When it comes to sexual intercourse, we know the importance of erogenous zones to have a great experience: stimulated, these parts of the body increase sexual arousal. But many still wonder where they are, those areas of the body that help us go to seventh heaven … Some even try to map out male and female erogenous zones.
But can you really do that? Can we list once and for all where are the buttons to press on to put in motion the mechanics of pleasure?
Men and women most sensitive erogenous zones.
This is what a recent British study published in Cortex attempted to investigate by bringing together more than 300 men and 500 women and asking them to note from 0 to 10 the sexual arousal that gave them 41 areas of their body, from genital areas to the elbow or the belly button. Unsurprisingly, the most erogenous areas are the genitals (penis and testicles for men, clitoris and vagina for women). This makes sense: it is the primary erogenous zones that lead straight to orgasm.
On the other hand, this study shows that women seem more reactive than men. The majority of them define 6 zones as “intensely erogenous” by rating above 7 when it comes to erogenous sensitivity: the clitoris, the vagina, the mouth and the lips, the top of the neck, breasts and nipples. Only 3 zones get rated above 7 for men: penis, mouth and lips. But that does not mean that they have fewer erogenous zones than women: men have identified as many erogenous zones as women. They simply qualify them as less sensitive than women do.
Can your whole body be erogenous?
But is it really useful to map out the top 10 erogenous zones in men and women? Not really actually. Because in reality, the whole body can become erogenous. And that is no accident: when an erogenous zone is stimulated, impulses are sent via nerves to the cortex and areas responsible for sexual pleasure.
And, according to another study, from Finland, if nature has made our whole body sensitive rather than our only genitals, it would be to multiply the opportunities to stimulate another kind of nerve endings, the C-tactile fibers, which play a role in the emergence of deeper emotions that build a relationship with our partner. In short, nature would have scattered sensors throughout our body capable of awakening our desire to push us to seek physical contact, which would strengthen our social bonds essential to the survival of the human species!
So, and that’s science talking: every inch of our skin can become a source of arousal. It would be a shame to set in stone once and for all our erogenous zones on a map and be satisfied only with the places we know. We would miss out on sensorial and orgasmic experiences. Exploring your body is definitely an adventure worth pioneering…
