A 1954 Theory of Female Orgasm - A Journal Article I Read
Welcome back to An Article I Read, where I summarize a scientific article relating to female orgasm (check all the past ones out HERE). I have a bunch of to-be-summarized articles in a folder, and I was feeling a bit motivated to write some article reviews, so I picked the first one and decided to go for it. It's first in the list because they have the publish year at the front of the file title, and this one was published in 1954.
So, it's old. You'd think an article this old wouldn't be that relevant, but I think it actually provides a great look into the world of lady-gasm science - a window into why this not particularly complicated science continues to seem deeply tangled and confusing. Specifically, it contains all the same hang-ups and logic circumventing that still exist today surrounding the desperate need to justify and explain the existence of a vaginal orgasm whilst faced with strong evidence against it (and mere hearsay for it).
Some Considerations Concerning Orgasm in the Female. Marmor, J. Psychosomatic Medicine. Vol. 16 No. 3 (May 1954), pp. 240-245.
MY QUICK SUMMARY
This is an article written by an MD in the height of the Freudian -vaginal orgasms are mature and clitoral orgasms are immature- era. Overall, this doctor agrees with Freud's assessment that the female orgasm does mature over time, but not about the because of, ya know, anatomy and reality, he also agrees that it couldn't possibly make sense that there are 2 different pathways for the female orgasm or that there is some kind of actual movement of a female's orgasmic sensitivity that begins in the clitoral glans and then relocates into the vagina (as is suggested by Freud and Freudian thinkers). He is a medical professional and knows that 1. the vagina just really does not seem to have the sensitivity or receptors to elicit the orgasmic response; 2. that the clit is homologous to the penis and that sensibly the clitoral glans would react quite similarly to the glans penis when it comes to orgasm; and 3. that the glans clitoris does indeed have the same nerve set up as the glans penis (only packed into a smaller glans).
So, he asserts that the female does not in fact make an anatomical transition from the clit to the vagina (aka clitoral orgasm to vaginal orgasm) as she matures. Instead he suggests that since that physical transition is impossible, it must be more of a psychological transition. Basically, he grabs onto the idea that during intercourse, the clitoral glans must certainly get a little stimulation too (that's a big ol' MAYBE, but Lordy people cling to the idea of indirect stimulation of the clit while getting banged). This indirect stimulation, he asserts, mixed with the emotional/psychological openness and intensity that a mature woman receives from a loving partner during intercourse is what give this more whole-bodied, deeper, better orgasm we call the "Vaginal Orgasm."
Without that emotional/psychological openness and intensity that can be achieved during the penis-vagina interlocking, he asserts that a female would need way more direct physical stimulation on the clit. In other words the clitoral glans is always needed for a female orgasm no matter what, but if she gets fucked and is mentally and emotionally on-point, then the indirect stimulation is enough to give her an orgasm. In fact that getting-banged orgasm is even better because the mental/emotional element is so amazing that the orgasm will be more amazing than she could get from directly stimulating the clit. That direct stimulated orgasm doesn't have the closeness of the penis-in-vagina situation, and it's just the boring ol' localized orgasm we know as the "Clitoral Orgasm."
I like this try. So, basically, this man knows (because it's pretty obvious and there's been clear evidence to support for a long time) that female orgasm is based on clitoral glans area stimulations as much as the male's orgasm is based on penile glans stimulation. He's not any stupider about this stuff than anyone in the 60's, 70's 80's or Today. I mean - this was even before Master's and Johnson's research really solidified that knowledge in the scientific community. It's basic and hard to ignore. Yet, he's REALLY trying to logic his way around this to still find his way to there being a vaginal orgasm. He's trying to tell us that it's clear ladies need clitoral glans area stimulation in order to orgasm, but ya know, the thing that's even better than that - is to not stimulate it very much at all, like just VERY indirectly. In fact don't even worry about that too much. Just get over all your sexual psychological hang-ups, be with a loving partner, and then just let his penis fuck your vagina. Everything else will fall into place and actually, you know what? It's actually THE BEST orgasm because of some the undefined psychological/emotional of the excitation. Aaaand...if you can't do it that way, and have to have direct clitoral stimulation, it's cool. You're just too hung-up and inhibited to get it THE BEST way.
It's beautiful to me because it's the same shit different day. I do believe he has good intentions. I really actually do. He's just of his time. He quite rightly mentions how the culture gives women sexual hang-ups that could block their sexuality in ways it doesn't men (see, we've always known it). And at the end he basically says there's a lot of women worried about not having vaginal orgasms. They may even urge their partners away from their clit for that reason, but they shouldn't. Foreplay is good and important and the clit is needed for the mature "vaginal orgasm" they are wanting during intercourse. So, he's at least giving proper props to the clit. But, in the end, he can't stray from the idea that having a penis move in and out of the vagina is a way that women can orgasm too. Because, let's be honest - it would be soooo convenient if intercourse - the very thing that gave men direct continued stimulation to their glans penis, something that is a bedrock of hetero sex, something that dudes seem to really like - if that thing just magically gave females the same orgasmic possibilities it gave men too? Wouldn't it be easy-peasy for dudes? Wouldn't ladies love it too - to not have the hassle of trying to get their partner to acknowledge and appropriately react to their orgasm needs too? Wouldn't life be easy?
That my friends is the issue. We are stuck on that hope. REALLY stuck.
Same shit different day. This 1954 MD knew how women orgasm, and he knew there's no evidence it was from the vagina getting a good bang, but he clung to the possibility that -'weeeelll, actually it probably does happen, though.' He went with clinging to an undefined level of emotional connection and psychological openness as the thing we're missing. But, many more have tried. Before this guy (and honestly, well after him too), it was oft said that the walls of the vagina itself were what could be stimulated to orgasm. This was known as nonsense early, but also clung to. This guy's angle was the whole psychological Freudian thing. When those two things went out of vogue, and one couldn't shove that nonsense down women's throats anymore, feminists and their insistence on the myth of the vaginal orgasm had a short, beautiful heyday in the 70's. It was short lived, though. They were quickly minimized. Even today otherwise sex positive progressives will call these women radicals for their over-emphasis on the clitoral orgasm over the vaginal one. Luckily, for the ladies-orgasm-from-a-fuck advocates, the G-Spot hit the scene in the early 80's and that was the new thing everyone clung to. It was a magic button we hadn't previously known about in the vagina that caused 'Vaginal Orgasms' (or whatever popular term was being used for an orgasm from a penis). Strangely the interesting info learned about the ejaculation and the G-spot at that time (and still today) was largely ignored or minimized in service of the idea that it could cause an orgasm. The G-spot as a orgasm button never had any sensible evidence and in the past 40 years has been refuted so many times it finally just recently went out of vogue too, but not before there was a solid replacement. Today, again with no actual evidence, the 'vaginal orgasm' is explained by the 'inner clitoris.' You might hear it as the clitoral complex or clitoral legs or the clitourethrovaginal CUV complex, but it's just the new hope for a newly discovered magical thing in the vagina to convince people women can orgasm from the ol' in and out. Same shit different day.
Anyway, that's what I found most interesting about this article. It shows the through-line of desperate logic circumvention that researchers and 'sexperts' have fed us over the years to justify the idea that banging a woman can make her come. Secondly, though, I found another aspect interesting. It proves to some extent something I see people disregard often - that professionals understood the important basics of female orgasm, the role, extent, and impressive glans nervature of the clit, long before feminists were saying it and way before the contemporary discussion of it. That knowledge, though, (both then and now) gets minimized, ignored, skewed, and smoothed over in an effort to never fully negate the hopes and screw-brained illogical justifications of vag-gasms and their champions.
THE ARTICLE SUMMARY
Some Considerations Concerning Orgasm in the Female. Marmor, J. Psychosomatic Medicine. Vol. 16 No. 3 (May 1954), pp. 240-245.
In these summaries, you can assume that anything I write is a genuine attempt to reflect what is said in the paper - even if it's shortened or summarized. My opinions, if I have any to add will either be inside brackets likes these [me:], or in a section headed in a way that clearly lets you know these are my opinions. All quotes are from this article unless specifically noted.
You can check out the list of all the past 'A Journal Article I Read' Summaries HERE.
Intro
A lot is known about male orgasm but less about female, some likely reasons are that you can see the ejaculation which is related to a male orgasm but it's harder for females themselves or an observer to identify the female orgasm. There's also all the quite harsh taboos women feel about their sexuality. Of women, it says, "One might speculate as to whether their very sensory perceptions of the process, having developed in the crucible of these conventions, have not been affected in such a way as to interfere with the accurate evaluation of their own sexual reactions."
Freud's Concept of Genital Erogenicity
"...most psychoanalytical concepts about the physiology of the female orgasm date back to Freud's classic formulation in his 'Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex.'" Basically Freud asserted that the erotic genital center for females is at first in the clitoris (an immature phase) but should transfer to the vagina, and so orgasm in the healthy mature woman should be due to vaginal rather than clitoral stimulation. If this sensitivity transfer does not take place, it leads to 'frigidity' or 'anesthesia'. Freud believes this is due to "profuse sexual activities in infantile life."
Some researchers named Horney [ME: hilarious, am I right?] and Lorand propose it's possible vaginal sensation may be present in childhood, "but the conclusion that clitoral sensitivity must ultimately give way to vaginal sensitivity in the normal female seems never to have been seriously questioned in the psychoanalytical literature."
This Freud hypothesis was based on common clinical observations. Masturbation in the young female is generally centered on the clit. "Frigid" women who can't come from vaginal stimulation often do seem to orgasm fine from clitoral stimulation. Also. "women who seem to have achieved the greatest degree of sexual freedom and responsiveness are able to have orgasms freely through vaginal intercourse." "most observers" report clitoral orgasm is a localized response and vaginal orgasms "seem to be a more violent, intense, and generalized reaction." [ME: i.e. clit-gasms are immature and weak and lame and only genital. Vag-gasms are amazing, mind-blowingly intense and whole-bodied. I just want to point out that the Freud immature vs. mature theory is relatively outdated, but the idea of vaginal orgasm being better and more whole-bodied is still quite strongly with us. Look around at how modern information often describes it. Also those "common clinical observations" don't have references attached. Miiiiight be a bunch of trash and hearsay.]
"Although these clinical observations seem well authenticated [ME: Do they?], recent studies have thrown doubt on their theoretical interpretations, and specifically upon the hypothesis of the transfer of erogenicity from the clitoris to the vagina. Evidence has accumulated in recent years to indicate that in the normal adult woman clitoral excitation by the penis in the process of intercourse is an important factor in the stimulation leading to orgasm." [ME: When they say clitoris in this article, they mean the clitoral glans and surrounding externals tissues. I have to make this clear since people are now way into thinking that the "inner legs" of the clitoris are what actually causes orgasms. Spoiler: We've been lied to. There's no Evidence for that]. One study indicated that a shorter distance from the clit to the vagina (so the penis might have a better chance of touching it while thrusting) is correlated to higher possibility of having intercourse orgasms. Another researcher, Robert Latou Dickenson, disagrees with this assessment, but does believe stimulation of the clit is essential to female orgasm. "In his opinion, the most reliable index to clitoral function is not its location so much as its susceptibility to displacement during intercourse." [ME: you might say he's suggesting that it's more about if that clit can position itself to consistently grind against something during the banging - and I can get behind that idea]
More evidence, though indirect, of the importance of the clit in sex comes from looking at common sex positions. Some researchers found face-to-face sex, which affords possible clit stimulation is most popular throughout the world. The Kinsey studies found woman on top face to face to be what people considered best for lady-gasms. Another researchers found doggy style [ME: They used the term coitus-atergo, which I had to look up and kinda sounds awesome], is not preferred in any more than 35 societies they studied, and suggested it may be because clit stim is minimal.
"Most significant of all, however, are histological studies in females of the sensory cells known as the genital corpuscles, which 'are highly specialized end-organs for the perception of this particular sensation (i.e. orgasm) just as the retinal is adapted for the sense of sight and the neuro-epithelium of the nose is adapted for the sense of smell.'10 These histological studies indicate that the genital corpuscles do not occur in the vaginal mucosa and are confined predominantly to the glans clitoridis.10 Some are also found in the areas directly adjacent to the clitoris, notably the labia minor."
Importance of the Clitoris
This all means the main organ for erotic sensation in females is the clitoral glans just as in males it is localized in the homologous [ME: they arise from the same tissue in the embryo] organ, the glans penis. The penis shaft and the vagina are lacking in these genital corpuscles. There are other secondary erogenous zones of course, like lips, butt, etc. and their importance is well known.
"There are kinesthetic receptors within the vagina, the stimulation of which by the erect penis contributes to volumptuous sensations to the normal woman. [ME: I have no idea what voluptuous sensations are] There are similar receptors in the bulbocavernous muscles around the lower end of the vagina which contribute a sense of ejaculation during orgasm by the spasmodic pulsations. The contractions of these muscles in the male cause actual ejaculation of semen from the penis during orgasm. [ME: This statement is interesting because it acknowledges a few things 1. that the bulbocavernous muscles - now called bulbospongiosus muscle- in both males and females spasm -one might say contract rhythmically- during orgasm. This was over 10 years before Masters and Johnson released their groundbreaking research on this topic which tells me that basic understanding of orgasm was pretty clear well in the past. It is interesting that they describe that as giving a 'sense of ejaculation' in females but I guess that's just because it's a spasm like the kind that shoot the semen out in spurts. 2. that it recognizes that the bulbocavernous muscles which cover the vestibular bulbs in females. This is of note because the vestibular bulbs are what O'Connell, in her 1998 paper, asserted should be included in our definition of the clitoris - even though it is a different organ and other anatomists would disagree. That paper is what people often assert 'discovered the full structure of the clit in 1998.' It did not. I have a whole thing on that idea and that paper HERE. Anyway, there is a sense that people didn't know about the inner parts of the clitoris or the vestibular bulbs before 1998, but they absolutely did and this is just 1 of many evidence of that.]
This knowledge of the clit's importance in adult women calls into question the idea of the clit to vagina sensation shift that's supposed to take place, but before discussing that further the knowledge of the male anatomy should be examined
"It is accepted fact that in the male there is an orgastic spinal center in the sacral segment of the spinal cord. As can be demonstrated from the evidence of neurophysiology, discharges of tension in this orgastic center can be achieved either at a reflex spinal level or by cortical stimulation." In the instance of the 'reflex' stimulation, orgasm is simply achieved by stimulation of the genital corpuscles in the glans penis. In the instance of the 'cortical' stimulation, orgasm is achieved through psychological stimuli - for instance; stimulation of secondary erogenous areas, witnessing exciting events, erotic literature, fantasy, daydreaming - even with no physical stimulation of the penis. In some neurotic men, extreme anxiety or tension has been observed to cause orgasm. [ME: this does not have any references, so take as you will]
However, in the normal "from a psychodynamic standpoint" male, both 'reflex' and 'cortical' stimulus are needed. The cortical stimulus (psychological, secondary erogenous zones, etc.) is sufficient for erection but not orgasm. A certain amount of penile glans stimulation, "through the process of intercourse, is necessary. [ME: umm...you can get penile glans stimulation other ways, ya know... but for real - they are obsessed with intercourse. am I right?] This physical excitation is further enhanced in the process of intercourse by the psychological stimulus from the mounting excitement of the partner [ME: aka - this lady's so hot about you climbing on top and jamming it in that it makes you even hotter, baby!]. Under ideal circumstances this crescendo of excitement occurs in both partners simultaneously, and the combination of physical and psychological stimulation finally results in orgasm." [ME: remember this fine assessment of how hot intercourse makes people. This is crucial to their later hypothesis that the psychological hotness of getting banged overcomes the very indirect (you might say barely feel-able) clit stimulation that (maybe) happens during basic in-out sex. the will assert it not only gets a lady to orgasm, but makes her come like a motha-fucka - an amazing, whole bodied, stars falling into your gasping mouth, vaginal orgasm - simultaneously with him, of course].
"In considering the parallel mechanism of orgasm in the female, there is no reason to expect from our knowledge of anatomy and the physiology that the female has two spinal orgastic centers rather than one. On the contrary, it is fair to assume that the female undoubtedly has an orgastic center located in the sacral segment of the spinal cord, exactly as the male has. From neurohistological evidence, it can be shown that the sensory receptors for this spinal orgastic center are the genital corpuscles, located predominantly in the glans clitoris, just as the homologous sensory receptors in the male are confined to the glans penis." [ME: I want to take a quick moment to point out that it is the glans of the clit and to a lesser degree area directly around it - not the clitoral legs and vestibular bulbs that are surrounding the vagina- that contain all this nervature. People are always seeming to forget that when they act like the inner parts of the clit are somehow supposed to cause orgasm as they are jostled indirectly through the vagina and surrounding tissue].
In case people wonder how the tiny clit could play such a sensory role, they quote from Dickinson's 1933 Human Sex Anatomy. He describes how the amount and size of the nerves in the little clit compare strikingly with those in the penile glans. In fact it's "demonstrably richer in nerves than the male glans, for the two stems of the doralis clitoridis are relatively three to four times as large as the equivalent nerves of the penis." [ME: Again, I just want to point out that the quite large nature of the clitoral nerves were known. Granted there are more detailed anatomy studies today, but I've seen people assert that the striking size of the clitoral nerves was not understood until recently and that is disingenuous.]
It's suggested this extremely rich nervature of the clit may explain why women have a greater capacity for multiple orgasms. [ME: There are studies with physical evidence that some males have multiple orgasms as well. It seems like it is when they are able to have orgasms without ejaculation. The multiple orgasm session seems to end when ejaculation finally happens...in case you wondered if males could have multiple orgasms]
Orgiastic Impotence
Even with evidence that females should be as orgasmic as males, they just aren't. One study of 1000 married women showed only 2 of 5 women experience regular orgasms during intercourse, and they say these figures are corroborated by others but don't describe where.
It seems almost inescapable to conclude that there could not possibly be 2 different pathways for female orgasm (vaginal and clitoral) as many have suspected, so one must assume the problem women tend to have with orgasming vaginally must not be physiological - but rather psychological. [ME: or, and hear me out, maybe it's that expecting a woman to orgasm from ramming a dick in her vagina is like expecting a male to come from rubbing his balls. It's dumb, makes no anatomical sense, and you should stop expecting it. So...ya know, maybe it's not psychological or a physiological issues, but a simple user error.]
It's noted that the menstrual cycle may play a part in the female libido, but they don't believe it is related to frigidity.
The psychological factors for females that might affect frigidity are huge - including; "the greater degree of sexual repression and inhibition which our culture imposes upon them, and the envy and hostility to men which stems in part at least from the position of women in an androcentric culture [ME: aka the motha fuckin' patriarchy], are only a few of the factors that interfere with the capacity of women to enter with uninhibited pleasure into a sexual relationship. Fears of being injured by the penis, fears of pregnancy and childbirth, and lack of adequate skill, tenderness, or potency on the part of the male partners..."
This paper is less concerned, however, with the psychology of frigidity (inability to have 'vaginal' orgasms through intercourse), and more concerned with how the element of psychology can help explain what a vaginal orgasm really is - since we know it couldn't be some different physiological pathway from the clitoral orgasm pathway. Specifically, it seems that if there are psychological inhibitions holding a female back from the full capacity to enjoy sexual intercourse, she will still usually be capable of orgasming through direct clitoral stimulation (the 'reflex' stimulus). "On the other hand, if the woman has been able to free herself from the blanket of psychological inhibition, she will be capable of responding through the medium of enhanced cortical excitement (that is, through cortical facilitation) to vaginal intercourse."
The authors tells us ,"as has been pointed out, [ME: from somewhere. no reference.] some stimulation of the clitoris almost invariably occurs in normal vaginal intercourse and is an important factor in the excitation leading to orgasm. The difference between the so-called clitoral and vaginal orgasms, therefore is explicable not in terms of the different origin or location of the orgastic response, but in the different intensity of it and in the degree to which cortical factors are contributory."
In other words, the assertion is that frigidity does not come from the body's inability to transfer sensation from the clit to the vagina, because that seems physiologically impossible, but from the mind's inability to overcome psychological inhibitions. These inhibitions can exist for a woman and still allow orgasm, but only by direct clitoral stimulation. However, these inhibitions must be overcome in order to achieve the enhanced 'cortical' (mental/emotional) excitement that makes the indirect stimulation of the clit during intercourse enough to have an so-called orgasm.
They assert that in both males and females the intensity of the orgasm relates to the degree of psychological excitation present. In the 'purely spinal reflex,' due to the mechanical stimulation of either the penis or the clitoris, the orgasm is generally experienced as a localized and limited reaction. "On the other hand, in both the male and female, the higher the degree of emotional and psychological participation, the greater the degree of cortical facilitation of the spinal discharge, and the more general and intense the orgastic response is." [ME: So, they know stimulating the penis or clit directly can cause orgasm, right? They say it's a lame, lesser one, but one none the less. So, to get a more intense, whole-bodied one, we're told that males and females just need more psychological excitation (more arousal and intimacy), right? Through lack of inhibition and intercourse, right? So...to get this better orgasm, men still get to give their penile glans really good direct stimulations by engulfing it in a vagina, but females get way less clitoral glans stimulation, maybe barely any at all, but they're saying somehow females still should expect the same results as the males. How's that shit make any sense?]
The authors think it would be useful to do electroencephalographic studies of the cortical patterns during intense orgasm.
Extra Genital Orgasm
There are other reactions in the female similar to those in the male. For instance, women too are capable of orgasming without any local genital stimulation. They quote from Dickenson and Beam's study of a thousand marriages. "The records contain instances of orgasm obtained from nipple suction, from nursing a baby, from pressing down (fully dressed ) against another [ME: That's called 'cloths burning' or 'dry humping', and that actually does include genital stimulation, amiright?], from a shampoo at the hands of a male hairdresser, from a look, from a kiss, from touching the eye or ear, from a handclasp, and from a picture or flower which contains no figure and no likeness to a person or scene." [ME: Daaaaaamn - coming from merely looking at picture of a driveway or something. That's a horny motha fucker. Respect if that's you, but I venture to guess one shouldn't count on that doing the trick. And did we ever consider these tales might just be lies women have told their old-timey husbands after they read their wife's diary saying she orgasmsed with Pierre - like 'oh - Pierre's the shampoo boy. I just inexplicably came while he was washing my hair. Strange, huh?' ]
Those non-genital orgasms are ones based on the cortical excitation only, but normally males and females need both cortical (emotional/mental) and reflex simulation (physical stimulation to clit/penis). Also - "In the normal woman, moreover, as in the normal man, the excitement of the partner, and particularly the setting off of his orgiastic reaction, constitutes an intense psychological stimulus for her and often acts as a trigger for her climactic response." [ME: I mean, just goes to show you that the ol' -him coming made me come- story has been around forever to give both males and females alike a way to justify the otherwise quite unrealistic situation of banging, a sexual act that gives the penis great stimulation and the clit little to none, causing simultaneous orgasms.]
"Pursuing the logic of this hypothesis, therefore, we may say that strictly speaking there is no such thing as a 'vaginal' orgasms in the female, anymore than we might speak of 'scrotal,' 'anal,' or 'prostatic' orgasm in the male. It seems logical to assume that the actual spinal mechanism of orgasm is identical in all females."
The variations that take place, however, are due to the level at which inhabitations accompany the physical stimulation. If inhibitions are great enough, they may inhibit even direct clitoral stimulation, and create a total incapacity for orgasm. If it's less inhibition, prolonged direct clitoral stimulation may overcome the inhabition and an orgasm is possible. These are what are known as 'clitoral orgasms.' "However, where cortical inhabitations do not exist, where there is freedom from psychological tension or anxiety in the sexual act, and instead there is a high degree of tender, affection, love, and psychological excitement, then cortical facilitation takes place. The result is an intense orgastic response in which the intromission of the phallus into the vagina is of major importance. This is both psychodynamically and physiologically the optimum type of response, and represents what is ordinarily characterized as a 'vaginal' orgasm."
Conclusion
The reason all this is important is to help people; women, their male partners, and the doctors and psychologists they go to for help. With this new understanding that the clitoris doesn't give sensitivity up to the vagina as women mature, and that the clitoral glans continues to be important to orgasmic response, will help. Anxious women need not worry if their clit is still sensitive past youth and should know that stimulating it is important in their mature, adult sexual experiences. They shouldn't feel that allowing it to be touched is bad or a sign of immaturity. Men should understand the importance of clitoral foreplay, and the doctors and psychologists can use all this information to better counsel women. [ME: see - I do believe this was created out of good intention - old-timey good intention, yes- but none the less I imagine this, for its time, was forward thinking, and I can appreciate that.]
Summary (in entirety)
"Some considerations have been presented which throw doubt on the popular assumption that genital erogenicity in the female becomes normally transferred from the clitoris to the vagina. There is evidence to indicate that clitoral sensitivity is a continuing factor in adult female sexuality, and the chief difference between so-called clitoral and vaginal orgasm is explicable not in terms of the different origin or location of the orgastic response, but in the different intensity of it and the degree to which cortical facilitation of the spinal reaction has taken place."