Sex under the microscope

Have you ever wondered what goes on during sex?  What is most satisfying to most? How exactly an orgasm happens and why? If size, skill and creativity matter? If yes, every time you had a question about anything sexual, your first port of call was probably the internet yes? You typed in your queries and voila! Your info popped up and you were a happy person. But did you ever wonder how that information came to being?

Well in the late 1950s, Dr William Masters and his assistant Virgina Johnson did not only end at wondering, but decided to put the whole phenomenon of sex under the microscope – literally. The two took a biological and feminist approach to their studies of the human sexual response. Prior to them, women’s sexuality had not been extensively studied or researched.

Most men at the time did not consider their female partners’ need for satisfaction. Mutual enjoyment wasn’t up for discussion, as such, most women simply “faked” it, to get the act over and done with so they could 1. avoid embarrassing the man and 2. get back to whatever it is they were doing.

The Masters and Johnson study therefore revolutionized the understanding of human sexuality. Thanks to them, the nature of female sexual arousal, and orgasm were illuminated. As well as recording some of the first physiological data from the human body and sex organs during sexual excitation, they also framed their findings and conclusions in language that espoused sex as a healthy and natural activity that could be enjoyed as a source of pleasure and intimacy. Their research was also a springboard to developing a clinical approach to the treatment of several sexual problems in a revolutionary manner.

The manner in which the two conducted their research is what is probably the most intriguing. They did not end at asking participants about their experiences, their quest was to see for themselves. Hence, the two observed over 600 men and women in what they estimated to be in 10 000 complete cycles of sexual response. They even got to the point of having sex together as part of the “research”.

What they ended up doing together is probably irrelevantJ. Fact of the matter is, thanks to them, today the phenomenon of sex has been greatly demystified. Classic case of curiosity not killing the cat eh, lol.