See also Overview of Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction Overview of Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction Men and women initiate or agree to sexual activity for many reasons, including sharing sexual excitement and physical pleasure and experiencing affection, love, romance, or intimacy. Lack of sexual interest and inability to be sexually aroused are considered a disorder only if they distress women and if interest is absent throughout the sexual experience. Decreased sexual arousal can be categorized as subjective, genital, or combined. Subjective: Women do not feel aroused by any type of sexual genital or nongenital stimulation eg, kissing, dancing, watching an erotic video, physical stimulation , despite the occurrence of physical genital response eg, genital congestion. Genital: Subjective arousal occurs in response to nongenital stimulation eg, an erotic video but not in response to genital stimulation. This disorder typically affects postmenopausal women. Combined: Subjective arousal in response to any type of sexual stimulation is absent or low, and women report absence of physical genital arousal ie, they report the need of external lubricants and may state they know that swelling of the clitoris no longer occurs. Psychologic factors eg, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, stress, anxiety, distractibility, lack of communication between partners, other relationship problems.
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What happens when a female is sexually excited?
Try out PMC Labs and tell us what you think. Learn More. In men and women sexual arousal culminates in orgasm, with female orgasm solely from sexual intercourse often regarded as a unique feature of human sexuality. However, orgasm from sexual intercourse occurs more reliably in men than in women likely reflecting the different types of physical stimulation men and women require for orgasm. In men, orgasms are under strong selective pressure as orgasms are coupled with ejaculation and thus contribute to male reproductive success. By contrast, women's orgasms in intercourse are highly variable and are under little selective pressure as they are not a reproductive necessity.. The proximal mechanisms producing variability in women's orgasms are little understood.
What are the physical signs of female arousal?
Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Sexual arousal in women comprises two components: genital arousal and subjective arousal. Genital arousal is characterized by genital vasocongestion and other physiological changes that occur in response to sexual stimuli, whereas subjective arousal refers to mental engagement during sexual activity. For some women, genital arousal enhances subjective arousal; for others, the two types of arousal are desynchronous. However, the relationship between genital and subjective arousal might not be relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of sexual arousal dysfunction.
Arousal is the state of being awake and focused on a certain stimulus. For individuals who have a vagina, this involves a number of physiological changes in the body. According to the Cleveland Clinic , desire disorders involve a lack of sexual desire or interest in sex, while arousal disorders involve wanting sex but struggling to get your body in the mood. The sexual excitement stage — also known as the arousal stage — involves a range of physiological changes in the body. Most of these functions prepare the body for vaginal intercourse. For example, your vagina becomes more wet because the glands produce lubricating fluids. Your clitoris and vulva swell up as your blood vessels dilate. Your nipples might become more sensitive to touch, too. The plateau stage is the period before orgasm. In this stage, the changes you feel in the excitement phase intensify.
