The Boudoir Bible (7 page)

PLATE II
THE FEMALE GENITALS: SIDE VIEW

PLATE III
THE MALE GENITALS: SIDE VIEW

PLATE IV
THE HYSTERICAL ARCH AND ITS INVERSION

As predominant as they are in the female genital geography, the fleshy outer lips of the vulva, known as the labia majora, are not considered part of the clitoral system. From an anatomical point of comparison, the labia majora correspond to the male scrotum, but they obviously do not serve the same function.

Unless you make use of a speculum, you will not be able to see inside the vaginal canal, but you can manually explore the entryway and the soft inner walls of the vagina. Use your middle finger to locate the pronounced, firm, miniature-doughnut-like shape of the cervix at the very end of the vaginal canal. From a spermatozoon’s perspective, the cervix is the portal to the uterus, and for an unborn baby, it represents the exit from the mother’s body into the outside world. The uterus is the hearth, as it were, of the female reproductive system, and it is the only major component of the female genital geography that does not have a parallel with the male genitals. The ovaries, which are situated on the upper left and right sides of the uterus, correspond to the testicles in men.

The ova are housed in the ovaries, which are each attended by a Fallopian tube. Once a month, during the process of ovulation, one of the tubes transports what is usually a single ovum into the uterus. Whether or not this egg encounters a vital spermatozoon and thus sparks the miraculous creative process of life is—and should remain—a private decision. That heterosexual couples are no longer obliged
to carry the burden of unplanned conception from their shared sexual pleasures should not be taken for granted.

The interior aspects of both the male and female reproductive system are made up of erectile tissues, muscles, glands, and an intricate map of nerves, veins, and blood vessels. Both male and female genitals, when sexually stimulated, gradually dilate and become turgid as the veins and blood vessels in the erectile tissues are engorged with blood.

The male erection is essentially a hydraulic phenomenon that occurs in the columns of the corpora cavernosa and the corpus spongiosum, also known as the bulb. As blood fills the arteries and vascular channels and the penis becomes erect, muscles compress these spongy masses of tissue, preventing blood from draining back into the body.

The corpus spongiosum corresponds to the twin vestibular bulbs in females, which are also composed of spongy erectile tissues. Because the vestibular bulbs, which represent one of the densest portions of the clitoral system, lie inside the female body, on either side of the vaginal canal, physical alterations in an aroused woman’s genitals are less obvious than those that occur in the penis.

The vestibular bulbs respond to sexual stimulation in a similar fashion to the male’s spongy tissues, but as the vestibular bulbs swell with blood, the walls of the vaginal canal dilate and expand inward rather than outward. The changes that take place can be imagined as a sort of internal erection and can be felt with the fingertips or the sensitive tip of the penis.

Over extended periods of stimulation, the entire clitoral system will expand and cause visible transformations to occur outside the body as well. The vulva will swell with pleasure, and the clitoris will assume a position pointing outward and upward, due to the
erection of the clitoral shaft, located most easily during arousal by pressing the clitoris in and slightly upward, toward the pubic mound.

Apply pressure to either side of the clitoris (again, ideally during arousal), and you will notice that the shaft divides, creating the clitoral legs, or crura. The crura flare out from the clitoral shaft and run between the inner and outer lips, permitting women to experience clitoral pleasures without actually making direct contact with the tender button itself.

The clitoral erection is accompanied by the phenomenon of self-lubrication. Two small round glands, known as the Bartholin’s glands, are located on either side of the entryway to the vagina. The duct of each gland emits a slippery secretion on the surface of the vulva. The activity of the Bartholin’s ducts, along with the self-lubrication of the vagina, indicates heightened sexual arousal in most women. As these titillating phenomena take place, the vulva flushes darker shades of red, pink, purple, or black, depending on skin tone. A similar display of sexual excitement also occurs in men. All such visible transformations are subtle signals of enhanced sensitivity and receptivity to touch. During the Paradise Found Sexual Ceremony, when lovers enjoy prolonged periods of worshiping one another, these subtle signals of heightened sexual arousal become increasingly evident.

This leads us to the most obvious signal of heightened sexual arousal, the phenomenon of ejaculation, which directly correlates to the prostate gland. The male prostate gland is a spongy network of erectile tissues with a distinct chestnut-like shape that surrounds the base of the urethra. Its position in the body—adjacent to the wall of the rectum, approximately 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) inside the anus—
is the main reason the male prostate gland remains shrouded in mystery and shame. Many heterosexual men are not “anal friendly” and commonly refrain from exploring the pleasures of prostate stimulation for fear of being considered or even “turning into” a homosexual. The only way to locate or stimulate the male prostate gland directly is to hurdle the taboo of anal penetration. Prostate stimulation should be enjoyed as a natural source of heightened pleasure, no matter one’s sexual orientation. The gland and its relation to anal health and pleasure is explored further in the chapter “
The Anthems of Anal Sex: From Hygiene to Heavenly Pleasures
.”

From a purely clinical point of view, the male prostate gland produces, stores, and emits a clear alkaline substance that makes up part of the ejaculate fluid that is commonly called semen. Male prostate fluid is known to guarantee favorable procreative conditions by protecting the sperm as they travel toward the outside world. It also gives semen its characteristic viscosity and color.

The fact that women have an organ that corresponds to the male prostate as well as the capacity to produce and emit ejaculate fluid has been long repressed, shunned, and even denied. But pre-Judeo-Christian art, architecture, literature, and artifacts indicate that the phenomenon of female ejaculation was once considered a natural and integrated—if not sacred—aspect of female pleasure. It was not until the 1970s that sex researchers began to study this organ and its functions more seriously.

By 1981, the female counterpart of the male prostate was finally scientifically proven to exist, and it was given its first name—the urethral sponge—by Carol Downer, the founder of the Federation of Feminist Women’s Health Centers (FFWHC) and her colleagues. But it was not until 2001 that the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology finally gave the organ its official name: the female prostate.

Like the male prostate, the female prostate is composed of a network of erectile tissues, ducts, and paraurethral glands that surround the base
of the urethral canal. Though the female prostate is smaller and more elongated in comparison to the male prostate gland, it makes up for its size by being composed of nearly three times the number of glands and ducts. The primary function of the female prostate is similar to that of its male counterpart—that of manufacturing, storing, and emitting ejaculate fluid. The chemical composition of this fluid is alkaline, just like that produced in the male prostate. The largest gland associated with the female prostate is the Skene’s gland, located on either side of the urethral opening. It works with numerous other glands that lie deeper inside the spongy structure to produce this fluid.

The most tangible manifestation of the female prostate is a slightly raised, irregular, almond-shaped mass of erectile tissue located on the upper anterior (front) wall of the vaginal canal, approximately ½ inch to 2 inches (2 to 5 centimeters) from the vaginal opening. It is more commonly known today as the infamous and ever-so-generous G-spot. The G-spot is the crown of the female prostate, the root of the clitoral system, and the key to female emission. It was given its name by the sex researchers Beverly Whipple and John D. Perry in honor of Dr. Ernst Grafenberg, who had, already by 1950, associated the sensitive spot with enhanced female pleasure.

In 2008,
BBC.com
posted an article entitled “The Female G-spot ‘Can Be Detected,’ ” reporting that an Italian scientist had made the discovery with ultrasound. I remember saying out loud to myself, “You don’t need an ultrasound to find it, Sherlock—just use your fingers!” I bookmarked the article and forgot about it until almost exactly two years later, when my e-mail in-box overflowed with messages from friends, colleagues, and clients who wanted to call my attention to an article posted by the same source that was entitled “The G-Spot ‘Doesn’t
Appear to Exist,’ Say Researchers.” The journalist had failed to cite any details of the clinical research that had proven the contrary thirty years prior, but they did contact Dr. Beverly Whipple, a major figure in the research.

Whipple defended the cause of the G-spot, the existence of which she had worked so hard to prove, by stating that the research in question, which was performed only on sets of twins, was “flawed.” She also said that it “discounted the experiences of lesbian or bisexual women and failed to consider the effects of having different sexual partners with different love-making techniques.” I felt that it would have been appropriate if she had finished her statement with “Amen,” or, rather, “Awomen!”

Both my research and my personal experience allowed me to reassure the women who contacted me after stumbling across this article, and who consider the effects of G-spot stimulation to be the highlight of their sexual pleasures, that they were totally healthy and actually ahead of the curve in terms of their sexual expression. We are all different, and there is no “right” way to obtain sexual pleasure. While the field of sexuality is rife with contradictions, we cannot deny clinical research any more than we can negate the testimonies of real women and their partners. Every woman has a G-spot (no matter how small or large) and therefore the possibility to reap the pleasure it can provide. Even if a woman has yet to unveil the powers of her own G-spot, its existence should not be ignored any more than it should become a source of anxiety. After all, as Beverly Whipple implied in her comments to the journalist from the BBC, what I call PGO (predominantly genitally oriented) sex is not conducive to the pleasures of the G-spot, which requires extended periods of arousal and direct contact for a positive response.

The G-spot becomes turgid and easy to locate when a woman is sexually aroused, with a finger, the sensitive tip of the penis, or any other object that may be used to penetrate the entryway to the vaginal canal. Being that most women consider the raised area that
represents the G-spot to be the most sensitive area of their genitals, it should not be approached before the signals of heightened arousal have fully manifested. The enlargement of the G-spot, along with the dilation of the inner walls of the vagina and enhanced lubrication, is one of the most obvious signals of heightened arousal.

Some women’s G-spots are larger or more defined than others, and, like the clitoris, once the G-spot has risen to the occasion, it is also surprisingly resilient and receptive to being stroked. If the woman in question is massaged with skillful intent and she is relaxed enough to abandon herself to its powers, the G-spot orgasm may manifest. Over extended periods of arousal, the paraurethral glands and ducts that comprise the female prostate become engorged with ejaculate fluid, and direct stimulation of the G-spot may provoke emission. When the ejaculation reflex is prompted, the fluid produced in the female prostate exits the body through the urethra, not through the vagina, in unmistakable jets and streams. The quantity of the fluid emitted can range from a few drops to much more, depending on the levels of arousal, awareness, and abandonment of the woman.