I post this film with a certain degree of hesitation. It is a French documentary that claims to explain the female orgasm, and naturally it is called "The Female Orgasm Explained". I watched it a few times, and then it hit me -- I realized that this is how western culture often views female sexual pleasure -- in all or none terms. We women are either sex crazed tigresses or neutered housecats. Apparently, there is no in between. I think our society dichotomizes women this way because we don't know what to do with female sexuality. It is too socially and politically dangerous, given that women don't fit the male model of sexuality very well.

This movie seems to view women as hungry tigresses. Much fanfare is accorded the feminine version of "la petite mort" (French for "little death"), and it (the female orgasm) is described as "devastating"and "thunderous". Nubile, young women (almost nobody over 25 was interviewed) yammer on about how they scream and twist about during the "big moment", and female ejaculation is touted as a "superorgasm".

I think this about says it all. The real secret to Hollywood beauty is undoubtedly Photoshop. Even a plastic surgeon can't do what this program can. It's all a mirage, folks. From Kassi S. Orr's Photos.

Post Five in  Sexual Dysfunction Series

Some years ago, I had a friend confide in me that sex hurt. And we're not talking postcoital rug burns here but intense pain. From what I could gather, it sounded like vaginismus, which is an involuntary spasming of the vagina at penetration. At the time, I didn't know what to tell her. Naturally, this was having a profoundly negative impact on her sex life with her husband. But she didn't seem particularly comfortable discussing the issue, and we later grew apart. So, I have no clue what happened to her. She was not alone in her suffering. According to stats, between 8 and 21% of women suffer from sexual pain disorder - a poorly understood, largely ignored variant of female sexual dysfunction.