Education - Erogenous Zone

Erogenous Zone

An erogenous zone is a sexual hot spot - a place that's especially erotic when kissed, touched or fondled. There are many of them, some better known than others, but they've all got one thing in common: They're covered with skin. Skin, in fact, is the body's largest erogenous zone - the only one, really. All of the delicious body messages of sex come to you through the nerve endings that are nestled within your skin.
Some parts of the body, like the clitoris, the tongue and the nipples, have come to be known as erogenous zones because they're more richly endowed with nerve endings and thus more exquisitely responsive to the touch than other body neighborhoods. But the truth is that there's not a nook or cranny of the flesh, from the soles of the feet to the nape of the neck, that can't produce an erotic sigh.
"There is no part of the human body that is not sufficiently sensitive to effect erotic arousal and even orgasm for at least some individuals in the population," the late Dr. Alfred Kinsey observed. No kidding! Among the more than 12,000 people he interviewed for his books, Dr. Kinsey found a hand full of women who could reach orgasm merely by the kissing or fondling of their earlobes, a few men who could reach orgasm if a lover kissed their nipples and several women who could actually climax through the stroking of their eyebrows!
     But it's wrong to think of erogenous zones as rigid, unchanging things, like the switches on a VCR. They may vary considerably from person to person and even vary from one day to the next.
     "Women complain, 'He never varies in what he does!' And the man says, 'But you said that's where you like to be touched!' What's often ignored is that a person may like to be touched one way one day and somewhere else, differently, the next," says sex therapist Shirley Zussman, Ed.D., a director of the Association for Male Sexual Dysfunction in New York City and former president of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists. "The key thing is to be sensitive to your partner, so that you know not only where they like to be touched but how."

Women's Hot Spots

 Generally, all the evidence seems to suggest that compared with men, women tend to be less focused on the genitals and more sensitive to the entire body's potential for sensuous pleasure.
"For most women, being touched and stroked all over is an essential prelude to arousal, perhaps because it takes them longer to become aroused than men," says Dr. Zussman. Still, once you've gotten beyond the tactile generalities, there are certain areas that most women find highly arousing.
The clitoris is an unmistakable erogenous zone in most women. Both the glans (head) and the shaft of the clitoris are highly responsive to the touch - sometimes so much so that it hurts if they're touched too roughly or without lubrication. In a series of now - famous experiments, Dr. Kinsey had five gynecologists using glass, metal or cotton-tipped probes explore the genitals of almost 900 women to find out which areas were most sensitive. Ninety-eight percent of the women could feel the probe touching their clitoris, often evoking erotic feelings of considerable intensity." The clitoris, in other words, is the hot spot of hot spots. The labia minora, the inner lips of the genitals, are richly supplied with nerves, especially on their secret, inner sides. In Dr. Kinsey's studies, 98 percent of the women could feel a touch on either the inner or the outer side of the lips. "As sources of erotic arousal," he observed, "the labia minora seem to be fully as important as the clitoris." The labia majora - the fleshy outer lips - seem to be considerably less sensually sensitive.

The entrance of the vagina is a definite pleasure zone. Most women find the so - called vestibule of the vagina (the funnel shaped area between the inner lips, just above and outside the vaginal opening), as well as the first inch and a half of its interior, to be the sweetest of spots. That's because these areas are richly supplied with nerve endings. Interestingly enough, the deep inner walls of the vagina seem numb by comparison - only 14 percent of the women in Dr. Kinsey's sample could even feel it when the probe gently stroked them there, and relatively few of them said they masturbated by means of deep vaginal penetration. Modem researchers point out, though, that some women are wildly responsive to deep pressure (not light strokes) applied to the roof of the vagina, several inches inside the opening - an area that's come to be called the "G-spot."

The breasts and nipples receive mixed reviews. Many women respond to erotic attentions to the breast and nipples - but an equal number find that being stimulated in these areas either does not lead to arousal or even makes them uncomfortable. Studies have shown that although 90 percent of women say their partners like to kiss or stroke their breasts during sex, only about 50 percent actually enjoy it. Some women find it painful, especially just before or during menstruation, when the breasts may become tender.

What Arouses Men

It's often said that men are more focused on the erotic potential of their genitals, to the exclusion of other body parts, than women are. But even if that generalization is true, it's also true that there's a good deal of variation in the sensitivity of the male genitals from one place to another. For most men, in descending order of pleasure, it goes something like this.

The frenulum (the area underneath and just behind the glans, or head of the penis) is usually the most sensitive spot.

The rim of the glans, sometimes called the coronal ridge, is also highly sensitive all the way around.

The urethral meatus, the tiny slit through which urine passes, is worth investigation.

The shaft of the penis, relative to these other spots, is much less sensitive, and so is the skin of the scrotum.

Also, don't forget the breasts and nipples. Most men (and women) feel - a little funny about the man's nipples being stimulated during sex play - but lots of men are sensitive there. In fact, Dr. Kinsey reported that "there may be as many males as there are females whose breasts are distinctly sensitive."

In Search of the Less Obvious

The mouth, lips and tongue are, of course, one of the body's premiere erogenous zones - something that's known to almost all the higher animals. During sex play, fish, lizards and most mammals win put their mouths on their partners' bodies, sometimes for hours at a time. A stallion mounting a mare will nibble, lick and snuffle her with his mouth and nose almost continuously. (Is it any wonder that in both humans and animals, the two most erotically sensitive places-mouth and genitals - have a habit of coming together during sexual encounters?)

In many men and women, the perineum - the skin between the anus and genitals, the place you'd make contact with if you straddled a fence post-is highly sensitive to touch. Dr. Kinsey found that "many males are quickly brought to erection when pressure is applied on the perineal surface at a point which is about midway between the anus and the scrotum. " This rather secretive spot can be reached by direct pressure with a finger, through the rectum or (in women) by deep penetration of the vagina.

Earlobes become engorged with blood during sex, swelling and becoming increasingly sensitive to touch.

The thin skin on the inner surface of the thigh is richly endowed with nerves, and in some people stimulation of this area makes for an especially arousing adventure. Other erogenous zones - all arousing to some people-include the throat, the armpits, the anus, the navel, the abdomen, the toes and who knows what else?

There may be others known only to your partner (or as yet unknown to him or her) -but you'll never find them until you set out on a Lewis and Clark expedition over the frontiers of your lover's flesh.