Sexual stimulation is anything that leads to sexual arousal or orgasm. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a stimulus.
Sexual stimulation is a broad term, usually understood to mean physical touching of the genitals or other body parts. The term can, however, include stimuli affecting the mind (sexual fantasy), or senses other than touch (such as sight, smell, or hearing). Sufficient physical stimulation of the genitals usually results in an orgasm. Stimulation can be by oneself (masturbation or sexual fantasy) or by a sexual partner (sexual intercourse or other sexual activity), by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods.Based on "masturbation" in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003
Some people practice orgasm control, whereby a person or their partner controls the level of stimulation to prolong the experience leading up to orgasm.
History Sexual intercourse, also referred to as sex, can be traced back to as early as 2 billion years ago, starting with algae and plants. Through fossilized remains of fish embryos, evidence of sexual intercourse similar to that of humans can be found. Whether pleasure was possible amongst species like plants and fish is yet to be determined, but humans have been able to have sex and, in turn, pleasure their partners. This could have started off as a way for the female to get the required reaction from a male in order to become pregnant, but the pleasure from this experience became part of, if not a main reason why, humans have continued to have sex.
As for sexual stimulation, it is only relatively recent that this topic has been studied further. While sex might have always been pleasurable, the way society has treated sex has affected the dialogue surrounding sex. In some civilizations, such as Ancient Rome, sex was used for both pleasure and reproduction, depicted in many forms of art, and was also practiced using restraint and modesty. In the Middle Ages, religious factors affected the way people viewed sex, causing many to abstain out of fear of falling into sin. During these times, hygiene was also poor and plumbing systems were barely there, if at all, which caused disease to be a contributing factor in abstinence. Around the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, the act of sex was not only beginning to surge, but also sex on different levels was being studied. This led to more researchers learning about sexual practices in different cultures, the age when sexual tendencies begin to emerge, factors that affect sex and desire, and the variations in sexual arousal and behaviors.
Since then, sex has been more openly talked about, though it is still not something many are open about. However, research is still being done, and behaviors that were previously seen as shameful (e.g. BDSM, homosexuality, polyamory) are being studied further, which has changed how people see sex and the actions involved that can make it more pleasurable.
Physical sexual stimulation Physical sexual stimulation consists of touching the genitals or other erogenous zones.
Genital
Masturbation, erotic massage, and manual sex are types of physical stimulation involving the genitals. This stimulation is usually from sensitive touch receptors in the skin or other erogenous zones, which detect when they're being touched. Arousal is triggered through these receptors in these body parts, which cause the release of pleasure-causing chemicals (endorphins) that act as mental rewards to pursue such stimulation. Someone may become aroused by simply touching another person, though the bulbocavernosus reflex only occurs when a sexual organ (penis or clitoris) is stimulated.
The purpose of sex toys is to provide pleasure and stimulation through an alternative route than just using people's bodies. They can be used by someone on their own, with partnered sex, or group sex. They can be exciting and provide new types of stimulation that the body cannot produce, such as vibrations.
Remotely app-controlled vibrators and simulators are sometimes used in consensual adult sexual practices. Such use can involve remote partner control and customizable stimulation patterns to enhance heavy play or edge play in BDSM. Companies like Lovense are manufacturing internet connected sexual devices that can be controlled via software, allowing to adjust the stimulation.
Sex toys have been used as a source of sexual stimulation for thousands of years. There have been dildos found from the Palaeolithic era, made of siltstone and polished to a high gloss. Dildos were also made of camel dung and coated with resin. Historians are uncertain whether these have been used for religious rituals or for personal pleasure. however. The ancient Greeks created their dildos from a carved penis covered in leather or animal intestines to create a more natural feel. The Romans created double-ended dildos for use with a partner. Ancient Chinese dildos were made of bronze or other metals and some were hollow allowing them to be filled with liquid to simulate an ejaculation. These were used because wealthy Chinese men would often have too many wives to please. In Persia, it was thought that the blood of the hymen was unclean, and should be avoided by husbands. On the night before a woman's wedding, a local holy man would come and break her hymen with a large stone dildo, a ritual also used to confirm the virginity of the bride.
Non-genital There are many areas through which a person can be sexually stimulated, other than the genitals. For example, the nipples, thighs, lips, and neck can all provide sexual stimulation when touched.
Nipples One study administered a questionnaire about sexual activity to 301 participants and found that 81.5% of women reported that stimulating their nipples caused or enhanced sexual arousal and that 59.1% of them asked to have their nipples stimulated during sex. Furthermore, 51.7% of men reported that nipple stimulation caused sexual arousal, and 39% said that it enhanced their existing arousal. Research using brain-scanning technology found that stimulating nipples in women resulted in the activation of the genital area of the sensory cortex. The research suggests the sensations are genital orgasms caused by nipple stimulation, and may also be directly linked to "the genital area of the brain". In women, one study indicated that sensation from the nipples travels to the same part of the brain as sensations from the vagina, clitoris and cervix. Nipple stimulation may trigger uterine contractions, which then produce a sensation in the genital area of the brain. Thighs In 2012, the California Institute of Technology measured brain responses in heterosexual males as they were having their inner thighs touched whilst being MRI scanned. They were either watching a video of a woman touching their thigh or a man touching their thigh. They reported more sexual pleasure when they thought it was the woman touching them than the man, and this was reflected in their MRI scans with greater arousal of their somatosensory cortex. It can be therefore concluded that the thighs are an area that can cause sexual stimulation when touched. Lips Lips contain a huge number of nerve endings and are considered to be an erogenous zone. Women report experiencing more pleasure from the stimulation of their lips than men do (see below for sex differences in stimulation). In addition to stimulation of the lips by touching, men can be visually stimulated by looking at a woman's lips. It has also been reported that men prefer women with fuller lips because they are an indicator of youth. Neck A sample of 800 participants rated 41 different body parts on their erogenous intensity on a scale of 1–10 (10 being the most arousing). Women reported neck stimulation as being more arousing than men did.
Sex differences in erogenous zones This table shows the sex differences in erogenous zones and includes the top ten most arousing areas for both sexes. Each body part was rated out of ten for how arousing it is when touched. Apart from body parts exclusive to one sex such as the penis or clitoris, many of the erogenous zones are similar and contain many nerve endings. FemalesMalesZoneMeanStandard deviationZoneMeanStandard deviationClitoris9.172.12Penis9.002.50Vagina8.402.35Mouth/lips7.032.68Mouth/lips7.912.27Scrotum6.503.72Nape of neck7.512.70Inner thigh5.843.39Breasts7.352.73Nape of neck5.653.50Nipples7.353.15Nipples4.893.79Inner thigh6.702.99Perineum4.814.10Back of neck6.203.15Pubic hairline4.803.82Ears5.063.40Back of neck4.533.42Lower back4.733.38Ears4.303.50
Internal stimulation The excitation-transfer theory states that existing arousal in the body can be transformed into another type of arousal. For example, sometimes people can be sexually stimulated from residual arousal arising from something such as exercise, being transformed into another type of arousal such as sexual arousal. In one study participants performed some physical exercise and at different stages of recovery had to watch an erotic film and rate how aroused it made them feel. They found that participants who were still experiencing excitatory residues from the exercise rated the film as more arousing than those who had fully recovered from the exercise. This suggests that the remaining arousal from the exercise was being transformed into sexual arousal without any external stimulation.
Alternative routes and responses The human sexual response is a dynamic combination of cognitive, emotional, and physiological processes. Whilst the most common forms of sexual stimulation discussed are fantasy or physical stimulation of the genitals and other erogenous areas, sexual arousal may also be mediated through alternative routes such as visual, olfactory and auditory means. These responses to sexual arousal can be seen in the brain as well.
Visual Perhaps the most researched non-tactile form of sexual stimulation is visual sexual stimulation. An apparent example is the act of voyeurisma practice where an individual covertly watches another undress or engage in sexual behaviour. Although seen socio-historically as an unacceptable form of 'sexual deviation', it highlights the human tendency to find sexual stimulation through purely visual routes. The multibillion-dollar porn industry is another example. A common presumption is that men respond more strongly to visual sexual stimuli than do women. This is perhaps best exemplified by the Kinsey hypothesis that men are more prone to sexual arousal from visual stimulation than are women.Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., Martin, C. E., & Sloan, S. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male.Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In Visual and other pleasures (pp. 14-26). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Nonetheless, both sexes can be sexually aroused through visual stimulation. In one study, visual stimulation was tested by means of an erotic video. Although significantly higher in the male group, sexual arousal was the main emotional reaction reported by both sexes. Their physiological responses to the video also showed characteristics of sexual arousal, such as increased urinary excretions of adrenaline. A subsequent study investigating male arousal showed that men were able to achieve rigid erections through visual stimulation of an erotic film alone.
Studies that use visual stimulation as a means for sexual stimulation find that sexual arousal is predominantly correlated with an activation in limbic and paralimbic cortex and in subcortical structures, along with a deactivation in several parts of the temporal cortex. These same areas are activated during physical sexual stimulation, highlighting how powerful visual stimulation can be as a means of sexual arousal.