the pressure of the male organ within and the sensation that the canal is filled indicates the existence of action. While the sensation of the penis moving within the vagina of the highly sensitive and even, on occasion, of the moderately sensitive, is sufficient of itself to produce orgasm, this condition alone never succeeds in creating feeling in those of the lowly sensitive group.

There is, however, a strong mental reaction to the knowledge that the penis is inserted, and this intensifies the female orgasm when it occurs. The thought that an intimate and close connection has been attained, even though no direct physical feeling exists, will heighten a climax almost doubly as against digital contact with the clitoris alone. This is just another instance of the important function the mind can play in improving sexual relationships.

With the lowly and moderately sensitive, intercourse is characterized by nothing highly emotional either in the way of speech or behavior. It is accompanied by an increasingly deep breathing; by an increased quivering which reaches its height with the climax; by the inclination of the female to increase the tempo of her genital rhythm as climax approaches; by the desire to engage in a long passionate kiss held until the orgasm occurs; and at best by muted exclamations of "oh, oh" as it does occur; although even here silence is usual unless the orgasm is extremely intense. When a long, drawn-out "oh, . . ." indicates its peak. As the sensation approaches the climax, there is also the tendency for the female to strain her body as if to increase the pressure against the clitoris or draw the penis deeper into the vagina.

This is the general behavior of the lowly and moderately sensitive during intercourse itself. There is nothing extraordinary about it, and it resembles that of the average male.

Although the majority of women sustain only one orgasm, and a great proportion none at all, the author is convinced that a husband can definitely increase the number if he goes about it properly and understands the peculiarities of the clitoris. However, since one cannot guarantee a man's efficiency in this respect, and since at the present time most women of the lowly and moderately sensitive group sustain only one climax, the situation must be spoken of as it is, not as it might be.