In a woman-In many ways the body-changes that occur in a woman are very similar to those in a man but the whole cycle usually takes longer to get going, lasts longer and is capable of
near-instant repetition—which a man’s is not. Some women say that under certain circumstances they become aroused and have an orgasm very quickly indeed.
During the excitement phase in a woman her nipples erect, her breasts swell and the veins in her breast skin become more readily visible. The skin of the whole body becomes slightly dusky because of an increased blood flow and there may be a sex flush — a faint measles-like rash over her stomach, chest and neck. This rash disappears at orgasm.
During the excitement phase the woman’s genitals become engorged with blood. The inner lips of her vulva (labia minora) and clitoris swell and become darker in colour. As the clitoris is stimulated it becomes erect (like a miniature penis) but usually does so very slowly compared with a penis. Some women’s clitorises swell to over twice the size of the resting state but others, even when fully aroused, are much the same size as before stimulation began. If stimulation is continued a ‘plateau’ phase is reached in which the shaft and the tip of the clitoris go back under the protective foreskin. This makes it appear that the clitoris has disappeared. The tip and the shaft reappear if stimulation stops and the process is repeated if stimulation stops and starts. After orgasm only about ten to fifteen seconds are required for the clitoris to return to its normal resting position and size.
The outer lips (labia majora) swell and pull back so as to open up the vulva a little. The vaginal walls start to ’sweat’ and the fluid lubricates them and appears at the vaginal opening in some women. At this stage the woman feels moist inside as her sexual tension grows. The vagina now relaxes and becomes ‘tented’ at its top end. The womb (uterus) is pulled upwards and makes the vaginal cavity larger. Further breast-swelling occurs, the areolae around the nipples swell so much that sometimes the nipples seem to disappear and the woman may begin to twitch all over her body. Sometimes this twitching starts in a toe or a leg, or her abdominal muscles may give fluttering twitches. Her pulse rate, breathing, pupil size, and so on all change and she is ready for an orgasm. As she has one, her body arches, her muscles tense, her face may draw into a grimace and her vagina and uterus contract rhythmically along with some of her pelvic muscles. Her body may be thrown into spasms of violent contractions or she may sense very little. Some women scream, cry out or bite their lips as they climax — the response depends almost entirely on the personality and experience of the woman, her early masturbation practices and the circumstances in which she finds herself during that particular orgasm. Once the intense contractions of the vagina and uterus are over, the woman quietens down to her plateau phase.
Most women are capable of having several orgasms one after the other but many say that one is quite enough and that they feel perfectly satisfied and have no need for more. Some women can have twenty or more orgasms one after the other but between one and three is the most common number. How many a woman has depends on her masturbation practices in her teenage years, her in-built sexual inhibitions, her partner’s ability and willingness to continue stimulating her and, of course, her own desire to have more.
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