The Sexy Science of
Fifty Shades of Grey
Joanna Wilson, D.O.
Board-Certified Internal Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine,
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center
“A rich, handsome man
charms a young innocent
with lavish gifts and bold
declarations of desire. With
a smoldering gaze, he melts
her insides, turns her legs
to jelly and paralyzes her
subconscious, paving the
way for hot sex scenes
while she attempts to crack
his steely veneer.”
CNN
Intriguing book,
but don’t expect a Pulitzer Prize
Distractions
• Redundant
• Poorly edited
• Blatant product placement
Attractions
• Accessible protagonist
• Written in first person
• Brings BDSM to the general
population
• Old erotica formula
• New savvy cover art
Tipping Point:
Erotica For Soccer Moms
• e-readers protect privacy
• Escapism from stressors of life, finances
• Escapism from personal repression
• Expression of taboo fantasies
• Pandemic of low libido in adult women
• Hypersexuality in music, video
Today’s Sexual Schizophrenia
Look sexy without
feeling sexy
Unrealistic goals of
physical perfection
Porn focused on
the male’s
experience
Sexual
competence is
expected but not
taught
Sexy appearance
at any age
TAKING CONTROL
Fantasies
• Normal
– Help turn off the parts of the brain associated with
stress and anxiety
• Women are heteroflexible
– Sexual attraction to women is common in
heterosexual women
• Erotic novels are more arousing to women than
pictures
• Promote exploring different aspects of self and
partner
Snowden, Gray. Archives of Sexual
Medicine
• Restraint, sensory stimulation, role-playing, and a
variety of interpersonal dynamics
• Power Exchange
“Physical manifestation of psychological surrender.”
PAIN IS IN THE EYE OF THE
BEHOLDER
Endorphins: Anastasia’s Anesthesia
• Attenuation- pain perception can be reduced
and nerves can be desensitized
• Endorphins- released by painful stimuli and
orgasms and mimic morphine to reduce pain
Swedish vs. Deep Tissue: Your choice
• Pain thresholds vary person to person
• Interpretation of pain as pleasure may be a
variable of neuronal wiring or provide
psychological relaxation for some people
Timing is everything
• Sexual arousal encourages acceptance of
smells and fluids normally considered
offensive
• Lack of sufficient arousal upon exposure to
offensive substances augments feelings of
repulsion
Borg, Feelings of Disgust and DisgustInduced Avoidance Weaken Following
Induced Sexual Arousal in Women
Play Safely
• www.sexpertslounge.com
• www.twistedmonk.com
safe
sane
consensual
Because spanking can go too far
VERY PERSONAL TRAINING
Why did Christian insist on exercising?
• The pelvic floor muscles which control urine
also contract during orgasm
• Strong muscles prevent urine leakage and
allow more intense orgasms
Pelvic Floor
Kegel Exercises
• Find the right muscles. To identify your pelvic floor
muscles, stop urination in midstream.
• Perfect your technique. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles,
hold the contraction for five seconds, and then relax for five
seconds. Try it four or five times in a row. Work up to
keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time,
relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.
• Maintain your focus. For best results, focus on tightening
only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the
muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding
your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.
• Repeat 3 times a day. Aim for at least three sets of 10
repetitions a day.
Anastasia wore balls to the ball
They won’t get lost,
but underwear is a good idea
THE CLITORAL
COMPLEX
The tip of the iceburg
• Clitoris has 8,000 sensory nerve fibers (more
than anywhere else in the human body and
nearly twice the amount found on the head of a
penis)
• The glans is connected to the body or shaft of the
internal clitoris, which is made up of two corpora
cavernosa wrapped around the vagina
• The corpus cavernosum also extends further,
bifurcating again to form the two crura. These
two legs extend up to 9cm, pointing toward the
thighs when at rest, and stretching back toward
the spine when erect
Orgasm 101
• Direct or indirect stimulation of clitoral tissue
induces orgasm
• Vaginal penetration tugs at clitoral tissue
• Some positions are better than others at
achieving sufficient clitoral stimulation
Location, Location, Location
• Distance of clitoris to vaginal opening is one of
the determinants of a woman’s ability to
orgasm during penetration
WHAT DO BREASTFEEDING MONKEYS
AND HUMAN ORGASMS HAVE IN
COMMON?
Oxytocin: A Big, Warm Chemical Hug
• Released during breastfeeding and promotes
uterine contractions and bonding
• Released during non-sexual touching of
romantic couples and lowers blood pressure
and promotes a sense of well-being
• Released during orgasm to promote a sense of
intimacy and relaxation
Bonding (not bondage)
• Great sex is not about technique, but about
feeling an emotional connection
• Generating bliss in the partner, and not
focusing on generating an orgasm
Schnarch, The Passionate Marriage
Sensate Focus: Touching Instructions
• Increases communication and awareness of
sexually sensitive areas between partners
http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/sexual-difficulties-couple-enrichment-sensate-focus
Bonding through bondage
Nonverbal invitations
Sexual Attention Deficit Disorder
• Spectatoring- cognitive self-absorption during
sexual intimacy
– Focus on non-erotic cues reduces intimacy and
perception of pleasure
• Generates anxiety
• Ignore erotic cues
• Fear
– Of taking too long
– Or not climaxing at all
Learn to be in the moment
• Mindful Meditations itunes podcast and Mnf
app
• Urban Tantra by Barbara Carrellas
IF YOU WANT IT DONE RIGHT…
Masturbation is a touchy subject
• Directed masturbation
– Visual exploration
– Targeted manipulation
• Strong relationship between frequency of
masturbation and orgasmic ability during
masturbation
WHAT’S IN A DOCTOR’S BAG:
STETHOSCOPE, ASPIRIN, ORGASM
Take one and call me in the morningThe History of the Vibrator
• 1800’s: Physicians treated common ailments (anxiety, depression,
aggression, hysteria, muscle aches) with weekly sessions of induced
‘paroxysms’
•
•
•
1869: Steam-powered massager by the American physician George
Taylor
1880: Battery-operated vibrator by British physician Joseph
Mortimer Granville and manufactured by the Weiss Company
“help women maintain a youthful glow and calm demeanor”
1920’s: Vibrators began to appear in pornography, giving them a social
stigma
– Nail buffers, back scratchers or vacuum attachments?
•
1980’s: Vibrators became more mainstream when the AIDS epidemic
boomed
www.goodvibrations.com
The target dictates the weapon.
• External
– Clitoral
• Internal
– G-spot
– Vaginal
– Rectal
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Thundering
Hum
Whisper
Unrelenting
Intense
Gentle
Bottom’s Up!
• Butt plugs and prostate massagers can be very
pleasurable to some people
Vaginal blood flow
Increased by:
• Exercise
• Adrenaline
• Penetration
• Testosterone
• Arousal
Decreased by:
• Anxiety
• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes
• Men’s cologne
Did Anastasia ever keep her
underwear dry?
• Vaginal lubrication
– Ingredients: pyridine, squalene, urea, acetic acid,
lactic acid, complex alcohols (including
cholesterol), glycols (including propylene glycol)
ketones, and aldehydes
• one third of women produce short-chain aliphatic acids
(a pungent class of chemicals which other primate
species produce as sexual-olfactory signals)
– Altered by: vaginal bacteria presence and species
(natural and probiotic use,) estrogen status, and
diet
The secret ingredient: pheromones
• “odorprints” in genital
discharge, sweat, and
saliva
– Contain immune system
identifiers
– Prevent inbreeding with
those with similar
pheromones and promote
attraction to those with
different ones
– Blocked during OCP use
affecting attraction
Wedekind et al.
Need a ‘spoonful of sugar’?
Masque
Listerine strips
Chloraseptic
From slugs to vaginas
• Rabbit vaginas used for testing vaginal
chemicals, but slugs were better
• 5 consecutive days of exposure - Mucus
production discriminates between nonirritating and mildly irritating
• The slugs reported:
– Replens is mildly irritating
– KY is moderately irritating
– Nonoxynol-9 is severely irritating
Dhondt.Local Tolerance of Vaginal
Formulations. Sexually Transmitted
Diesease April 2004.
Learnin’ Lubes
• Glycerol concentrations increase vaginal
secretions during sexual arousal
– Intensity of secretions is due to the osmotic
gradient of the compound (ie, glycerin, propylene
glycol)
• Highly hyperosmotic lubes (Astroglide) have
been shown to cause sloughing of the lining of
the colon and cervix and increase chance of
STD infection
Fuchs. Hyperosmolar Sexual Lubrican Causes Epithelial Damage in the Distal Colon: Potential
Implication for HIV Transmission. JID 2007:195 (1 March)
Lube: A Girl’s Best Friend
•
Water-Based with glycerin
– Long lasting
– May promote yeast infections
•
Water-Based without glycerin
– Shorter-lasting
– Bitter tasting
•
Oil-Based
– Massage
– Not for use with condoms
•
Silicone-Based
– Waterproof
– Best for anal use
– Not for use with soft silicone toys
•
Flavored
“Stimulating” Lubricants
• Ingredients
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Menthol
Peppermint
Niacin
Saw Palmetto
L arginine
L Histidine
Orange fruit
Ginsing
Maca
Gingko
Suggested Readings
Laters, baby!