10 things you did not know about Orgasm-MaryRoach-Review
This is the review of the talk presented by Mary Roach, titled, 10 things you did not know about Orgasm.
You can watch the complete talk at TED.COM
The Objective of the Speaker is very vague, lacked Research substantiation, confuses the listener with adept use of Jargon and medical vocabulary that aren’t called for, too many off tangent spokes, not a clear attempt to render justice to TED audience.
The speaker defines Orgasm to be a reflex of the Autonomic Nervous System, without defining well as to what the Autonomic Nervous System really does.
This very introduction will throw the common listener through the roof. We all know that all of the experiences that are associated with the human body is controlled by the Brain.
Injustice to the topic
Then one questions to wonder, why would the Speaker introduce a flamboyant experience such as achieving an Orgasm by merely reducing it to be a reflex of the Autonomic Nervous System, without rather putting some ground work, such as defining what a Orgasm is, the difference between a Male and a Female Orgasm, if it be a female Orgasm, then the types of female Orgasms that exists.
The two powerful Orgasms that women can experience, the two non-powerful Orgasms that women can experience, what is PVI-Orgasm and how it is different from Clitoral stimulated Orgasm.
Why PVI Orgasm is very intense and reasons for it being the Top Orgasm that women prefer, why most women consider self stimulation as gross, the dangers of Masturbation.
Of course, there are many other connected questions, now these are just a few. Questions are the best way to understand and address a Topic such as this.
After all, Time is the most precious commodity, and if you want someone to open your site, wait for it to load and then listen to the content that you are presenting, then at least give them some value, instead of putting up a show of know all and done all, we have Hollywood and Bollywood for that, who would put up a great show that would have little content value to take home.
The very reason, people come to TED, is knowledge, and let knowledge be delivered without bias, adulteration and misquoted facts and irrelevant data that can steer the topic off tangent.
For the Reader’s Benefit
For the benefit of the reader, the Autonomic nervous system (ANS), is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies smooth muscle and glands, and thus influences the function of internal organs.
The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiration, Sexual arousal, just to name some.
Now since the topic of interest here is Orgasm, we shall reserve our discussion to first understanding Sexual arousal.
The Sexual Arousal
Sexual arousal is defined to be the initiation that starts in anticipation or in preparation for fruition of a sexual act. These initiatives are physiological actions that occur in the body as well as in the mind.
When a male sees a female, his instantaneous response would be an erect penis, at least in most males. But in case of a female, it may result in engorged, nipples, vulva, clitoris, vagina accompanied with vagina lubrication.
Sexual stimulation results in sexual arousal which reaches its climax. This climax is called as Orgasm. The power of Orgasm is multidimensional and there are many types of Orgasms that women can achieve, but to reduce Orgasm as merely a reflex of the ANS, shows immaturity as well as the lack of domain knowledge on the part of the Speaker.
Just to obtain a better understanding of the power of Orgasm, we wish draw in the attention of the reader to an example.
Relative illustration
Do you know the amount of energy that goes in when you utter a word? The answer is nothing. Yes, that is right. Though theoretically there are ways to calculate the energy expenditure involved in shouting out a word, but practically no such method exists.
That would mean, it is safe to say, by uttering a word, there is no Energy Expenditure, that would in turn mean, no money spent, for all energy is money dependent.
Unless you eat, you will have no energy. For eating to occur, you need money to purchase the food of your choice. For only a healthy diet can produce a healthy you with energy and vitality.
So coming back to the point, with no energy required to utter a word, and no money spent on this energy, we can safely assume that we have given rise to a philosophical proverb, that “Nothing produces something”.
“Fire” and “Peace”
Moving on, just imagine these two words, “fire” and “Peace”, being in the arsenal of a Captain of a certain army, who are facing a standoff by the peasant community who had blocked the roads asking for the better living conditions.
The Captain has a choice, he can utter the word “fire”, to his army rank, and bring Armageddon of destruction on the peasants or adopt resolve the situation by uttering the word, “Peace”, and initiate a discussion.
It is the same breadth that goes into uttering these two words but there are different consequences and results that would follow. One brings forth, Destruction, while the other brings forth, Growth and Trust.
Why do we need this example?
Orgasm just like other physical motions, where muscle and brain are used, may appear to be the same in comparison to other muscle involved activities, but in reality they have greater dimensional energy latent in them. the Energy when channeled well, leads to creativity and growth in humans.
And to start the talk off with merely grouping Orgasm as a reflex reaction controlled by the ANS just shows the Speaker’s inadequacy, lack of experience and failure to see the multi-dimensional side that are involved during an Orgasm and its after effects.
Speaker’s Biggest Mistake-Mistaken identity
Among the many slips and mistakes that the Speaker commits in her talk, the mistake that breaks the heights of scientific knowledge absence toleration, would be to include an illustration of a pig and then claiming that orgasm has a direct relation in increasing the Farrowing rate.
Foremost, Orgasm experienced by Humans is not on the same level as orgasm experienced by Animals. An animals starts up with weeds and ends up with weeds, but a Human starts up with weeds and ends up with a Garden.
Secondly even to have an illustration such as this goes only to show the lack of anatomical knowledge on the part of the Speaker to distinguish between Man and beast.
Many types of Orgasms and to confuse one with other is a crime
The Speaker cites isolated cases of women having orgasms while stroking Eyebrows and while brushing and while having a tram ride. The Speaker fails to understand that Visualization plays a vital part in all these cases.
More so, these orgasms cannot be taken to be as orgasms with intense. You can think yourself into the situation and there is nothing laughable but an introspective thought study process into the power of the Human Mind.
The isolated illustration of a woman-subject having orgasm during brushing her teeth, and the attempted mockery of the woman-subject by the Speaker’s use of phrases such as this, “And the amazing thing to me is that you would think this woman would have excellent oral hygiene”, makes one to question the objectives of the Speaker in choosing this topic, with superimposing opinions not just in this case but is spread all through her talk.
Key Reference missed-Orgasm thru’ External Stimulation
At this point we wish to mention here that the Speaker missed a vital point while mentioning about achieving Orgasm through External stimulation.
Apart from the conventional one, there is this other way to achieve Orgasm, which most women would consider intense and pleasurable and that would be through the External stimulation of the Clitoral area (Butler, 1976; Clifford, 1978; Davidson & Darling, 1989; Hite, 1976).
The Speaker suddenly goes off tangent into mentioning the works of Theodoor van De Velde, the author of “Ideal Marriage”, who claims to have known the differentiation between the semen of young men and that of matured men.
The question to ask here would be, How is this mention, relevant to Orgasm or even to the title of the talk?
What the Speaker Missed ?
The Speaker missed to mention the key point in achieving Orgasm, and that would be, achieving Orgasm through Intercourse. In fact, it is this Orgasm that is considered to be most pleasurable aspect in an Intercourse, by women and the irony is, not many women can achieve this.
Two important questions are left unanswered by the Speaker, had the speaker even attempted to achieve at least part of these unanswered questions during her talk, then for sure, there is a huge justification to the talk.
Two important unaddressed questions on Orgasm
If there are things that can be considered as important for attaining an overall understanding of the topic, then it should be these questions.
The questions are, How many women can achieve Orgasm during a sexual intercourse? and How frequently can these occur?
Taking this further, It is imperative to understand that when it comes to experiencing Orgasm, there are three things to consider, and these are, the Quality of the Orgasm achieved, the Health implication and finally the desirability. None of these even made it in the Speaker’s presentation.
According to Sigmund Freud (1905), Orgasm achieved through Penile Virginal Intercourse (PVI) is developmentally mature and even more superior to Orgasm obtained through Clitoral stimulation.
But Sigmund Freud’s stand was challenged by Masters and Johnson (1966), who claimed that all orgasm are physiologically identical regardless of the method used to obtain.
But Recent research doesn’t agree with this theory from Masters and Johnson (1966) and had spotted many flaws.
The Upsuck theory flaws
We also see and hear the Speaker quoting Masters and Johnson (1966), time and again, with regard to the Upsuck theory and how they didn’t buy into the theory and instead performed an experiment involving bringing women into labs and fitting them with cervical caps containing artificial semen.
And this eventually required every women to masturbate and found that their experiment was a disaster. They failed to understand the difference between an act performed in conjunction between two complex natural systems occurring inside the human bodies and those simulated in the labs.
The Flaw
The Work performed by Masters and Johnson (1966), had a huge problem, they required the women to Masturbate and this changes the entire equation for the experiment.
Why? Because, for the Upsuck theory to function effectively, the required muscles are not getting stimulated.
Masters and Johnson’s (1965, 1966) conclusion that all female orgasms are more or less the same may have been a result of their methods of inquiry. Not only did they use a rigid glass insertable to allow for internal filming, but in many experiments they inserted metal specula.
This, crucially,covered areas of the anterior vaginal wall now regarded as especially sensitive and important in orgasm (Komisaruk & Sansone, 2003; Komisaruk et al., 2004).
Limited understanding of the anatomy on the part of Masters and Johnson (1966) may also have contributed to the view that all female orgasms are much the same.
But, Research reveals that the clitoris is a much larger and more complex organ than commonly assumed (Dickinson, 1949; O’Connell, Hutson, Anderson, & Plenter, 1998; O’Connell, Sanjeevan, & Hutson, 2005).
Unlike intercourse, masturbation typically only involves stimulation of what should be more properly termed the glans of the clitoris (O’Connell et al., 1998).
Clitoris is not the only sensitive part
But, the visible external tip of the clitoris is not the only site of female sexual sensitivity. Even women who have had all the outer labia and clitoris removed still, surprisingly, experience orgasm (Lightfoot-Klein, 1984, 1989).
For example, Levin (1991; 2006) noted that compared to clitoral Stimulation, PVI [Penile Vigina Intercourse] stimulation involved a greater number of stimulated organs.
Nerve impulses from these stimulated organs reach the brain by a different set of nerves than those of clitoral orgasms and the subsequent actions that follow are way different.
In short, the Speaker has not read the Literature Review well. lacks detail domain input.
Tons of Irrelevant Examples
Then again, the Speaker cites an irrelevant example as to how in Denmark, the Danish National Committee for Pig Production found out that if you sexually stimulate a sow while you artificially inseminate her, you will see a six-percent increase in the farrowing rate.
The much needed question to ask here would be, How relevant is this to the topic? Is the speaker trying to insinuate that Pigs and Humans are same, when it comes to sex?
Towards the end of the speech, the speaker again cites, Masters and Johnson (1966) work, which would be to figure out the entire human sexual response cycle, from arousal, all the way through orgasm, in men and women.
They (Masters and Johnson) developed an artificial coition machine. This is basically a penis camera on a motor, attached to a motor that is kind of going like this.
And the woman would have sex with it. What the speaker failed to mention that the Experiment was a failure. Failure because, the Apparatus had no way in understanding the senses perception of a woman and as how to please her.
Secondly, Masters and Johnson (1965, 1966) did not detect any uterine peristalsis effect, regarded by some as a distinguishing feature of some orgasms (Fox, Wolff, & Baker, 1970) having effectively sidelined potentially crucial evolved physiologies of Males and Females
Conclusion
In the interest of Time, Research hours spent and Money involved, we would prefer to conclude here. In short, the Speaker starts off confidently but does not do justice to the talk title.
Neither does she focuses on key issues that would benefit women and men and move research further. Instead, the talk appeared more of a baby sitting routine for those who have the luxury of time to waste and to laugh at every nonsensical utterance of illustration that are noway connected to the Topic at all.
The Topic within itself offers a huge potential for research and understanding. But the Speaker killed it with irrelevant examples and opinionated emphases with little to no domain knowledge of the subject. Often seen to include views of self rather basing the presentation on Research and Proofs.
