(Via Morbid Anatomy)Two disclaimers:
1. I realize it is no longer Valentine's Day. I spent that special day in the warm embrace of my one true love, organic chemistry. We shared a romantic dinner of cold pizza and Chinese delivery -- yes, both: it was a special day, after all -- and muttered sweet nothings about the reactions of carbonyl compounds.
2. I also realize that, having already seen how the physiology text handles race, rousting out its views on gender seems somehow unfair. Still, I decided that the traditions of Valentine's Day dictated that below the belt was fair game, so I went for the low blow. I realize I was not entirely alone in this kind of endeavor. Nor, I am sure, was I alone in my ultimate disappointment with what came after. I was sure that the chapter called "Sexual Functions in the Female" would provide some juicy tidbit of ignorance or chauvinism, so, like a hormone-drenched seventh grader with his new life sciences textbook, I flipped right to the back to look at the good stuff, and maybe learn something important about girls in the process. And as I was those many years ago, so again was I chagrined at the lack of suitable material. So, I apologize for not being able to present anything quite as interesting as the stoic Amerindians of yesteryear. What follows are some quotes that struck me as somewhat noteworthy.
"The Female Climacteric. The term 'female climacteric' means the entire time, lasting from several months to several years, during which the sexual cycles become irregular and gradually stop. In this period the woman must readjust her life from one that has been physiologically stimulated by estrogen and progesterone production to one devoid of these feminizing hormones.... The loss of the estrogens often causes marked physiologic changes in the function of the body, including (1) 'hot flashes' characterized by extreme flushing of the skin, (2) psychic sensations of dyspnea, (3) irritability, (4) fatigue, (5) anxiety, and (6) occasionally various psychotic states. These symptoms are of sufficient magnitude in approximately 15 per cent of women to warrant treatment. If psychotherapy fails, daily administration of estrogen in small quantities will reverse the symptoms..."
Do you get the sense that he's talking about his ex-wife here?
Also, psychotherapy? Seriously? No offense to the brotherhood of St. Sigmund, but I'm not sure that talking to a shrink is going to stop your hot flashes. In fact, the whole passage somewhat reeks of the kind of condescension usually reserved for perceived psychosomatic disorders. Mind over matter, ladies! Readjust your lives to cope with the loss of your breeding potential and that shortness of breath (dyspnea) will melt away. Sure, you're "devoid of these feminizing hormones," and thus the very reason for your existence has been eliminated, but I'm sure there's a bridge club or sewing circle out there for you somewhere.
One wonders if the menopausal female still experiences penis envy. Sorry, it's hard to resist taking swipes at the Freudians. Probably because my parents never loved me.
But Valentine's Day is about the blossoming fertility of young love, not the creeping decrepitude of senescence! Let us turn the page (literally) to see what is said regarding...
"THE FEMALE SEXUAL ACT
Stimulation fo the Female Sexual Act. As is true in the male sexual act, successful performance of the female sexual act depends on both psychic stimulation and local sexual stimulation.
The psychic factors that constitute 'sex drive' in women are difficult to assess. The sex hormones, and the adrenocortical hormones as well, seem to exert a direct influence on the woman to create such a sex drive, but, on the other hand, the growing female child in modern society is often taught that sex is something to be hidden and that it is immoral. As a result of this training, much of the natural sex drive is inhibited, and wheher the woman will have little or no sex drive ('frigidity') or will be more highly sexed probably depends partly on a balance between natural factors and previous training."
I'm not sure what to say about that. So I'll keep reading. Lets' see...
"massage, irrigation, or other types of stimulation of the perineal region, sexual organs, and urinary tract create sexual sensations. The clitoris [italics theirs] is especially sensitive for initiating sexual sensations...."
Hmmm... Blah blah blah nervi erigentes, blah blah blah sacral plexus... mucus, mucus, mucosa...
"The lubrication in turn is necessary for establishing during intercourse a satisfactory massaging sensation rather than an irritative sensation, which may be provoked by a dry vagina. A massaging sensation constitutes the optimal type of sensation for evoking the appropriate reflexes that culminate in both the male and female climaxes."
I wonder who did that research? And what did the grant proposal look like?
But wait. What's this? What does our guidebook have to say about that most mysterious sacrament, that sangraal of intercourse, the female orgasm? Well, a lot (three paragraphs) about how it's probably really important for fertilization, but they're not really sure how or why: "information on this subject is scanty," they conclude.
However, there is one final paragraph, one sentence long, that will also serve to close this post:
"In addition to the effects of the orgasm on fertilization, the intense sexual sensations that develop during the orgasm also pass into the cerebrum and in some manner satisfy the female sex drive."
Hm. Who knew?
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