There are 4 phases in the female sexual cycle: arousal, plateau, orgasm and resolution.
EXCITEMENT
In the process of arousal, blood begins to flow to the external and internal genitals, as a result of which the labia minora increase in size and thicken, their color becomes more saturated. The labia majora also swell due to an increase in the size of the vestibule bulbs located in their thickness. The clitoris also increases in size, but visually you can only notice an increase in its head, which may appear from under the hood, but only in cases when it is small, and the head, on the contrary, is quite large. The hood of the clitoris, being a continuation of the labia minora, may shift slightly upwards during the blood filling process, contributing to the exposure of the head. Thus, there is an erection of the female erectile organ and the labia minora. The tissues become hot to the touch and swollen.
The female sexual cycle consists of four stages: arousal, plateau, orgasm and resolution, and the male one consists of three: arousal, orgasm and resolution.
In parallel with this, the humidification process begins. Two paired bartholin glands located in the thickness of the labia majora at the entrance to the vagina begin to secrete a transparent, very viscous secret – a lubricant. The ducts of these glands open right at the entrance to the vagina at the 5th and 7th hours of the conventional dial in the form of tiny dots. This special lubricant is necessary precisely for the vulvar ring, where the greatest friction takes place, which is why it is so viscous.
In addition to the bartholin glands, the folds of the labia minora on the inside contain many small glands that also secrete a small amount of lubricant. The work of all this “lubricating apparatus” leads to the appearance of moisture in the external genitals. The production of lubricants is impossible without blood filling, which once again indicates the most important role of a full-fledged female erection at the beginning of sexual intercourse.
Changes also occur in the internal genitalia. The uterus changes its position – it unbends and pulls up slightly. There is an active flow of blood to the vascular plexuses surrounding the vagina, this is necessary for the production of the main portion of lubricant, which is obtained by sweating fluid from the venous vessels. In the process of arousal, redness of the face and the decollete area is often observed, breathing becomes faster, sweat appears, the pupils dilate.
This is what a full-fledged phase of arousal looks like, it is in this state that a woman is ready for the introduction of a penis. This is an important point, since often the introduction of the penis occurs at a time when the excitement has not yet reached its full development and the genitals are not yet ready to perceive the sensations that the penetration process gives. With insufficient arousal, a woman may initially experience painful sensations, which not only does not contribute to the increase in arousal, but on the contrary, reduces it. Some women are able not to reduce the level of arousal due to painful sensations at the beginning and “catch up” with the missing state in the process of frictions, but those who are not able to do this continue sexual intercourse without reaching full arousal, not to mention the next stage.
The introduction of the penis into the vagina should occur at the time of full arousal.
PLATEAU PHASE
This phase is pre-orgastic, it is to this stage that most women reach during sexual intercourse and cannot move further. During the plateau, the vagina changes its shape – the so-called orgasmic cuff is formed in the outer third, which represents the local fullness of the venous plexus located in this part of the vagina. This narrows the entrance to the vagina. The remaining two-thirds of it, on the contrary, expand, forming a small reservoir around the cervix. Often, the partner at this moment may feel that the penis is “lost” in the vagina. The clitoris is drawn in, and it is now difficult to find it. If a woman or a man at this moment additionally stimulates the clitoris, the pressure in this area has to be increased. The uterus rises even higher and stretches upwards, while the angle between the vagina and the uterus is smoothed. Due to the fact that an orgasmic cuff is formed at the beginning of the vagina, the penis is compressed more tightly, and this increases pleasant sensations for a man and often at this moment ejaculation occurs. Actually, this may explain the often occurring situation when a woman says that she “just a little bit” did not have enough time to experience an orgasm.
THE ORGASM PHASE
Orgasm is the culmination of a woman’s sexual cycle, in fact, all the previous phases were performed for this purpose. The biomechanics of orgasm are muscle contractions as a result of many nerve impulses released simultaneously, in other words, a release of tension. In fact, an orgasm is a pleasant cramp. During orgasm, contractions of the uterus, vagina, anus occur, and it is also possible to involve all the muscles of the body. The heart rate increases sharply, breathing becomes faster, there is a rush of blood to the upper part of the trunk, which is manifested by redness of the face, neck and chest. Some women may temporarily lose consciousness. As part of the description of the female sexual cycle, it is worth stopping at this, that is, we will limit ourselves only to physiology. Below, when we talk about the difficulties in achieving orgasm, I will tell you in detail what prevents its achievement.
The plateau is a pre-orgastic phase.
Unlike a man, a woman does not have a refractory period after orgasm, that is, she returns to the plateau phase and can, with continued stimulation, get an orgasm again, and so many times, after which a refractory period may already occur.
After reaching an orgasm, a woman returns to the plateau stage and can repeatedly get an orgasm. The refractory period occurs much later in her than in men.
RESOLUTION PHASE
After orgasm, the resolution phase begins. The vagina takes on its former shape, the uterus returns to its place, the clitoris and labia minora decrease in size. The fullness of blood subsides. If there was no orgasm and the woman remained in the plateau phase, the fullness of the genitals can persist for up to 4-5 hours.
This is what the female sexual cycle looks like, which is programmed by nature as a full-fledged automatism, that is, with proper stimulation, all phases pass one by one. However, quite often this automatism begins to be “regulated” by the woman herself, which disrupts the flow of processes in it and leads to a malfunction of this mechanism. We’ll talk about this later. Now it is worth touching on a rather interesting question – whether there is a point G and what it represents.
