How do we Work Sexually?

id you ever try to repair a car without really understanding how to do it? You aren’t very successful, are you? The same is as true for maintaining a human being as it is for repairing a car. It is impossible to maximize sexual pleasure without understanding the desire and arousal cycle that all human beings have in common with one another. Although most all of us assume (falsely) that we know well enough what desire and arousal signify, these processes are much more complicated than we might first believe.

Each of us experiences 5 phases of response when we are sexually stimulated. In order of occurrence, these phases are:

1. D is for desire
2. A is for arousal
3. V is for vasocongestion
4. O is for orgasm
5. S is for satisfaction
   

Exercise: In the space below, give your working definition of what each word means to you. Compare your response to the response of your partner. Finally, consult the appendix to learn the answers from the experts.