The Science of Sex

Here’s a between-the-sheets look at everything your health teacher forgot to tell you about the science of sex.

Ladies, Start Your Engines

The female sexual response system is not unlike a car on a cold winter morning. It needs a little time to warm up time if it’s going to function at its best. Sure, you can force it out of the driveway before it’s ready, but it’s not going to be very happy about it. And chances are you’re going to get left high and dry long before you ever make your way over to Orgasm Avenue.

But once that engine has had a chance to warm up, things really start humming. Blood begins pooling in the pelvic region and you become increasingly sensitive and open to stimulation. Almost immediately, your vagina starts to become lubricated—something that guys who use what U.S. sexologist Sandor Gardos refers to as “the dipstick approach” to testing for wetness may mistakenly interpret as evidence that you’re ready to plunge into the main course. (Wrong-o, fella! You haven’t even ordered your appetizer yet!)

And, of course, it’s possible to be thoroughly aroused, but low on lube. If you’re a smoker, you’ve been drinking all night, or you’re taking an antihistamine to battle cold and allergy symptoms, you may have difficulty becoming sufficiently lubricated for sex, in which case a quick pitstop at the drugstore may be in order.

Assuming things are going, well, swimmingly on the lubrication front, your body continues to ready itself for intercourse. (Whether or not that’s what you’ve got on your mind is irrelevant. Your sperm-seeking nether regions are programmed for penetration. Remember, getting you pregnant is your body’s secret mission, whether you’re ready to sign up for the Motherhood Club or not.)

Your girly bits are pretty much on auto pilot by now. Your nipples are erect, your breasts feel fuller than usual, your vagina is expanding and lengthening, your uterus moves up and out of the way so that there will be more room in the vagina for your partner’s penis, and, of course, your clitoris is swollen and erect.

The Main Attraction

What you might not realize is that there’s more to your clitoris than the pink eraser-sized bit that can be found outside your body. According to Em and Lo, authors of The Big Bang: Nerve’s Guide to the New Sexual Universe, the clitoris is actually a three inch long, wish-bone shaped organ that is almost completely hidden inside your body. (Yep. More fun gyno trivia for your next dinner party!)

Anatomy of an Orgasm

Of course, an orgasm-in-the-making is a whole body experience—not just a project taken on by your clitoris: the muscles throughout your body are tensed up and your heart is beating faster. Every inch of you is positively craving release, hoping against hope that the Orgasm Fairy will swing this way tonight.