All of these acts may be part of a person’s expression of sexuality. “A person with good sexual health will have no problems with masturbation, and with consenting partners, most of these behaviors are part of the sexual experience,” says Blanche Freund, PhD, a sex therapist and psychologist in Delray Beach and Aventura, Fla.
Sexual Foreplay
Physical foreplay involves stimulating a partner’s body, especially the genitals, with the hand or mouth. Many women require additional activity, from kissing or caressing to stroking the breast or clitoris, to reach orgasm.
For women who find sex painful, foreplay is very important. As a woman becomes more aroused, her vagina responds: It produces lubricants, and it widens and lengthens, therefore making penetration less painful.
Another interesting fact about foreplay: Research shows that many men and women rely on stereotypes to figure out how much foreplay their partner wants. But this research also shows that men want a lot more foreplay than women think.
“Foreplay is a very important aspect in a long-term relationship, to maintain the interest in sexuality with each other,” says Freund. “Getting right to the mechanics doesn’t work that well with women over time.”
Vaginal Sexual Intercourse and Orgasm
In vaginal sexual intercourse between heterosexuals, a man inserts his penis into a woman’s vagina and thrusts in and out. Both men and women can reach orgasm during vaginal sex.
Sex results in an orgasm when the sexual organs reach a height of contraction from being stimulated. Endorphins are released and intense pleasure radiates through the body. There is also the release of semen; in men who have not had vasectomies, the semen contains sperm. If sperm enter the woman’s vagina, they will swim in search of an egg to fertilize; if an egg is successfully fertilized, a pregnancy results.
Other Sexual Acts
Other forms of sex include masturbation, when men or women touch their own genitals to give themselves pleasure. Men or women can also use their hands to stimulate a partner's genitals to induce sexual pleasure.
Oral sex involves contact between one partner’s mouth and the other person’s genitals. Anal sex involves stimulating the anus or putting the penis, fingers, or objects such as sex toys into a partner’s anus.
Sex and Aging
Getting older affects practically everything about the human body, and sexual function is no exception. For women, menopause results in the loss of estrogen, which can reduce sexual desire as well as the vagina’s natural lubricants.
For men, age affects their ability to have sex, though not necessarily desire. For many men, erections are more difficult to sustain, and some men may need more physical stimulation than they once did or the aid of a prescription medication that promotes erections, such as Viagra (sildenafil), Levitra (vardenafil), or Cialis (tadalafil).
These physical changes certainly don't mean the end of a person's sex life.
“Sex is very much a part of aging,” says Freund. “If you bring good sexual health to a relationship, it will last for your lifetime. It depends on your partner, your comfort level with sex, and your ability to integrate sex with day-to-day living, with a partner or without a partner.”
Sexual Health
Good sexual health, says Freund, is when people communicate with each other and share similar sexual interests and desire.
“Everyone has their own individual sexual health, and what they bring to a relationship can hopefully be harmonious with their partner," she says. "If it isn’t, then over time they may need some help” from a sexual health expert.
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