Blow upon my garden, let its fragrance be wafted abroad Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruit.

The ecstasy of a woman's revealed perfume is a theme that seventeenth-century English poet Robert Herrick returned to again and again, in both 'Upon Julia Unlacing Herself, and 'Love Perfumes all Parts', in which he rhapsodises:

If I kiss Anthea's breast • There I smell the Phoenix nest: If I her lip, the most sincere Altar of incense, I smell there Hands, and thighs, and legs, are all Richly aromatical Goddess Isis can't transfer Musks and Ambers more from her: Nor can Juno sweeter be, When she lies with Jove, than she.

For various reasons, however, the pairing of the sense of smell with sexuality has not always been considered in a positive light. Early philosophers, noting the predilection of animals to go nose to genitalia prior to copulation, chose to rank smell as one of the lower senses. To them, it was an animal sense, incapable of raising humans to elevated heights of creativity, like the senses of sight and sound could and did in art and music. The philosophers of the Middle Ages regarded smell as a vulgar

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

sense, and one that in no way promoted human intellect. Astonishingly, both ancient and modern governments, perhaps recognising that you don't control a people unless you control their sexuality, have deemed perfumes dangerous and intoxicating enough to be banned or have their usage restricted. In 188 bce, Romans were forbidden to wear all but the most modest amount of perfumery in social ceremonies.

Sixteen hundred years later, the English parliament felt the need to pass an act in 1770 protecting men from 'perfumed women', for fear that scented 'witchcraft' might lure unsuspecting men into marriage. And by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the use of musk, amber and civet was discouraged, for fear of its detrimental and 'decaying effects'. One result of this anti-perfume attitude was that in 1855, Queen Victoria caused a furore during a royal visit to Paris. The problem? The British monarch was wearing perfume with a hint of musk - a scent that at that time was deemed more appropriate to a salon mondaine than the fashion-conscious French court.

Downplayed by philosophers, branded the animal sense and associate of sex, and bedevilled by its ephemeral nature, perhaps it's not surprising that the sense of smell remained a poor cousin of science for many centuries. Indeed, even today, smell remains the least researched and funded of humankind's five recognised senses. It wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that hints that Hippocrates' hunch about a naso-genital alliance might be based in physical reality began to emerge. Charles Darwin, marvelling at the variety of facial and genital features in the animal kingdom, brought attention to them and to the extraordinarily similar naso/genital arrangement of the male mandrill. This Old World monkey's nose of vibrant vermilion red echoes its fire-engine-red penile shaft and anus, while its brilliant cobalt-blue paranasal ridges mirror its pale blue scrotum. The startling effect of this as above, so below colour scheme is topped off by the apparent mimicking of the mandrill's yellow/orange facial beard with pubic hair of a similar hue. Writing about the mandrill, Darwin said: 'No case interested and perplexed me so much as the brightly-coloured hinder ends and adjoining parts of certain monkeys ... It seems to me ... probable that the bright colours, whether on the face or hinder end, or, as in the mandrill, on both, serve as a sexual ornament and attraction.'

Other Old World monkeys display naso/genital links, and for some this association is underlined by changes in reproductive status mirroring those seen in the genitals and nose or face. Take female Japanese macaques. The faces of these female primates turn an even brighter pinky-red as their sexual perineal skin swells and blooms during their five-month-long mating period. Male Japanese macaques sport red sexual skin on their face as well as their scrotum and perineum, and out of the mating

THE STORY OF V

season, the loss of sexual skin colour is accompanied by their testicles retracting and ejaculation ceasing. In a similar vein, the flamboyant naso-genital blues and reds of the male mandrill become muted if the male is subordinate or solitary, or peripheral to a social group. And as his naso-genital colours fade, his testicles shrink too. Not surprisingly, such colour-challenged males do not enjoy as much mating and reproductive success as their more brilliantly hued brothers. It's also now appreciated that the growth of the extraordinarily long, fleshy and distinctly phallic nose of the male proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is delayed if there is an absence of females in the social group. Peculiarly, some birds, as well as primates, exhibit naso-genital features connected with reproduction. This is the case for the male pelican, whose beak becomes swollen with a large bump during the mating season, despite the fact that this mars his field of vision and interferes with the catching offish.

The nose has a clitoris?

Following hot on the heels of Darwin s observations of comparable external naso-genital characteristics came the surprising realisation that the internal structures of the human nose and genitalia are actually strikingly similar. In 1884, American surgeon John N. Mackenzie pointed out that the respiratory and olfactory mucosae, which cover the conchae in the nose and, in the case of the olfactory mucosa, line the narrow olfactory slits, were composed of erectile tissue analogous to the corpora cavernosa tissue of the clitoris and penis. That is, the nose has a clitoris too. And, just like their genitalic counterparts, the blood vessels of these nasal tissues fill with blood, or vasodilate, in response to sexual excitement. So not only did the human nose resemble the genitalia, it also responded in a similar erectile manner too.

Nasal erections are, in fact, the reason behind the nasal stuffiness, congestion or rhinitis that is experienced by many individuals following orgasm, sexual stimulation or intercourse. And the idea that sex goes to the nose is, not surprisingly, recognised by those individuals who rely on their nose for their livelihood. Perfume testers, wine tasters and tea blenders are all aware of the condition known as 'honeymoon rhinitis' - a hypersensitised nose post-sexual activity. For me, the idea of nasal erections has resonance, having experienced personally such extreme nasal arousal post-orgasm. The feeling was of my nose being vibrant, literally quivering, suffused with sensation, and intensely aware of the sexual aromas surrounding me. One more sniff of the sexual landscape I was nestled in, and I felt I would surely dissolve in eternal orgasm. Sadly, I didn't, but the memory remains deliciously strong.

The enhanced blood flow to the nose, which is responsible for resulting

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

in nasal membrane engorgement, also accounts for a rise in temperature of the nasal mucosa. Experiments looking at nasal mucosa immediately before and immediately after sexual intercourse show a mean rise in temperature of 1.5°C. Cold temperatures, too, have an effect on the nose, constricting nasal structures as they do clitoral or penile erectile tissue. The rapid dilation of the erectile tissue of the nose is what is believed to be behind the sudden, and often paroxysmal, sneezing that can accompany sexual desire, genital erection, intercourse and orgasm. In his 1875 text Observations Rares de Medecine, Stalpart de Wiel mentions 'individuals in whom the act of coitus was often preceded by sneezing'.

John Mackenzie wrote in 1884 of a man of sanguine temperament, who every time he caressed his wife sneezed three or four times', while another researcher in 1913 noted the case of a man 'who frequently sneezed at the sight of a comely maiden'. Following one friend's confession of a similar naso-genital phenomenon brought on by sexually arousing thoughts alone, I now view his every sneeze with a wry, quizzical smile. Not just sneezing, but wheezing too, is tied in to sexual situations. The asthmatic breathing 'associated with stoppage of the nostrils' suffered by one Victorian woman was apparently alleviated when she did not engage in sex every night with her husband. Today sexual abuse is recognised as a stressor in cases of paroxysmal sneezing.

The emergence of naso-sexual medicine

The recognition at the end of the nineteenth century that there was a physiological relationship between the human nose and genitalia ushered in a new field of medicine - naso-sexual medicine. Over a period of approximately twenty-five years, a multitude of papers, books, lectures and dissertations were devoted to poring over the possible connections between the nasal passages and the sexual organs. During its heyday, naso-sexual medicine influenced many, including Sigmund Freud, to explore further the connections between the nose, olfaction, genitalia and sexuality. In 1912, at the tail end of the naso-sexual renaissance, E. Seifert proposed that there was a 'reflex neurosis' operating between an individual's genitalia and their nose, and that it was this reflex that was the key to understanding all aspects of human health and fulfilment.

Naso-sexual medicine also resulted in some curious remedies for gynaecological problems. At the end of the nineteenth century, Wilhelm Fliess, one of Sigmund Freud's closest collaborators, sought to pinpoint the precise areas of a woman's nose that were linked with her genitalia. His identification of these 'genital zones' or spots {Genitalstellen) on the olfactory mucosa of the nose - which had a tendency to bleed at various times associated with the menstrual cycle and pregnancy - then led to

THE STORY OF V

them being used as therapy sites for various gynaecological disorders. The treatments which proponents of nasal genital zones advocated included cauterisation, or the infinitely more pleasurable approach of applying cocaine nasally. During the heyday of naso-sexual medicine, if you were suffering from labour pains, or just plain dysmenorrhoea (painful periods), the doctor could, and did, prescribe a dab of cocaine up the nose for you. Fliess also suggested that several cases of apparently spontaneous abortion were, in fact, triggered accidentally, by intranasal surgical procedures.

Fliess, Mackenzie and other researchers in the field of naso-sexual science were also intrigued by the apparent effect of the menstrual cycle and of pregnancy on the female nose. Female nasal mucosa, it was noted, swelled and reddened, became more sensitive and congested, and subsequently bled, with a periodicity seemingly in concert with that of the 29.5-day human female menstrual cycle. Indeed, the occurrence of nosebleeds (epistaxis) during menstruation was referred to as vicarious menstruation - menstrual bleeding from an alternative orifice. It was also pointed out that, as many pregnancies progressed, an increasing proportion of women presented with either blocked noses or sporadic nasal bleeding.

However, it wasn't until the late 1930s that a scientific rationale for such rhythmic nasal events was realised. The nasal and genital skin of female rhesus monkeys provided the key. Hector Mortimer, a Canadian otolaryngologist, observed that the striking reddening and swelling of the sexual skin that these monkeys sport coincided exactly with the reddening of their nasal mucosa. For these primates, and some others (but by no means all), the sexual swellings of their ano-genital region reach peak tumescence immediately prior to ovulation, as the circulating blood levels of the hormone oestrogen come to a head too. Blood oestrogen levels, it was finally appreciated, had an effect on both a female's genitalia and her nose. The thinkers of old were correct in assuming a connection, or route, between the nose and the genitalia. Perhaps hormones are the mysterious hodos envisaged by Hippocrates.

It's now accepted that the human nose, and nasal membranes, are stimulated by circulating levels of hormones. Vasomotor rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal membranes) is a common occurrence in both pregnancy and puberty, both times in life when blood oestrogen levels soar. Increases in blood oestrogen levels during pregnancy have also been shown to correlate closely with nasal congestion. It's also interesting to note that around ovulation, many women report a heightened sense of awareness, coupled with (or probably as a result of) an increased sensitivity to odours - again, a result of the effects of circulating hormones on their nasal mucosa. This lower female threshold to aromas around the

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

time of ovulation has also been documented in the laboratory.

The hormonal connection between the nose and the genitals is also underlined by a number of medical conditions. Chronic under-devel-opment of the nasal membranes (atrophic rhinitis) is often linked with irregular or non-existent periods (amenorrhea), while Kallman's syndrome is associated with no sense of smell (anosmia) and undeveloped gonads: in women the ovaries contain only immature egg follicles, while men present small testes, do not produce sperm and a prostate cannot be felt. Losing one's sense of smell also has a negative effect on sexuality, with over a quarter of anosmia sufferers becoming sexually dysfunctional. The sense of smell, it seems, is integral to both human sexual development and adult sexuality.

Would like to meet ...

Human anatomy and physiology highlight how the nose and the genitalia are related, with hormones the messenger molecules shuttling information to and fro via the blood. But why this intimate connection? Why should the nose and the sense of smell be so tied up with human sexual anatomy? The answer lies many millions of years back in time. At its most fundamental level, the sense of smell is the ability of an organism to respond to chemical cues in its environment. At heart, therefore, smell is chemosensory, a chemical sense. It requires the presence of molecules, particulate matter, in the air or water, to effect sensation.

Smell is also an original sense. Communicating via chemicals is as old as life itself, and is an attribute of all organisms on earth, from the smallest to the largest. Even the simplest and most ancient unicellular creatures, which have neither a nervous system nor specialised sensory apparatus, possess the ability (courtesy of chemo-receptors) to respond to chemical cues (chemo-signals) in their environment. Using chemical communication - smell - they find food, or avoid danger, be it toxic substances or predators. And when sexual, rather than asexual, reproduction first arose (an event believed to have begun about a billion years ago), the chemical sense of smell was the only system in place to enable procreation to occur. This, then, is the core reason why smell has a very powerful and central role to play in sexual reproduction. Other senses may since have been co-opted to the job, but smell remains a prime mover.

Sexual reproduction, it is surmised, has a watery origin. Before humankind's ancestors were multiplying on land, they were doing it at sea. But sex at sea, as highlighted earlier, is a risky business for those ocean-dwellers that do not possess internal genitalia. For both sexes, spawning, using the surrogate womb of the vast sea, is fraught with added dangers. Release your gametes at the wrong time or in the wrong place and your

THE STORY OF V

shot at procreating stands to be scuppered as" your eggs or sperm are washed away before encountering anyone else. Timing - being able to coordinate sexual reproduction - is all. And the key to acquiring such rhythm is being able to sense and respond to the presence of others around you. Are they members of the same species, are they of the opposite sex, and are they sexually ripe? Answer yes to all three, and in the absence of immediate danger, and the result could well be the mutual orgasmic rhythmic contractile expulsion of gametes into the surrounding waters. Curiously, many chemicals that cause such explosive and ejacu-latory reactions in ancient creatures, such as the sea squirt, are those that humans utilise today, perhaps with a slight spin, or different emphasis, but with the same end result in mind. Human gonadotrophin (ovary- or testis-stimulating) hormones also effect the release of a sea squirt's gametes. Some things just don't change. If it works well once, Mother Nature will use it again.

Over a hundred years ago, German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel envisaged olfaction as a primordial attractive force in the cop-ulatory union of female and male gametes. His theory of erotic chemo-tropism viewed gonadal cells as possessing a primitive consciousness (Seelenthatigkeit), and seeking each other out via a type of primitive smelling. To Haeckel the attraction one organism has for another of the opposite sex was a conscious reaction to the prompting of its gonads. Intriguingly, in light of Haeckel's surmisings, it's now realised that once released, even gametes themselves work to meet their other half. Both the female and male gametes of the aquatic fungus Allomyces macrogynus release chemicals which enable their mutual orientation towards each other. The female gametes secrete a compound dubbed sirenin, which acts as a sperm attractant, causing an influx of calcium ions into the cytoplasm of any nearby sperm, and a subsequent change in their swimming pattern and a shift in movement toward the source of the chemical -the female gamete. The male gametes too produce an attractant, named parisin, which the eggs sniff out and then swim towards. Such simple chemo-sensory systems are believed to be the ancestors of life's more specialised communication systems of hormones (messenger molecules which are released internally within a given organism) and pheromones (communication chemicals released by an organism into their immediate environment).

It's important to remember, though, that mammals are far from being simple unicellular organisms. Rather, we are highly evolved creatures, comprised of multiple specialised organs, glands and complex communication systems. In mammals, the nose is the primary chemo-sensory organ, receiving olfactory information and relaying it directly and rapidly to the brain. The conventional view of human chemo-sensory sensitivity

THE PERFUMED GARDEN Table 6.1 Major Scent Gland Regions of the Body

Major anatomical sites Gland type

Sebaceous Apocrine

Scalp Face

Eyelids * *

Ear canal * *

Vestibulum nasi (nasal vestibule) * *

Upper lip *

Lining of mouth *

Axillae (armpits) *

Nipples and areolae *

Midline of chest *

Umbilical region of abdomen *

Mons pubis *

Labia major a * *

Labia minora *

Prepuce/glans penis *

Scrotum *

Circumanal/anogenital/perineum *

Human sebaceous glands produce sebum - a thick, oily, unpigmented secretion. Their function is thought to be linked to sexual reproduction as the glands only begin to secrete once puberty is reached. Genital skin has the highest density - with up to 900 sebaceous glands packed into every square centimetre of skin. Human apocrine glands produce a viscid, oily substance which has a surprising range of colours. It can be milky pale grey, clear white, reddish, yellowish or even black. Like sebaceous glands, apocrine glands only start to function at puberty, suggesting that they too have a reproductive role. Women have far more apocrine glands than men. Adapted from Stoddart, D. Michael, The Scented Ape: the Biology and Culture of Human Odour, London: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

is that in comparison to the supersniffing abilities of other mammals, such as bloodhounds, humans just don't make the grade. This, though, is a misrepresentation. Okay, humans are not up to the smell-detecting standards of bloodhounds, but our olfactory sensitivity is not something to be sniffed at. Humans can recognise at least 100,000 different odours. Humans are also incredibly smelly creatures as a result of numerous secreting scent glands scattered across our skin surface (see Table 6.1). Indeed, among primates, humans seem to be the species most richly endowed with scent-producing glands, smell structures which start firing on all cylinders at puberty- in concert with our reproductive organs. And smell is a sense we can't avoid. We can close our eyes, cover our ears, but we can't stop smelling. Each inhalation brings an enforced inspiration of

THE STORY OF V

aromas. The scent of fear, the smell of food, the odour of arousal; humans, like other mammals, recognise these fragrances and learn to follow their noses. Considering this, it's not too far-fetched to imagine that chemo-sensation could very well be an important factor in communicating human sexual and social information, just as it is in simple organisms.

Girls are made of sugar and spice?

I have two favourite smells. The savoury aroma of my mum's slow-cooked meat and potato pie; and the heady, rich scent of my fertile cunt. Familial love and sexual love, described by mere chemicals. My much-loved vaginal perfume is the deepest, truest smell of me. It's the scent of my fertility, my sexual ripeness and pleasure. It's mercurial too, starting on day four or so of my menstrual cycle. From then until I've ovulated, I am intensely aware of this rich, sweet, deep, creamy and aromatic vaginal incense. Post-ovulation it's somehow fruitier. Although rarely openly discussed, the sexually pleasing and powerful scent that a woman's vagina and its secretions exudes is no secret. This intimate and erotic smell and taste is a sensual joy that different cultures have lauded and lusted after for centuries.

History relates how courtesans in medieval Europe used their sexual secretions as perfume, anointing themselves behind their ears and around their necks, in order to attract customers. It's also said that women in southern Spain would rub a small dab of their vaginal juices behind their ears and into their temples. Mixed in with the delicate essence of themselves were other fragrances, such as jasmine, neroli, myrrh, ylang ylang or frangipani. This particular tradition is understood to have been the secret of Taoist mistresses in ancient China before it was passed on to the Moors and from them to the Spanish. Meanwhile Napoleon is famously meant to have requested that Josephine 'not wash' before he arrived home, while Henry III reportedly remained in love with Mary of Cleves all his life after smelling the scent of her undergarments.

The classical Indian sexological text the Ananga Ranga is one surviving document which depicts in glorious detail the sensorial appeal of the vagina. Women, it says, fall into one of four classes, and it then goes on to praise women in terms of their genital scent, taste and style. First, the vagina of the padmini (Sanskrit for lotus-woman) is said to resemble the opening lotus bud, and enjoy feeling the rays of the sun and the touch of strong hands. Her sexual secretions (Kama-salila) are perfumed like the lily that has newly burst. The chitrini (the art-woman) can be recognised by her soft, raised and round mons veneris and sweet honey-smelling vagina. Delightfully, her genital fluids are said to taste of honey too. They are also exceptionally hot, and so abundant that they make copious sounds. Then there's the vagina of the shakhini (the fairy- or conch-

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

woman), which is, apparently, always moist and loves being kissed or licked. Her genital juice tastes piquant or salty. Finally, the fourth order of woman is the hastini (elephant-woman), who takes great pleasure from much clitoral stimulation. Her sexual secretions have the savour of 'musth' - the musky juice which flows from an elephant's temples signalling their sexual excitement.

The strength of the association between female genitalia and their smell is underlined, dramatically, by language. 'Pillow of Musk' and 'Open Peony Blossom' are two Chinese ways of saying vagina, while in eighteenth-century England, honeypot, rose or moss rose were all used to describe the sexual heart of a woman. Honey's vaginal reputation is tenacious. It is not only the Ananga Ranga that talks of sweet honey-smelling vaginas; others say all women's vaginal juices taste of honey during certain days of the menstrual cycle. It's surely no coincidence that honey is a core component of many marriage ceremonies, such as the Hindu custom of daubing the bride-to-be's vagina with honey at the marriage feast, or that newly-weds enjoy a honeymoon. Honey also enjoys a reputation as an aphrodisiac, and, of course, we call our loved ones honey.

The myrtle is another deeply perfumed plant that history records as redolent of female genitalia. The 'fruit of the myrtle' is a term that over the years has been used to describe both the clitoris and the labia minora, while a woman's outer lips (labia majora) were, according to the first-century Greek physician Rufus of Ephesus, the lips of the myrtle. Myrtle, with its pink or white flowers and aromatic blue-black berries, is also the sacred plant of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Legend recalls that when Aphrodite emerged from the waves riding on a sea-shell, only to have her nakedness leered at by lewd satyrs, she chose to cover her genitalia with branches of the fragrant myrtle bush, which grows best near the seashore. It is said that the Greeks identified this plant more than any other with all things that smelt beautiful, and, indeed, the Greek name for the myrtle (murto) derives from the same root as that for perfume. And not surprisingly, considering its link to Aphrodite, the myrtle is also considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac. For example, Dioscorides, in his pharmacology compendium De Materia Medica, describes myrtle oil as refreshing, aphrodisiac and antiseptic when taken in tea.

'Streaming with the essence of the lily'

How would you describe the heady scent of female genitalia? Is it the scent of the lily or lotus, of sweet aromatic honey? Or is it the 'musks and ambers' that poet Robert Herrick says his lover smells of? One of the most beautiful descriptions of a woman's secret scent comes, I feel, from Pierre

THE STORY OF V

Figure 6.2 From a painting found at the tomb of Nakht, in Thebes, depicting a feast (eighteenth dynasty). The guests wear cones of myrrh attached to their wigs and sniff the aphrodisiacal scent of blue lotuses.

Louys, who writes of how he feels he is 'streaming with the essence of the lily' as he lies with his cheek on the belly of a young woman. This phrase evokes such potency and pleasure, it's stunning. Nor was Louys alone in dreaming of the vagina as a lily. Lilies or lotuses (the lotus flower is a type of water-lily) are a common symbol of the vagina or yoni, in particular in eastern cultures. For example, the Sanskrit word for lotus is padma, which is also a word for the yoni. Chinese sexological texts refer to the vagina as a Golden Lotus, while the Latin name for the lotus is nymphaea, a term applied to a woman's inner labia too.

Some curious and unexpected connections between the lotus and female genitalia are suggested elsewhere. In Greek mythology, the lotus is represented as a fruit that induces a dreamy languor and forgetfulness in those that eat it. Lotus-eaters lie around languidly all day, partaking of the legendary fruit. Precisely what this fruit is is never spelt out, although if it is code for the vagina, then it gives a whole new meaning to the term lotus-eating. Peculiarly, though, lotus-sniffing was one of the pastimes of ancient Egypt. Numerous illustrations show both women and men plunging their noses into the scented heart of the blue lily or lotus (see Figure 6.2). The significance of this act, which appears to be part of ancient Egyptian pleasure rituals, had puzzled historians for years. However, recently scientists came up with an intriguing suggestion.

Astonishingly, sniffing blue lilies acted as an aphrodisiac. Why? Well, this particular lotus has a pharmacological quality akin to that of the prescription medication Viagra. Both contain a chemical, the former natural and the latter not, which results in increased blood flow to the

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

genitals. It seems that the scent of the lotus - whether describing the actual flower or female genitalia - really is a potent aphrodisiac. And lotus and vagina actually are connected via smell. This property of the lotus is also perhaps why the lotus is a sacred flower for Indian, Persian, Egyptian and Japanese cultures.

If I was forced to pick a third favourite smell, I would have to plump for vanilla. In terms of fragrance, vanilla belongs to what is called the ambrosia or musk-like category of scents (the seven classes of odours are detailed below). And not surprisingly, perhaps, the perfumes typically used to describe the vagina fall within this particular category. In fact, it could be said that ambrosial scents are, in essence, the intimate scents of a woman. Musk, lily, amber and vanilla, all creamy, luxurious and sensual fragrances. More specifically, ambrosial scents are said to have their roots in amber, the resinous product of the intestinal tract of the sperm whale. Fragrant and attractive, the Greeks referred to amber as elektron - a substance that when rubbed releases charged particles. For the Greeks, ambrosial scents were regarded as both the elixir of life and nourishment for the gods.

The smell of vanilla is certainly an ambrosial aroma. It's also a smell that is commonly used to describe the scent of female genitalia, and this aroma association is again underpinned by language. A vanilla is actually a tropical climbing orchid with fragrant greenish-yellow flowers and long fleshy pods containing seeds or beans. It is these vanilla beans and pods that are used as flavouring for foods. However, the Latin American orchid was given the name vainilla by Spanish settlers because its pods - which have an elongated outline with a slit at the top - were said to be reminiscent of female genitalia (no mention is made of whether the smell triggered any memories too). Vainilla is the Spanish diminutive for vagina or sheath. Hence, vanilla literally means 'little vagina'.

The taxonomic system that places vaginal fragrances together was devised by the eighteenth-century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus chose to group odours into seven classes in terms of their hedonic, that is, their pleasurable, qualities. These classes are Fragrantes (fragrant, such as saffron and wild lime); Hircinos (goaty, the smells of cheese, meat and urine); Ambrosiacos (ambrosial or musk-like, as we've seen); Tetros (foul; this includes the walnut, also known as Jupiter's Nut or glans of Jove); Nauseosos (nauseating, like the foul-smelling resinous gum asafoetida); Aromaticos (aromatic, the spicy notes such as citron, anise, cinnamon and clove) and Alliaceous (like garlic, which is a type of

lily).

Linnaeus wasn't shy about talking about smell. He held that the fragrance of the may flower - the blossom of the may tree or hawthorn -recalled that of female genitalia. This is an association that has survived

THE STORY OF V

since medieval times, when may blossom was picked on a May morning and worn by revellers dancing around the maypole on a day dedicated to sexual pleasure. Linnaeus also saw several varieties of rose as reminiscent of female genitalia, and indeed, pink and red roses were common vaginal symbols in the west. Strangely and sadly, though, the plant that Linnaeus chose to bear a directly vaginal name, Chenopodium vulvaria (also known as stinking goosefoot), is reported to smell fish-like. Peculiarly piscine is not the scent of a healthy, clean vagina; rather this is the signature note of a bacterial vaginal imbalance, just as the reek of rank cheese is that of a bacterial penile imbalance.

The deeply conservative Linnaeus is also famous for describing plants in terms of their vaginal and penile attributes, their pistils and stamens respectively, as well as referring to their reproduction systems as their marital tendencies. In this vein, he divided the plant world into different classes according to the type of marriage each plant contracted - be it monandrian (one husband, penis or stamen), diandrian (two husbands, penises or stamens) or more, or whether the marriage was public or clandestine. His wife he referred to as 'my monandrian lily', lily having been spun to imply virginal in the west in contrast to its role as a vaginal symbol in the east.

Spice boxes

So why do women smell the way they do? There are two answers to this question. The first centres on the literal reasons for this - the composition of a woman's genital juices and where these secretions come from. The second concerns the effect that a woman's scent has on other individuals, that is, the vital message it conveys. First off, what's in the vaginal mix? Importantly, the source of a woman's sexual aroma is not singular. Vaginal secretions, as earlier shown, are a complex cocktail, exuding throughout female genitalia. Cervix, uterus, Fallopian tubes, vaginal walls, prostate, all these and more add to a female's bountiful fluids. Deliciously, the French refer to this confection of aromas as a woman's cassolette - her cooking pot of fragrances.

Female genitalia also incorporate specialised mucus-secreting glandular structures. These include Bartholin's glands (also called major vestibular glands), which are set deep in the lower half of the labia majora, close to the vestibular bulbs and bulbocavernosal muscle. These glands secrete fluid through an excretory duct, 1.5 to 2 cm long, which opens either side of the lower edge of the vaginal opening or vestibule area (at five and seven o'clock). Dotted around the vagina's vestibule are minor vestibular glands of varying numbers. The average is between two and ten, although some women have more than a hundred, and some have

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

none at all. These minor glands also exude fluid. Apocrine glands, scattered around the genitals, also add to the aroma medley.

A woman's inner lips, her labia minora, provide a rich addition to her perfume. Despite not having any hair follicles, the inner labia contain large numbers of sebaceous glands (the small skin glands that emit lubricative and protective sebum on to hair follicles and surrounding skin). These labial sebaceous glands secrete a white oily substance, similar to that produced by a man's preputial skin. This genital secretion fascinated me as a child, although I didn't know, and didn't ask, what it was. For some reason, dark-haired women possess more of these inner labial glandular structures than their blonde sisters do. The labia majora (outer lips) are also rich in sebaceous glands, adding another note to a woman's sexual scent. And if allowed to flourish in all its springy lush splendour, a woman's pubic hair - the triangular crowning glory of her genitalia - then sets off a woman's vaginal perfume perfectly, and piquantly. As nineteenth-century French poet Charles Baudelaire put it:

Languorous, black, luxuriant locks Live pomander, incense burner Wafts her wild, musky fragrance

A woman's Bartholin's glands are reputed to be a key source of her signature sexual scent, although there is, as yet, scant evidence in support of this. What is known about this genital fluid is that it is clear, mucoid, alkaline, under ovarian hormonal control, and increases during sexual arousal. These mucus-secreting glands are present in other female mammals. In the platypus, the ducts open at the base of the monotreme's clitoris. In female opossums the secretions flow into the canal of the urogenital sinus, while in female spotted hyaenas, with their queenly elongated clitoris, complete with urethra running through it, the extremely well-developed Bartholin's glands open into the urethra close to the tip of the clitoris. The equivalent male mammalian structures are called Cowper's, or bulbourethral, glands.

Many female mammals also produce clitoral gland secretions. In the rat, the main excretory duct of the clitoral gland courses along the surface of the clitoris, emptying on the side of the urethral opening, thus communicating with both the urethra and the vagina. Studies show that the odour of these clitoral/urethral secretions is highly attractive to male rats. The clitoral glands are, in fact, homologous to the male's penile preputial glands, which appear as paired structures on either side of the penis. Many mammals' preputial glands are known to be of prime importance in producing secretory and olfactory products. For example, the preputial

THE STORY OF V

pouch of male Himalayan deers is the source oFthe red, jelly-like secretion that is musk.

In comparison, though, to what is known about male accessory glands, very little is known about the female's. This paltry state of affairs is highlighted both by the scientific community's ignorance regarding the existence and function of the female prostate, and by the recent revelation that women have more genital glands than previously thought. In 1991, scientists discovered a completely new type of female genital gland, and intriguingly, it has so far defied all attempts at classification. These ano-genital or vulval glands extend deep into the dermis (the inner layer of the skin), twice as deeply as eccrine or apocrine glands, and cannot be categorised as eccrine, apocrine or mammary glands. Ultrastructurally they are unique, as is their vulval secretion product. Although tentatively described as sweat glands, their function remains unknown. Their discoverers call them remarkable, suggesting they may have some sexual function, possibly of an olfactory nature.

Weirdly, their morphology is similar to that of mammary glands, and, indeed, occasionally the glands reach such a complexity that they appear lobe-like. Even more strangely, the existence of this type of vulval gland is suggested to be at the root of a strange and rare medical condition whereby women develop lactating mammary glands in their vulval skin. This peculiar and puzzling genital condition may well account for cases in the past where women were labelled as witches, and killed, as a result of marks akin to nipples on their external genitalia. It's certainly the case that most of the so-called witch marks or devil's teats that were found on middle-aged or elderly women during medieval Europe's witch hunts were noted as being on their vulval skin. 'Mary had teats in her secret parts and they are not like haemorrhoids,' reads one witch-finder's report.

Flagging up fertility

Female genitalia undoubtedly smell memorable and have the requisite odour-producing plumbing in place to give off sexual scent signals, but do they actually do this? After all, merely possessing the hardware is no proof of use. Moreover, is there an effect on other individuals as a result of them smelling parfum femalia 7 . An increasing body of evidence suggests that the intimate scent of a female does stimulate such a response, sometimes with startlingly dramatic results. It has long been noted that in the mammal kingdom going nose to genitalia is a typical prelude to sexual activity. In his notebooks, not intended for publication, Charles Darwin wrote: 'We need not feel so much surprise at male animals smelling vaginae of females - when it is recollected that smell of one's own pud. [pudendum] not disagree.'

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

Tellingly, the majority of male primates pay particular attention to the smell and taste of female genitalia - frequently sniffing, licking and touching the vagina for a number of days each month. For some primates this investigatory behaviour only occurs during oestrus, while others, in particular spider monkeys, sniff female genitalia repeatedly at all phases of the menstrual cycle. In some primate species mutual genital licking or nuzzling is common too. A more detailed vaginal inspection is part of the sexual ritual of mangabeys, macaques, baboons, gorillas, orang-utans and chimpanzees. This involves one or more fingers being used to poke inside the vagina too. The probing digits are then sniffed or licked. Many other male mammals, including red deer, moose and caribou, pay particular attention to licking the female's vulva, as do some species of insect. Oral sex is also a central feature of the sex life of a species of bat, the Gray-Headed Flying Fox, with the male deeply tonguing the female's genitalia for long periods of time. Unfortunately, whether or not it is scented stimuli and information that the male bat is seeking, or something else altogether, is still unclear.

However, some studies do point to female genital secretions signalling the status of a female's sexual ripeness. Research with male rhesus monkeys suggests that the sexual status of the female (is she ovulating or not?) is recognisable from her vaginal aroma, and that the time of ovulation is associated with the maximum frequency of male ejaculation. Mice, as well as monkeys, produce vaginal secretions that play an important role in male mating behaviour. Mice studies, though, reveal an extra twist. Female genital oestrous odour only stimulates male mice to approach and mate if they are sexually experienced. Virgin, sexually naive male mice appear not to hear the olfactory call. Clitoral gland secretions are the calling card of female rats too. These rodent scent glands produce an array of attractant aromas - one of which (6,ll-dihydrodibenz-b,e-oxepin-11-one) preferentially attracts males. Amazingly, the scent of a fecund female rat is enough to give a male rat an erection - no physical stimulus is necessary.

The allure of broccoli

The Syrian golden hamster possesses one of the most researched vaginal secretions, and one that is both alluring and arousing to the opposite sex. The night before oestrus, the female hamster marks the perimeter of her territory with her copious, watery vaginal secretions, effectively laying down a genital trail that lures the male to her underground lair. The major attractant molecule in her genital fluid is believed to be dimethyl disulfide, a chemical that smells a little like broccoli and is extremely common in nature - it acts as a nipple attachment molecule in pup rats,

THE STORY OF V

as well as being a principle malodorant in human tooth disease. But there's more to come in hamster vaginal mucus. The later stages of golden hamster courtship and copulation are induced by a protein, dubbed aphrodisin, which the male laps up as he licks the female's genitals prior to intercourse. Interestingly, physical contact with aphrodisin is essential in eliciting the male's mounting and pelvic thrusting response.

Unlike golden hamsters, precisely what it is about primate vaginal secretions that signals a woman's reproductive status is still uncertain. Research has highlighted how the chemical composition of vaginal mucus fluctuates throughout the menstrual cycle. Of particular interest are levels of fatty acids, which are produced by the action of essential vaginal bacteria. In rhesus monkeys, levels of these volatile short-chain fatty acids nearly double in concentration prior to ovulation. The same range of molecules plus some other sister compounds are also present cyclically in human vaginal secretions, and have been found to peak in concentration in the period prior to ovulation.

On average a woman's cocktail of genital mucus contains the following concentrations of fatty acids or copulins per ml of secretion:

10.0/ig of acetic 7.0/ig of propionic 0.5 //g of iso-butyric 6.5 jug n-butyric 2.0//g of iso-valeric 0.5 /zg iso-caproic

However, levels vary markedly from woman to woman. One study found that while 63.5 per cent of women had all these fatty acids present in their vaginal secretions, 2.5 per cent had no detectable fatty acids at all, and 34 per cent possessed only acetic acid. Importantly, research also revealed that women who take oral hormonal contraceptives have far lower levels of vaginal fatty acids and do not show the expected increase in concentration mid-cycle. This is not surprising, as levels of vaginal fatty acids are under the influence of internally produced (endogenous) oestrogen. Taking the pill, with its synthetic oestrogenic component, will disturb a woman's natural hormonal equilibrium, and hence a woman on the pill will smell slightly different.

Research investigating how the smell of a woman's vagina is perceived by men has thrown up some contrary results. Of particular interest is the vagina's aroma around ovulation. One study synthesised primate vaginal fatty acids, creating copulin mixtures that mimicked vaginal secretions at various stages of the menstrual cycle. Most men exposed to them said they found them to be unpleasant, perhaps a surprising result, although

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

it has to be recognised that in matters of smell and sex, context, including chemical context, is all. Yet, although the male sniffers appeared to turn up their noses at the copulin concoctions, when they were asked to sniff the synthetic copulins while looking at photographs of women, images they previously rated as ordinary were suddenly reported as being attractive.

It seems the effect of inhaling copulins made their sexual judgement go to pot. What's more, the copulin smells mimicking ovulation made their testosterone levels rocket, suggesting that the chemo-signals a woman gives off may play a role in regulating testicular function. This research tallies with other studies showing that even though most men say they are not aware when a woman is ovulating, their bodies know, as they respond physiologically with increased testosterone levels.

Other, more recent work reveals that men are able to distinguish when their partners are ovulating from smell alone. What is also significant is that these ovulation or fertility aromas were rated more attractive than others. Importantly, there were two major differences in this study. First of all, the odours analysed were naturally produced, and secondly, the women secreting them were involved in long-term relationships with the men smelling them. In this scenario, naturally produced odours emitted around ovulation were rated by this group of men as more pleasant than at any other time of the menstrual cycle. They were also perceived as tending to stimulate and linger for longer, and at the same time produced a desire for more chemo-sensory stimulation. I would suggest that this points to men being able to distinguish, albeit unconsciously, when a woman is ovulating, and to this ovulation aroma being attractive.

A final test of the pulling power of a woman's fertile vaginal perfume is, of course, whether it increases sexual activity or not. With rhesus monkeys, the answer is emphatically yes. Application of a copulin mixture to females unleashed hugely increased levels of male sexual behaviour. However, the results for humans were more equivocal. Women who rubbed synthetic copulin confections into their skin did not report any significant changes in sexual activity with their partner. In fairness to humans, though, this result probably says far more about the complex emotional and sexual lives we lead than our capacity to be influenced by a purportedly aphrodisiacal smear. It may also say something about synthetic copulins.

The odour avenue

Before looking at the reasons why the smell of her genitalia should flag up a female's fertility, what about other genital aromas? For it's not just vaginal secretions that are important in signalling a mammalian female's

THE STORY OF V

reproductive status - that is, gametes ready "to be released or not, or pregnancy underway. Mammals are rich repositories of odours, with humans no exception, and a whole host of other bodily fluids - including urine, saliva, sweat, tears and more - have been found to exert erotogenic effects in different species. Urine, the original odour avenue, is of immense importance. Composed of a welter of compounds churned out by the kidneys, urine is also perfumed as it makes its way out of the body by all it passes by - in particular accessory glands such as the prostate.

The power of urine to convey information about the status of an individual is astounding. Health, stress levels, reproductive and social status, metabolic idiosyncracies - all can be read from a simple sample of urine. Human urine tends to be dismissed as an excretory waste product -something to be washed away as quickly as possible - rather than an important genital fluid. But female urine is potent, as anyone who has sat waiting for a pregnancy test result can confirm. It stands shoulder-to-shoulder with vaginal secretions in conveying a woman's fertile status, a fact that simple ovulatory kits exploit (other ovulation detection devices resemble wrist-watches and measure the changing acidity of sweat, as determined by a woman's fluctuating hormone levels).

Urine's fluctuating and sometimes intoxicating scent has a sexual potency too - a fact that has not been overlooked by all. The erotic portent of female urine is part of the vaginal qualities prized in Marquesan society. To this end, certain edible fruit, anthropologists report, are not given to girls because they disrupt the pleasant aroma. In India, the smell of a young bride's urine was used in a wedding ritual designed to capture her bridegroom's heart. This practice, known only to women, involved wicks being made out of rags wet with the bride's urine, which the unsuspecting bridegroom was then asked to smell. Magic traditions also suggest that one way for a woman to keep her man in thrall to her is to urinate in his coffee. I haven't tried this one yet, but it has been recommended to me.

Considering the rich potential of urine to signal reproductive status, do females use their urine in this way? The habit of male mammals to use urine or accessory gland fluids to mark their environment is well known, but what about females? Disappointingly, relatively little has been written about how female mammals void urine and their own brand of marking fluids in order to communicate information about themselves, although this is common too. Yet, as more research is undertaken looking at this aspect of female mammalian sexual behaviour, the importance of females using the aromas of their body fluids to advertise their sexual and social status is becoming increasingly evident. The list of female spray-and-displayers includes tigers, monkeys, pigs, pandas, horses and more.

Female pigs (Sus scrofa) urinate frequently when in oestrous in order

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

to let surrounding males get the message that they are now fertile. When a male picks up a sow's fecundity flag, he follows its scent to her, but first finds her urine, sniffs or licks it and then urinates too - on top of her marking. Thus begins pig copulation. Female horses and deer also urinate as a sexual gesture. The effect of their oestrous urine on males is striking -the male's head is thrown back, his upper lip curls, and the pressure resulting from this contraction of the lip-raising muscles results in increased exposure to the female's urine. This facial expression is known as the flehmen, the lip-curling or flared face, and is seen in other mammals too (the word flehmen derives from a German word for coaxing or cajoling).

In the case of horses, the oestrous smell excites stallions to approach the mare, and engage in licking and tactile stimulation of her. The vivifying power of female urine on males is demonstrated more precisely by the effect of female house mouse urine, which stimulates a rapid rise in circulating levels of luteinising hormone (LH) in males. Such effects are seen in primates too. Male lemurs experiencing the effects of seasonality (fewer hours of sunlight during the day) have lower testosterone levels, and are less socially active and less likely to mate. Smelling female lemur urine, though, is enough to raise their testosterone levels and reanimate them socially and sexually.

Female Asian elephants are one of the mammals whose use of urinary signals has been studied in some detail. The oestrous cycle of female elephants is long - between sixteen and eighteen weeks - yet their fertile period is short, believed to be several days, though it may be only a few hours. Flagging up female elephant fertility effectively is therefore critical in determining successful sexual reproduction. Urine solves the timing issue. When female Asian elephants are feeling fecund they signal this to the males by releasing a particular chemical - identified as (Z)-7-dode-cenyl acetate - in their urine. This functions as both a sexual attractant and a reproductive-timing signal.

Where this chemical message originates from, though, is uncertain. The urogenital tract of female elephants, which is extremely long and winding (measuring between 120 and 358 cm from vulva to ovary), is packed with extensive mucus-producing glands, which may be the molecule's source. Alternatively, the copious amounts of urine which flush from the kidneys down the elephant's urethra-cum-vagina may be the culprit. It's also suggested that vaginal and/or anogenital secretions help to advertise the female elephant's fecundity. Around ovulation, females smear the hairy end of their tail with vaginal secretions and then fling the tail in the air - raising it like a flag and spreading their sexual signals further. I like this inventive approach to shouting, 'Come here, I'm ready.'

THE STORY OF V

An adapted clitoris?

Some women occasionally envy men for their possession of a tool that enables them to piss while standing up. Women's genitalia, unfortunately, aren't quite so effective at this task. However, one primate female has an extra trick up her sleeve. This primate is the female spider monkey, who, if you remember, has the longest clitoris of any primate. Some say this pendulous erectile organ resembles a penis. However, unlike a penis, it has a broad, shallow groove along its perineal surface along which urine flows (after it is voided at the base of the clitoris). The epithelial lining of this groove is also unique, appearing smooth and more like a mucous membrane. Females like to travel widely through the high canopy of remnant forests in Brazil, and as they do so they mark tree branches with their urine - their calling card - and call out to prospective mates. This tactic of distributing urine and finding potential suitors seems to work very well for the female spider monkey. They are incredibly sexually active primates, choosing a variety of partners, and it's suggested that their ability to distribute their urine via their clitoris plays a part in this.

The idea that female genitals are designed, in part, to distribute urine is not unusual and is used to explain some penile designs. The male goat, for instance, everts its prepuce to form a pendulous tube fringed with hairs - all the better for spraying urine far and wide. Whether other female primates utilise their external genitalia in this way is unknown. In the New World primate family, there are four groups where clitoral enlargement occurs - Ateles, Brachyteles, Lagothrix and Cebus. The clitoris of Cebus capucinus measures 18 mm, while that of Ateles belzebuth extends away from the body for 47 mm (no internal measurements are known). The reasons behind these alterations in genital design remain to be determined - it may be with extended urine dispersal, or possibly extra sexual pleasure in mind, or both.

The inner labia of women also pose something of a design puzzle. One suggestion is that their secretions contribute to a woman's olfactory bouquet, in particular when sexual arousal results in their surface area swelling markedly. However, the fluted nature of a woman's inner labia also sings to me of a design with fluids in mind - be it for urine, prostatic or other vaginal secretions. I don't believe I am the first to have thought this. For a long period of time, from at least the first century to the sixteenth, these vaginal inner lips were, as we've seen, commonly known as nymphae (singular, nympha), a word meaning 'water goddesses' in Greek.

And finally, a brief word on a musky genital fluid that is a bit of a mystery. Basmati rice, the night-blooming bassia flower, mung beans and female tigers may not appear at first glance to have much in common,

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

but they do. Connecting these four disparate items is 2-acetyl- 1-pyrroline (2AP), a seemingly innocuous molecule. The smell, though, of 2AP, is exquisite and not easily forgotten. It is the heady and particular aroma of basmati, the fragrance of a particular strain of beautifully smelling mung beans, as well as the scent of the Bassia latifolia flower and the smell of a tigress' billet-doux. (Curiously, mung beans also contain a compound which is found in rat vaginal secretions and acts as a sexual attractant.) Tigresses, as well as tigers, frequently mark their territories, jetting an aromatic milky, lipid-rich fluid upwards and backwards away from their bodies. The smell of this fluid is so strong that the Sanskrit word for tiger is vyagrciy a name derived from a verb root meaning 'to smell' (whether Pfizer, maker of the pharmaceutical Viagra which increases blood flow to the genitals, were aware of this remains unknown).

However, tigress marking spray is something of an enigma. Fatty acids, amines and aldehydes have all been identified in the fluid, and it is known that 2AP imparts its wondrous aroma, but its source and nature remain elusive. Although ejected under some pressure through the urinary channel, and possessing some urinary characteristics, this fluid is not urine. Neither is it an anal sac secretion. Its purpose is also unclear, although the frequency with which it is ejected and the marking strategies employed point to its role as a sexual signaller or territory marker. Do female tigers have an unknown accessory gland that is responsible for producing the fluids ejected in such a dramatic fashion? The image of tigresses ejecting an unknown milky, fragrant fluid pulls my mind immediately to that of a woman spurting opalescent prostatic fluid. Having inhaled deeply the exotic and highly erotic musky aroma of freshly ejaculated female prostatic fluid, I'm willing to place a bet that one function of this female genital secretion is of an olfactory and sexual nature. Perhaps tigresses have prostates too.

Speaking to the sisters

While the smell of female genitalia undoubtedly has an effect on the male of the species, the effects of eau-de-femalia do not stop there. Information about a female's reproductive status is of vital interest to members of her own sex, as well as the opposite. In fact, females in many mammalian species use olfactory signals from other females in order to help coordinate reproduction within a supportive social or physical environment. This is presumably because giving birth and rearing offspring in the secure company of friends, and at the best time of the year, is far more conducive to ensuring a species' survival than going it alone in a cold and dangerous place. Importantly, the first step towards co-ordinating the birth of offspring within a community is to synchronise a female's cyclic

THE STORY OF V

ovulation rhythms. That is, female scents force other females in a group to experience their oestrous or menstrual cycles together (menstruation occurs in Old World monkeys and apes, with some prosimians and New World primates also showing some blood loss).

A wealth of evidence highlights this amazing ovulation synchrony phenomenon, and how various genital fluids have an effect. For example, vaginal secretions are understood to mediate the menstrual synchrony shown in the reproductive lives of Old World primates such as crab-eating monkeys, chimpanzees and baboons. In the Holstein dairy cow, a mixture of urine and cervical mucus was found to exert cycle-shifting effects. The most detailed research to date has focused on the role of urine in entraining the oestrous rhythms of rodents, in particular those of rats and golden hamsters. Such work has shown that when females communicate their ovarian rhythms to other females the olfactory message they broadcast, and the effect it has, depends on the point they are at in their oestrous cycle - urine has the olfactory power to both phase-delay the cycle and phase-advance it, a system that allows for synchrony to arise more quickly. For female rats, pre-ovulatory urine odours shortened cycle lengths, while ovulatory urine lengthened them. On average, only three cycles are required for rat synchrony to develop (the rat's oestrous cycle is 4-6 days long).

Menstrual synchrony is also a common phenomenon in human females. However, although commented on for centuries, and demonstrated in women in 1971 in a classic experiment by psychology professor Martha McClintock, the scientific jury remained out until 1998 as to whether menstrual synchrony was truly an example of humans communicating their reproductive status by smell. It was further work by McClintock that gave the unequivocal answer at the turn of the century -yes, human females do communicate such genital information courtesy of their body odours. The ability of women to synchronise their ovulation rhythms and achieve a menstrual quorum was demonstrated in a study where the underarm sweat of human females at differing stages of their menstrual cycles was daubed on the upper lips of other women, and the effects on their menstrual cycles noted (underarm sweat was substituted for urine or vaginal secretions presumably to save the women's sensibilities).

The results were striking. Underarm secretions from the women's follicular phase (in the 12-14 days prior to ovulation) shortened the women's menstrual cycles (-1.7+0.9 days), whereas armpit sweat from the luteal phase (the days preceding ovulation and prior to the onset of menstruation) lengthened the menstrual cycle (1.4±05 days). Compounds in the axillary secretions, although perceived as odourless by the receiving women, advanced or delayed their menstrual cycle length. The

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

net result of this silent female chemical communication - menstrual synchrony.

Two separate points of interest have come out of this and other menstrual synchrony studies. First of all, ovarian synchrony is far more likely to occur if the women concerned are good friends with each other. Simply sharing the same physical environment is not necessarily enough to trigger entrainment. This can be understood in terms of what friendship signifies - safety- and when it comes to getting the timing right, with regard to reproduction, safety signals 'go'. Being in the company of enemies, on the other hand, or simply someone you're unsure of, spells out potential danger, saying 'beware, perhaps it's not a good idea to synchronise with these female foes, and subject your offspring to them and their kind'.

The second point of note from synchrony studies was that the females of some species appear to dominate ovarian synchrony groups - forcing other females to follow in their hormonal wake, as it were. Such an entrainer is known as a zeitgeber. The effect of such hormonally dominant females on the ovulatory status of their social sisters has been noted in several primate species, including marmosets and rhesus and talapoin monkeys, as well as in mice and hamsters, and the silver-backed jackal. In some mammalian species, such as the dwarf mongoose, only the dominant females in a group have reproductive cycles. Moreover, in some societies of species, one female will achieve complete ovulation suppression or quiescence of her sisters. For instance, the smell of a fecund queen bee is so potent that it simply stops other female bees' ovaries from developing.

The somewhat disturbing message from these synchrony studies is that feeling subordinate, like a second-class citizen, as a result of being put upon, stressed, unhappy in your environment or cowed by your social group, can delay or halt ovulation. Such ovulation suppression triggers, and not just those arising from female cohorts, are believed to underlie many cases of human female infertility in the twenty-first century's generation of overworked, underpaid and unappreciated women. Tellingly, stress-related infertility is reckoned to be responsible for 80 per cent of cases of female infertility.

The scent of a man

Considering the potent effect that the smell of a woman can have on a man, perhaps it will be heartening for men to hear that males hold sway too with their personal fragrances. The best studied male fluid, in this respect, is urine, in particular the urine of the male house mouse. Significantly, olfactory signals from the male mouse have an important role to play in regulating all three of a female mouse's major reproductive

THE STORY OF V

events - puberty, oestrous and pregnancy. For example, if a male mouse is introduced into a group of female mice, the majority of the females will be in oestrous three days later - pushed and pulled into ovarian synchrony by the scent of the male. His fragrance will also have an affect on prepubertal females. Two compounds in male mouse urine, iso-butyl amine and isoamylamine, are known to accelerate puberty. The olfactory effect of a male mouse on pregnant mice is even more dramatic. One whiff of the urine of a strange male mouse is enough to cause any recently pregnant mice to abort their developing foetuses. Incredibly, even extremely small amounts of urine evoke uterine growth in young female mice. Male smell-mediated effects are also seen in other rodent species.

Female rodents are far from alone in reacting genitally to the smell of the opposite sex. For as many women know, we are not immune to the scented charms of a man - be it his urine, breath, semen or sweat. Research shows that women who spent at least two nights in the company of men over a period of forty days had a significantly higher rate of ovulation than those sleeping alone. Other studies have revealed that women who are in the company of men three or more times a week tend to have shorter menstrual cycles than those who spend less time with men.

In a more detailed study of this effect on cycle length, male armpit sweat was dabbed on to the upper lips of women and the effects on their menstrual cycles monitored. The results were startling, and compare neatly with the female menstrual synchronisation study. The smell of a man appears to regulate and optimise ovarian function, as measured by the length of the menstrual cycle. Those women who had begun the experiment with irregular menstrual cycles - i.e., those whose cycle length was either longer or shorter than 29.5 days - found that their rhythms came closer to, or tied in to, this 29.5-day cycle length.

The effect of the smell of a man on a woman's ovulatory rhythm is important from a reproductive perspective, because female fertility is closely tied in with cycle length. Optimal fertility is associated with a menstrual cycle length of 29.5±3 days, while infertile women tend to have either short cycle lengths (less than or equal to 26 days) or long ones (more than or equal to 33 days). These irregular cycle lengths are far more likely to be anovulatory (that is, eggs are not released). The idea that women are far more likely to ovulate when they are around men, and intimate with them, rather than if they are not, makes perfect common sense. If there's no man around, why bother to ovulate and potentially waste an egg? Saving it for a more suitable date seems eminently sensible.

In an amazing coincidence, if it is that, 29.5 days, a woman's optimal fertility cycle length, is the moon's periodicity too - the time it takes the moon to shift from new to full and back again. Even more curiously, women tend to bleed in concert with the full moon and ovulate with the

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

new when enjoying the company of men. In contrast, celibacy, or being predominantly in the company of women, leaves menstruation tending to coincide with the new moon, and ovulation, if it occurs at all, with the full. Science has not yet been able to explain why the moon's periodicity matches a woman's reproductive periodicity precisely, or the links to ovulating and bleeding at the new and full phases of the moon. It is possible, however, that there is a biological connection, as many species use the phases of the moon to co-ordinate their reproductive cycles for optimum fertility. It is also now recognised that the uterine lining of a woman's womb fluctuates in its receptiveness to implantation, although it remains to be seen whether it is most receptive at new moon. Curiously, in gardening lore, the advice over centuries has been to sow seed when the moon is new.

Fascinating rhythms

There's one final way that a male can influence the functioning of a female's ovaries - and that is using his phallus to full effect. Fascinatingly, the physical stimulation of copulation can bring about ovulation. For many species this idea is nothing new. A variety of females, including insects and ticks and many mammals such as cats, rabbits, ferrets and mink, are reflex, or mating-induced, ovulators. These females do not ovulate unless they receive sufficient sexual stimuli - a mechanism which is a sensible way of conserving metabolic energy, with their energy channelled into growth and survival rather than unproductive oestrous cycles. So-called spontaneous ovulators, on the other hand, release their gametes apparently in response to regular and cyclic fluctuations in circulating hormone levels. Humans, rhesus monkeys, sheep, pigs, cows and rodents, among others, are spontaneous ovulators.

Ovulation is, however, still a bit of a mystery to scientists, in particular spontaneous ovulation. Why does each ovarian cycle affect only some eggs and not others? Moreover, the actual spark for ovulation - the event that forces a developing ovarian follicle to rupture and extrude, gently, its eggy contents - is still unclear. It is known that there is a build-up of pressure inside the developing ovarian follicle, and that hormones play a critical role in triggering the egg extrusion - specifically a simultaneous surge of luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) with the LH surge then triggering a cascade of enzymes, which catalytically break down the collagen casing of developed ovarian follicles. However a piece of the puzzle that is spontaneous ovulation is still missing.

Significantly, spontaneous ovulation is not as regular or rhythmic as previously supposed. Many women have irregular cycle lengths, and as noted, these are often anovulatory. Unfortunately, it's hard to say exactly

THE STORY OF V

how common anovulation is in women. Anovulatory cycles tend to go unnoticed because ovulation itself typically goes unnoticed by women (although some women, including myself, feel the deep, tight tension squeeze of mittelschmerz from an ovary). And as it's hard to say how many women's menstrual cycles are anovulatory, it's also difficult to say with any confidence how common ovulatory cycles are. Do women and other spontaneous ovulators release an egg every month? Very possibly not.

As a sidenote for any women listening out for mittelschmerz. First you need to locate your ovaries. The best way to do this is to place both hands palms down on your stomach, with the thumbs lying in a horizontal line and the thumb tips touching at a point directly over your belly button. The idea now is to make a downwards-pointing triangle with your hands -your thumbs form the top side of the inverted triangle, and where your index fingers come together is the lower apex. Finally, the points where the tips of your little fingers lie represent the position of your ovaries -under the skin, left and right. Knowing this makes it harder to miss mittelschmerz.

But to get back to sex and ovulation. Whether a woman has sex or not is a factor in whether she ovulates or not. And it seems that the more sex, the greater the likelihood of ovulating. Intriguingly, studies show that women experiencing regular sexual activity with men ovulated in over 90 per cent of their cycles, and had regular ovarian rhythms of around 29.5 days, whereas women who abstained from, or participated in only sporadic sexual activity, did not ovulate in over 50 per cent of their cycles. This physical phenomenon is also seen in other species that are classified as spontaneous ovulators. Copulation or stimuli mimicking copulation, such as vaginal or clitoral stimulation (in the case of a cow), has been found to cause ovulation to occur earlier than it would otherwise have done in sheep, swine, mice and rats amongst others. Tellingly, many unexpected human pregnancies are thought to flow from the erroneous belief that it's impossible to conceive a child late in a woman's cycle. As these parents know, sexual intercourse can all too easily stimulate ovulation and result in conception.

There are a number of ways by which the physical stimulation of sexual intercourse could exert an influence on the likelihood of ovulation occurring (see Figure 6.3). In many, perhaps most, mammals, it's thought that the surge of luteinising hormone (LH) associated with copulation and vaginal/cervical stimulation is a major factor in triggering gamete release. It's also possible that sex may have a more direct influence on the exact moment of ovulation, by inducing contractions of the ovary. Gamete release then occurs when the tension produced by contractions of the whole ovary overwhelms the tensile strength of the wall of the developed ovarian follicle and the pent-up fluid pressure within the fol-

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

pituitary

Key

Afferent nervous pathways

Possible autonomous nervous effects

Stimulatory hormonal effects

spinal cord

hypothalamus

Figure 6.3 The various pathways via which stimulation from sex can induce ovulation in mammals. Sexual stimulation either induces an egg to be released, or induces this event to occur earlier than it would have otherwise: LH lutein-ising hormone, FH follicle-stimulating hormone and LTH luteotropic hormone (adapted from Jochle 1975 and Eberhard 1996).

licle. These ovarian contractions have been documented in both reflex ovulators (in this case, cats) and in women (spontaneous ovulators).

If a male, by dint of his sexual technique, can induce a female's ovaries to contract, then this, perhaps coupled with the rise in LH levels, may trigger ovulation. Studies looking at a number of species reveal the importance of copulation style, length and frequency in inducing ovulation. Female prairie voles are more likely to ovulate if the male performs significantly higher numbers of thrusts. The degree of male stimulation can also significantly affect the number of eggs a female ovulates; with

THE STORY OF V

female rats, the more thrusts, the more eggs released. It seems that a male's sexual technique, if it is up to scratch, can influence both how a female transports his sperm inside her reproductive tract (as we've seen earlier), and whether she will ovulate as well.

Of mice and mate choice

Finally, a return to the nose. One of the most stunning discoveries about the role of smell centres on a phenomenon that was first reported in mice. Mice possess the enviable ability to be able to size up a potential mate on the strength of their smell alone. They can do this because mouse urine differs in odour depending on what type of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes the rodent has (histosis Greek for 'tissue'). What's more, the partners that mice select by smell are those that have MHC genes (alleles) that are quite different from their own. That is, mice sniff out and choose to mate with MHC-dissimilar partners. Why?

The answer lies in what the MHC is used for. MHC genes code for proteins in the immune system - the means by which an organism recognises, at a cellular level, whether something is dangerous or not. The more diverse an organism's MHC mix, the more able and flexible an individual's immune system will be, and the better their chances of recognising and dealing with potentially dangerous situations, such as infections. By following their noses, mice choose genetically complementary partners - mates they are more likely to produce healthy, viable offspring with - the strength in diversity approach.

Although mice use the odour of the opposite sex to sniff out a complementary MHC, the effects of a mouse's MHC are not just nasally directed. Studies show that, incredibly, the genitalia of female mice are able to recognise which sperm are more compatible with her than others on the basis of the MHC. Complementary sperm - those with a more dissimilar MHC - are transported more quickly within her reproductive tract than those sperm with similar MHC genes (as we saw earlier). Both a female mouse's nose and her genitalia work in harmony to sniff out Mr Right.

Other species, as well as mice, possess this remarkable ability to choose a mate guided by the MHC or something similar. Moreover, while the MHC plays an important role in immune function in vertebrates, invertebrates, bacteria and plants all have their own chemo-sensory mate attraction and screening systems in place. The genitals of the female fruitfly distinguish and act on differences in the genetic make-up of fruitfly sperm, sorting and selecting Which sperm to use to fertilise her eggs. Flowering plants have an elaborate recognition system in place, that will abort the interaction of stigma (female cell) with pollen (male cell)

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

if the pollen is too closely related to the female cell. Even broccoli has fifty different types of genes in order to avoid getting it together with a too-similar strain of broccoli.

Follow your nose

But what about human mate choice? Is the human nose sensitive enough to read another person's MHC and act on that information? The smell of a sibling, offspring or the opposite sex - these are all odours that women and men can pick out. However, human olfactory sensitivity is far more subtle and extraordinary. Just as mice are able to recognise human MHC types from urine odour alone, human noses can distinguish between mice that are genetically identical, differing only in a single MHC gene position. And just as mice are able to sniff out a well-matched suitor, so too can humans. Human body odours are also influenced by a person's genetic make-up, and women, it appears, are capable of smelling differences as small as one gene. Significantly, perhaps, in all aspects of olfactory capacity, women are superior to men - they can sniff out a smell at a lower threshold and the range of aroma sensations appreciated by women is wider and deeper.

In one MHC study, women were asked to smell T-shirts worn by men for two nights in a row, and then rate the smells in terms of attractiveness to them. The aromas the women found most attractive were, it turned out, those that were most dissimilar to them, in terms of their MHC genes. A separate male sweaty T-shirt sniffing study asked women to rate different male aromas on the basis of which odours they would prefer to be around the whole time. This time women chose the scents of men who had more MHC genes (alleles) in common with them, specifically alleles that the women had inherited from their fathers. It seems women are able to distinguish the fragrance of familiarity, safety and stability (their father's aroma) from unknown male sweat, as well as the heady prospect of novelty, variety and diversity (an MHC stranger).

Further evidence for the effect of human MHC genes on mate choice has come from the Hutterites, a North American religious community who work in communal farms, marry within their own community and shun contraception and divorce. They marry for love, and for life. An analysis of the Hutterite individual's MHC genes and the marriages -mate choices - within this community revealed that these people tend to avoid (statistically significantly) tying the knot with partners who have similar MHC genes. However, data on the Hutterite community also have some stark implications for how too-similar MHCs may affect a couple's fertility (this effect may work at more than one stage of human sexual reproduction). As well as being associated with more miscarriages, Hut-

THE STORY OF V

terite couples who share a higher proportion of*their MHC genes tend to have longer intervals between successive births. As contraception is not used, it's suggested that the longer birth intervals of these couples may result from the loss of embryos early in gestation, even before pregnancy is consciously recognised.

It's also now recognised that couples who suffer from recurrent spontaneous abortions often have a higher proportion of their MHC in common, in comparison to control couples in many different populations. The newborn babies of these couples often weigh less at birth, a factor which is implicated in health problems in later life. One theory is that MHC-correlated spontaneous abortions can be seen as a woman's reproductive organs unconsciously deciding not to go ahead with this pregnancy as the embryo's genetic make-up signals danger to her, in the same way that a person's body chooses to reject a transplanted organ. It's also thought that in vitro fertilisation attempts are more likely to fail with MHC-similar couples.

Strangely, the idea that a person's smell is intimately related to their genetic individuality and their potential as a parent has resonance in the beliefs of different cultures. Odour is the source of personal identity for the Ongee people of the Andaman Islands. The Ongee, and the Japanese, refer to themselves by putting their forefinger on the tip of their nose, while the Temiar people of the Malaysian peninsula equate an individual's odour with their personal life-force. In the west in times past, the body and breath odours of a virile man were referred to as his aura seminalis, and were believed to emanate from his semen. One Mexican belief, which some still hold today, is that the fragrance of a man's breath is more important than his sperm in determining whether he will conceive a child with a woman. This last idea is given weight not by just MHC research but also by studies that show that for women, how a man smells is one of the most important factors in choosing whether to be sexual with him or not.

Research also suggests that unpleasant body odour (for whatever reason) is the most potent sensory inhibitor of sexual arousal. Moreover, it's recognised that for both women and men how a person smells is key not only to whether a relationship starts, but also to whether it continues or not. It seems it's impossible for people to maintain an intimate relationship with each other if they don't like each other's smell. This idea of having to like someone's smell in order to like them is expressed in some languages, such as German, where saying you don't like someone translates as: 'Ich kann ihn nicht riechen-'I can't [bear to] smell him.'

While it is certainly true that women can screen men for their genetic complementarity on the basis of their breath, worryingly, studies show that there is one group of women who cannot rely on their sense of smell

THE PERFUMED GARDEN

to do this effectively - women who are taking hormonal contraceptives. The pill appears to interfere with the sexual selection chemistry between a woman and a man, effectively sabotaging what nature has spent millions of years setting up. The result - women on the pill are more likely to plump for a man with MHC genes similar to their own, rather than favouring the fertility-enhancing smell of a man with a dissimilar MHC profile. It is not yet known whether pill-matched couples are more predisposed to infertility and miscarriages, or whether the children of such couples could be more likely to suffer health problems. Such studies remain to be carried out. However, considering the recognised importance in terms of fertility and health of finding a man with a complementary MHC, the effects of hormonal contraceptives on a woman's sense of smell are disturbing.

There is one major argument against the importance of human body odour in signalling a person's potential as a fertile mate. It is that humans, unlike other species, choose to douse themselves in perfumes. Surely this fragrance-cloaking habit, which is a long one, stretching back thousands of years, scuppers any possible human reliance on olfactory signals? However, research investigating connections between human MHC genes and smell has recently thrown up a quirky and somewhat unexpected result. It seems that when women and men spray on their perfume of choice they are, albeit unwittingly, amplifying, rather than masking, their individual MHC-driven body odour.

Astonishingly, when asked to choose their preferred fragrances from a range of common perfume ingredients, women and men with similar MHCs chose similar aromas. It appears that perfumes truly do unconsciously reveal what consciously humans may try to hide. As the biblical love poem 'The Song of Songs' says, 'Your name is like those oils poured.' These findings explain for me why I and my two sisters have, as adults, plumped independently for the same perfume as our favourite signature fragrance - we're advertising very similar genetic wares. Perhaps, they also clarify the appeal to me at seventeen of the smell of vanilla as a perfume, and why my young niece's favourite scent is the same as mine was at a similar age.

The evidence to date suggests the human nose, courtesy of its sense of smell, is an invaluable body structure in the search to find a genetically complementary mate and ensure both successful sexual reproduction and the survival of the species. The importance of a female being able to sniff Mr Right (for her) may help in explaining why women score higher than men in sensitivity to odours, regardless of age group. It seems that the old adage to 'follow your nose' is sound advice. But smell does not act alone in the search for the best father for a woman's offspring; a woman's nose acts in glorious concert with her genitalia, sampling and screening

THE STORY OF V

Mr Right Sperm. A woman's nose sniffs him out and her genitalia tries him out for size. Nose and vagina working together give the best possible chance for female reproductive success. It's not surprising, then, that the naso-genital relationship is inscribed indelibly in human consciousness.

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

Pleasure or pain? Ecstasy or agony? Gianlorenzo Bernini depicted the moment as one of voluptuous rapture. St Teresa swoons backwards, lost in the moment, surrendering to her sacred vision. She moans, her lips parted, her face suffused with sensation, her eyes closed. The folds of her clothing stream and flow from her body, fluid as water, caressing her contours, as above golden rays of light surge down from heaven, and the angel of her lord prepares to pierce his flame-tipped spear through her heart, again and again. 'The Ecstasy of St Teresa' (see Figure 7.1), Bernini's sculpture of the Spanish saint of Avila in intimate communion with her god, is both glorious and disturbing, supremely capable of inducing shudders in unsuspecting onlookers.

For many, what Bernini's seventeenth-century hands created - an image of religious, saintly ecstasy - verges on the blasphemous. However, to others it is pure splendour - an emblem of eternal orgasm. St Teresa herself described her moments of mystical communion with Christ in terms imbued with intense passion. In her manuscript Life, written in 1565, she describes how 'The pain was so great that I screamed aloud; but simultaneously I felt such infinite sweetness that I wished it to last eternally. It was not bodily but psychic pain, although it affected to a certain extent also the body. It was the sweetest caressing of the soul by God.'

Perhaps it is not surprising that St Teresa was lost as to how to describe her intense sensations, and onlookers remain split as to what they see. Descriptions of orgasm often defy exactitude. What, after all, is one expressing? A pinnacle of pleasure and passion, or simply seconds of sweet, streaming, exquisite suffering? Is it a blissful evanescent and ecstatic moment when a person can stand outside one's conscious life and self, or just deliciously pleasant muscular contractions centred on and around a person's genitalia? Orgasm, it seems, is paradoxical. Language tells us the word derives from the Greek orgasmos, itself from the term orgon, which means to grow ripe, swell or be lustful, words which carry sexual and genital connotations. The Sanskrit urira means 'sap' or 'strength' - conveying a sense of sexual energy. However, such words fail somewhat when addressing the complexity and emotion of the experience.

THE STORY OF V

Figure 7.1 Bernini's 'The Ecstasy of St Teresa': is the saint moaning with orgasmic bliss?

Other English orgasmic expressions - climax, come, spend oneself and the big O - also pale beside the real thing. Latin sexual language utilised metaphors of reaching a goal or arriving (peruenies) or accomplishing something {patratio) to describe orgasm. French highlights the step to an altered consciousness with la petite morte, and expresses the pleasures of orgasm using the verb jouir - literally to enjoy or delight in something. However, French perplexes somewhat with the phrase vider ses burettes to describe female orgasm. This phrase literally means 'the emptying of her burettes', burettes being the receptacles for wine and holy water at Mass, but also in Old French a jug or pitcher with a wide mouth. It's also possible that this expression relates to the phenomenon of female ejaculation too. Meanwhile, German adds a bit of fizz with a descriptor of orgasm as hochste Wallung, that is, 'maximum bubbling' - a deliciously effervescent portrayal of the pleasure phenomenon.

The difficulty of grasping the heart of orgasm is reflected in the language of other cultures too. Anthropological evidence highlights how, for the Mangaian people, orgasm is nene, a word used figuratively to refer to perfection. Synonymous with this is nanawe, used for either 'luxuriously comfortable' or 'the pleasantness of a person's talk or of music'. In the Trobiand Islands, the fine line between orgasm and ejaculation is somewhat blurred. Ipipisi momona describes the moment of orgasm, but translates literally as 'the sexual fluid squirts/the seminal fluid discharges'.

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

Ipipisi momona also refers to nocturnal orgasms, be they female or male, yet the act of ejaculation is described using the word isulumomoni- which means 'the sexual fluid boils over'.

Interestingly, the language of the Polynesian people of the Marquesas Islands uses different words to describe different aspects of orgasm, as well as attitudes. First of all they describe orgasm with the word manini, meaning literally sweet. However, while manini refers mainly to the sensations of pleasure, release and well-being associated with orgasm, Mar-quesans also describe orgasm in terms of what happens to a person's genitals. This word for orgasm, hakatea, translates literally as 'make semen', i.e. ejaculate, but also possesses overtones of the aspects of manini. Neither of these orgasm terms are viewed as being suitable for polite usage - in such circumstances, pao, meaning finish, is substituted. This separation into manini, hakatea and pao is, I feel, similar to English with orgasm, ejaculate and come. Somewhat worryingly, the influence of the sexual views of missionaries on the Marquesan people is evident in their rejigged sexual lexicon. In the southern group of the Marquesas archipelago, both pe (rotten) and hau hau (bad) are now used to depict orgasm. The phrase ua pe nei au translates, disconcertingly, as 'I am rotten now; I have had an orgasm.'

Orgasms for all

The desire to describe, name, quantify and, in doing so, understand orgasm is an age-old itch. Indeed, a multitude of minds - medical, moral, philosophical and just plain curious - have pondered on such questions as 'What is an orgasm?'; 'Why do orgasms exist?'; 'Why do they feel so good?' and, crucially, for an understanding of the vagina, 'What do they say about genitalia?' Ancient western medicine was no exception in this. 'I must now tell why a great pleasure is coupled with the exercise of the generative parts and a raging desire precedes their use,' says Greek physician Galen in On the Usefulness of the Parts. Galen, following the lead of Hippocrates, viewed orgasm as a signal of the release of an individual's procreative genital fluids - the seed or semen that they believed both women and men contributed to the conception of a child. That is, orgasm, in their minds, was the means by which genitalia shook forth both sexes' essential generative seed.

Within this two-seed model of conception (as it has come to be known), orgasm could be described as follows. It was associated with a great pleasure that was felt by both sexes and was intimately tied to successful sexual reproduction; both sexes typically emitted genital fluids; the pleasurable sensations felt were a result of both the qualities of the substance emitted, as well as its rapid propulsion; and the woman's womb

THE STORY OF V

both secreted her own fluids and then drew up and retained a mixture of her fluids and the male's. Critically, this theory viewed both female and male orgasm during sexual intercourse as essential for ensuring successful sexual reproduction. If female orgasm did not occur, a woman would not release her seed, and conception, therefore, could not take place. That is, this view saw both female and male genitalia, and female and male pleasure, having a meaningful role to play in procreation.

Not all early western philosophers of medicine agreed with Galen and Hippocrates' orgasmic views. Aristotle had distinctly different ideas about the nature of both female and male orgasm. Whereas the two-seed theory of conception tied the pleasure of orgasm and the emission of sexual fluids firmly together for both women and men, Aristotle's view of orgasm was completely dissociated from the explosive release of generative seed. Moreover, he underlined this view by refuting that orgasm was a signaller of ejaculation in either sex. For Aristotle, orgasm, or 'the vehemence of pleasure in sexual intercourse', as he put it, was a result of'a strong friction wherefore if this intercourse is often repeated the pleasure is diminished in the persons concerned'. Orgasm, for him, was not the sensation associated with emission of genital fluids.

In order to back up his 'orgasm separate from seed' theory, Aristotle pointed to his observations that women could conceive without orgasm (although he stressed that this was the exception rather than the rule). And he also highlighted how orgasm was possible for both young boys and old men without the concomitant spurt of ejaculate. Significantly, Aristotle also commented on the changes that occurred in female genitalia during orgasm, noting that as a woman came her cervix acted as a 'cupping vessel', seeming to serve to draw in semen. Aristotle suggested, rather astutely, as we shall see, that 'when this is so there is a readier way for the semen of the male to be drawn into the uterus'. In his view then, female orgasm may not be essential for conception, but it and the changes it wrought in the vagina could certainly improve the chances of conception occurring.

The musings of Aristotle on female and male orgasm were not, however, the ones that gained widespread acceptance in the western ; world. Rather, it was the Hippocratic idea that female orgasm was crucial for conception that remained in common currency up until and during the eighteenth century. For example, in 1745, French scientist Pierre de Maupertuis still felt confident enough to describe female orgasm in his work The Earthy Venus as 'the pleasure which perpetuates mankind, that moment so rich in delight, which brings to life a new being'.

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

Female orgasm is essential for conception

The theory that female orgasm is essential for conception to occur is, I believe, one of the most influential ideas in the history of the vagina and female sexual pleasure. This is because it had particularly far-reaching consequences for how western women and their genitalia were treated. For with female orgasm understood as a necessary part of the procreation equation, female sexual pleasure, and how to evoke it, could be viewed in a positive light. Religion could sanction female sexual pleasure and medics could advise on how best to bring about female orgasm because of its intimate connection to creation. The result: female sexual pleasure was deemed acceptable, moral even, by the most important authorities of the day - the church and science.

Delightfully, fertility advice from physicians emphasised the importance of ensuring that a woman's shudder of orgasm was felt during sexual intercourse. If 'in the very coitional act itself, she notes a certain tremor ... she is pregnant', Aetius of Amida, physician to the Byzantine emperor Justinian, advised. Moreover, suggesting how best to stimulate a woman to this sexual bliss was also perceived as part of a medic's remit. Soranus' influential second-century medical text, Gynaecology^ prescribes appropriate foods and massage as the prerequisite preludes to orgasm. He writes of tempting women with meals of aphrodisiacal foods 'to give the inner turbulence an impetus towards coition', and of giving a massage, as it 'naturally aids the distribution of food [and] also helps in the reception and retention of the seed'. Such conception prescriptions were enduring, as the seventeenth-century recommendation of 'sweet embraces with lascivious words mixed with lascivious kisses' shows. History also records the 1740s' story of the young Habsburg princess Maria Theresa, who found herself unable to conceive after her recent marriage. Her physician's advice was: T think the vulva of Her Most Holy Majesty should be titillated before intercourse.' This seems to have worked, as Maria Theresa went on to bear more than a dozen children.

The timing - and not just the occurrence - of female orgasm during sexual intercourse was seen as a crucial component of the two-seed theory of successful sexual reproduction. Hippocrates, like his later Greek fellow, Aristotle, noted changes in a woman's genitalia on orgasm. His interpretation was that a woman's womb contracted and closed up after its orgasmic ejaculation, barring entry to any male latecomers. And so the belief that simultaneous orgasm was necessary for conception was born. Rhythm and timing became all important. If a woman came before a man, she could not conceive because her uterus would already be drawn up and closed. If a man orgasmed before a woman, his sperm would douse and extinguish 'both the heat and pleasure for woman'. But if both

THE STORY OF V

sexes could come to orgasm together, Hippocrates envisaged, it is as if wine is sprinkled on a naked flame - the flames shoot higher, the heat of the woman's womb blazes most brilliantly, and post-mutual-orgasmic shiver, her womb seals. Success.

Over the centuries many opinions were offered as to what was the best way to ensure a woman came at the same time as a man. Certain times of the day or night were suggested to be better than others, aphrodisiacs could help, as could the right sexual technique. The medieval manuscript Women s Secrets advised how 'After the middle of the night or before daybreak the male should begin to excite the woman to coitus. He should speak to her in a jesting manner, kiss and embrace her, and rub her lower parts with his fingers. All this should be done to arouse the woman's appetite for coitus so the male and the female seed will run together in the womb at the same time.' And according to this anonymous male adviser: 'When the woman begins to speak as if she were babbling the male ought to become erect and mix with her.' The final piece of advice? A 'sign of conception is if the man feels his penis drawn and sucked into the closure of the vulva'.

The belief that changes in the structure of female genitalia at orgasm were an integral part of ensuring procreation meant that coital fertility advice was quite far-reaching. The sixteenth-century French surgeon Ambroise Pare counselled on the wisdom of not withdrawing from a woman too soon after her womb had opened from orgasm, 'lest aire strike the open womb', he says, and cool the freshly sown warm seeds, thus harming conception. It seems that sex for women - if a man was aiming to procreate - may well have been more enjoyable than others have presumed. Sweet talk and kisses, good food and wine, a sensual massage, mutual orgasm and a long, close embrace afterwards. It sounds good to me.

But sadly for women, the notion that female and mutual orgasm was necessary for conception did not last. Aristotle's beliefs did not disappear entirely and rumours had been circulating the medical world for centuries that female orgasm was not a prognosticator of semination. In the twelfth century, Arabic philosopher and author of a major medical encyclopaedia Averroes reported on the case of a woman who got pregnant from semen floating in her bath water. The death knell sounded in the 1770s when Lazzaro Spallanzani successfully artificially inseminated a water spaniel. Dogs and other animals, at least, the theorists concluded, did not need to enjoy orgasm to conceive. As one doctor commented sagely and succinctly, syringes could not 'communicate or meet with joy'. And what about women and orgasm? Although it took a while longer for the equation of female orgasm with conception to be erased from public consciousness, by the start of the nineteenth century, medical opinion was

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

reaching a consensus. Human female orgasm was not necessary for successful sexual reproduction. What a come-down.

Some entrepreneurial spirits discovered the truth about orgasm and contraception for themselves. Mabel Loomis Todd was one such person. This nineteenth-century American woman, who later became the lover of poet Emily Dickinson's brother, kept a deliciously explicit diary of her sex life, her menstrual cycle, her orgasms (noting them all, including masturbation) and more. May 15,1879, 'barely eight days over my illness [period]', is the day she chose to put her beliefs about orgasm to the test. 'With me,' she writes, 'the only fruitful time could be at the climax moment of my sensation - that once passed, I believed the womb would close, & no fluid could reach the fruitful point.'

And so she proceeded to test this idea out by having sex with her husband and deliberately coming before he did. As she put it: 'Not at all from uncontrollable passion, but merely from the strongest conviction of the truth of my idea, I allowed myself to receive the precious fluid, at least six or eight moments after my highest point of enjoyment had passed, and when I was perfectly cool & satisfied, getting up immediately, thereafter, and having it all apparently escape.' The result of Mabel's home fecundation experiment - her only child, Millicent.

Orgasms for health - the makings of an orgasm industry

Despite the severing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of a link between female orgasm and conception, one strand of the original two-seed theory remained as part of medical practice. It even flourished as the nineteenth century became the twentieth, evolving into a major part of medical practice. This portion of the two-seed theory was the idea that female orgasm was necessary to maintain a woman's health. As Hippocrates perceived it, orgasm was essential in releasing both sexes' retained seed. However, if this seed was not expelled regularly via orgasm shaking it out, ill health would result from the build-up of seed and subsequent imbalance of bodily fluids. As the medieval manuscript the Trotula, in Treatments for Women, states: 'Women, when they have immoderate desire to have intercourse and they do not do so, if they do not satiate the desire they incur grave suffering'. As we shall see, though, this conclusion that female orgasms were necessary in order to maintain physical and mental health had major repercussions for how women, and the diseases attributed to them, were treated by the medical profession.

From Galen's time onwards (129-200 ce), medical texts record, in great detail, how manipulation to orgasm was the standard medical treatment for these non-specific 'women's diseases'. This was because these ailments, which were variously called 'suffocation of the womb';

THE STORY OF V

praefocatio matricis ('suffocation of the mother'), and hysteria (literally, womb disease), were believed to stem from the uterus becoming engorged with unexpended seed, and so wandering the body, in search of release. Orgasm was one of the chosen methods of effecting the release, although the prescription for how orgasm was brought about varied. Over the centuries, the methods physicians prescribed to induce orgasm in so-called hysterical women included advocating being 'strongly encountered by their husbands' if they had one. Alternatively, if a woman was single, widowed or confined to a nunnery, the recommendation could be horse-riding, pelvic rocking in swings, chairs or hammocks, or vaginal massage -the latter to be provided by the patient's physician or midwife.

Over the centuries it was practised, vaginal or vulval massage to orgasm became just another skill that male physicians and midwives must perfect for the benefit of their patients. Galen advised how to rub a woman's genitalia until she felt the 'pain and at the same time the pleasure' associated with intercourse - and had emitted a quantity of thick seed. Not surprisingly, different approaches to providing the orgasmic conclusion were suggested. The method Giovanni Matteo Ferrari da Gradi (d. 1472) prescribed was to rub the woman's chest and cover it with large cupping glasses, after which 'the midwife would be instructed to use sweet-smelling oil on her finger and move it well in a circle inside the vulva'. A successful treatment, according to da Gradi, was when the woman experienced 'simul ... delectatio & dolor\ that is, pleasure and pain at the same time, another description of orgasm that contains echoes of St Teresa's ecstasy.

Many male medics felt it necessary to ask women to help them in their exertions. In his influential early-seventeenth-century medical compendium, Dutch physician Pieter van Foreest recommends to medics confronted with a case of suffocatio exsemine retento (suffocation because of retained seed): 'we think it necessary to ask a midwife to assist, so that she can massage the genitalia with one finger inside, using oil of lilies, musk root, crocus, or [something] similar. And in this way the afflicted woman can be aroused to the paroxysm.'

As well as providing descriptions of orgasm, the many discussions of medical vaginal massage provide a rare, intimate and surprising insight into how the vagina was viewed and treated in the last two millennia. Using pleasant or aphrodisiacal aromas seems to have been common, as was applying a particular type of stimulation. In the following case, the recommendation appears to be to stimulate the cervix: 'Let the mydwife anoint her fingers with ... spike mixed with musk, ambergreese, civet and other sweet powders, and with these let her rub or tickle the top of the neck of the wombe which toucheth the inner orifice.'

Significantly, some accounts touch on what physical effect their actions

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

had on female genitalia, as well as the technique they applied. Aetius of Amida (502-75) describes the moment of orgasmic release as characterised by uterine contractions, muscular spasms throughout the entire body, and the secretion of vaginal fluids. Rhazes, the tenth-century Arabic author of a practical textbook of medicine, details how, when the mouth of the womb is rubbed with a well-oiled finger, there is the sensation 'as if something is pulled up'.

It's important to note, though, that not all doctors were comfortable with providing vulval massage to orgasm for health - from both a moral and practical perspective. The word orgasm is noticeably absent from the majority of descriptions of genital massage, with most orgasm-providing medics preferring to talk about relieving the 'hysterical paroxysms' of women. In 1883, the French physician Auguste Tripier would only admit that what was known as the convulsive crisis of hysteria 'est de meme quelquefois que la crise venerienne - 'is sometimes the same as the orgasm'.

One of the few physicians to refer, in print, to the type of relief his profession was routinely providing was Nathaniel Highmore. In his 1660 manuscript De Passione Hysterica et Affectione Hypochondriaca he uses the word orgasmum, which can only mean one thing in Latin. Highmore also detailed how blood rushed to a woman's genitals during arousal and how the contractions of orgasm seemed to return that blood to the rest of the body. This seventeenth-century doctor was also more direct (and humorous) than most in describing the skill required to effect orgasm via vaginal massage, commenting: 'it is not unlike that game of boys in which they try to rub their stomachs with one hand and pat their heads with the other'. Nearly two and a half centuries later, in 1906, fellow physician Samuel Spencer Wallian was bemoaning not just the expertise called for, but the time taken up too. Manual massage, he complains, 'consumes a painstaking hour to accomplish much less profound results than are easily effected by the other in a short five or ten minutes'.

'Aids that every woman appreciates'

The other in question was the latest tool of the medical profession - the vibrator. Vibration therapy, as detailed beautifully in Rachel Maines' book The Technology of Orgasm: 'Hysteria] the Vibrator and Women s Sexual Satisfaction, was the answer to all tired medics' prayers. Whether steam-powered, water-propelled, foot-operated or, from 1883 onwards, thanks to English doctor and inventor Joseph Mortimer Granville, electromechanical, vibrators provided much-needed relief for physicians and their patients (see Figure 7.2). Female orgasms could now be provided at the flick of a switch. Business, it seemed, boomed. In 1873, it was estimated

THE STORY OF V

Figure 7.2 The advent of the vibrator: an early twentieth-century vibrator.

that in the US 'more than three-fourths of all the practice of the [medical] profession are devoted to the treatment of diseases peculiar to women', with the annual estimated aggregate income which 'physicians must thank frail women for' totalling around $150 million. This is not surprising, considering vulval massage to orgasm was by the end of the nineteenth century a staple medical practice, with some doctors recommending women come in for 'treatments' on a weekly basis. A lucrative outcome indeed.

The difference that the electromechanical vibrator made to the medical profession's treatment of'hysterical' women was summed up in 1903 in a book by Dr Samuel Howard Monell discussing medical uses of vibration. 'Pelvic massage (in gynaecology),' he wrote, 'has its brilliant advocates and they report wonderful results, but when practitioners must supply the skilled technic with their own fingers the method has no value to the majority.' However, he adds, 'Special applicators (motor driven) give practical value and office convenience to what otherwise is impractical'

Vibrators took off at home, as well as in the doctor's surgery. In the US in the 1890s, women could purchase a $5 portable vibrator - 'perfect for weekend trips', ran the advertisement - rather than paying at least $2 a pop for a visit to the physician. Delightfully, the vibrator was the fifth household appliance to be electrified, after the sewing machine, fan, kettle and toaster. And as vibrators became available for home use, the ancient art of physician-prescribed vaginal massage to orgasm slowly became defunct. Male medical hands were increasingly freed to perform other healing tasks. Unfortunately, it's not known precisely how many late-nineteenth-century and early-eighteenth-century home vibration kits

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

New Combination | Eloctric Fan. am"

Ump.

h lamp sovk- K, VSJ

I For usual ('CTtfl

H e>l Kill to i ' i

SI.. >K wl., *■ ■■ —

Elrclr.c Ian icr.wi Into uny lamp docket, while lamp bulb can he placed in socket.-it tached ; thus will civc butli l.reeic anil light, ither alone. Kan ia ol ami. i> iiiihra in diameter, with l.mip KR-I

attached city

IIS volt*, about 10 |

No. ITPMOt Price, with-jut lamp bulb $10.75

Eloctrl* Radiator.

OITera the many comforts and advantage* which are to be found in other radiators lined on tins page and ii very •imilar to our No. 57P8J3T, except the difference in general appearance. Nicelynickel plated

aad poii.iiert. nml oprralr. on th» oeaalclt* cnrrral of tin to 110 vulle. Mltlpplnf art., ai.oot JO .........Is.

Na. 3 7r523 7 rrtee.e«iBnleU..98-O0

B..I.V AU.ct.rn.nl

Wblpt cream sad bests ■■«•■ sud m Ibrr oar. will l.r foon.l for thme nil.

welf bt,

.. $1-30

H.u.ob.U

Maw, qolrklr stlsrbed to

I n"n™ P B>«7'«.'«s tof ibis k.adr Assies. Hhiii-plos; *el(fcl, sbout iVt -luo.K

*o. 97r79BO

Tries, cooar.r. i» «S

5t! $5.95

Portable Vibrator.

No. ITPtlOl Neat, compact vibrator with three applicators, as ■hown. Very useful and ■atisfactory for home Service. Shipping wt., about tyi pounds. $5.95

... sT"-*

■ mount of electricity as our Nos. r.ll'AZIT and 67 rem radiators Itss tenrrsl spi ■. . iocs of a

of a trn.li-nrv lo throw Ibe br.t opwnrd tlisD ■*■". T." T *"S'TMni the other rs.llstors

bsvs and woold '■« vsrv asttsfsriorf as s font w.riorr. Al.ost 7 Iodic, high aad nl.flj Dol.l.r.1 U.ual cllr current of luo to lir. volt- Complete with cord aad plus ■hli.plnx welabt. about S pooods. • e 0 c Ns. 3>r323B Prle«..!V. $5.95

Vibrator An.cKro.nl. for H.ov. Motor. loclsde lb. sperlsl roooerlluo, three appllcelora od bsadlr Not neci-asur. to bur a .omnlsts vlbrn. or If ..ii havs tbs lloaso Motor. Bhlpplsf wslght.

Ns. 37*l°r3302 Pries $1.35

lude arlo.llof snd tuOll i nvounit. Phipplas wrlshl. sbou Na. 971-7984 l-rlee

nilarouad ths ce Motor and • with hultlof

$1.35

Chum and Miaoi Attachment.

Used la ronurvllnn wllh the noms Motor.

von will n.

Ma. 97l'7982

Bblpulog welfhl.

$1.30

ounces.

N*.87P63I9

'fries $1.30

Figure 7.3 'Aids that every woman appreciates': an advertisement page from a 1918 electrical goods catalogue from Sears, Roebuck and Company.

were sold; however, they were certainly popular enough to feature in many mail-order magazines in the US, the UK and Canada up until the 1920s (see Figure 7.3).

The pages of the magazine Modern Priscilla, in April 1913, sold vibrators with the promise of 'a machine that gives 30,000 thrilling, invigorating, penetrating, revitalizing vibrations per minute'. Not surprisingly, perhaps, vibrator advertisements (whether directed at doctors or women), did not mention orgasms or sexual pleasure, just the 'health benefits' of vibration. An 1883 text entitled Health for Women rec-

THE STORY OF V

ommends vibrators as they can treat 'pelvic hyperemia' - congestion of the genitalia. Quite why vibrators fell from medical and public grace and use during the first half of the twentieth century is also unclear, although it has been suggested that their exposure in the early erotic films of the 1920s may have changed medical and public opinion as to their 'health' role, and highlighted their sexual one. And sadly, the morals of the day were not in favour of females sexually pleasuring themselves.

Ironically, the orgasm industry in the west was thriving in a time when many medics and men felt confident enough to put forward, and publish, the notion that women were passionless creatures, not much troubled by sexual feelings. While some male doctors were charging women for orgasm provided by them on health grounds, others were promulgating the view that women that did have sexual feelings were mad, bad, dangerous and abnormal. In 1896, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, in Psychopathia Sexualis, famously said, 'Woman, however, when physically and mentally normal and properly educated, has but little sensual desire.' He adds that 'if it were otherwise marriage and family life would be empty words', a sentiment that seems to express a fear of what would happen to society if women gave free rein to their sexuality.

The following are just a few comments from other male doctors in this particularly hypocritical period in medicine's history.

Women have less sexual feeling than men ... as a rule women have nothing of what is understood as sexual passion. (Charles Taylor, 1882)

The appearance of the sexual side in the love of a young girl is pathological... half of all women are not sexually excitable. (Hermann Fehling,1893)

Only in very rare circumstances do women experience one tithe the sexual feeling which is familiar to most men. Many of them are entirely frigid. (Nineteenth-century American physican George Napheys)

Meanwhile, writing in 1871, British doctor William Acton did not deny that some women were capable of being aroused; however, he suggested that they were 'sad exceptions', and on a fast track to a 'form of insanity that those who visit lunatic asylums must be fully conversant with'.

Medical massage good, women masturbating bad

Equally astonishingly and outrageously, while male doctors were manipulating women to orgasm in their surgeries and charging them for it, other male physicians were publishing papers on the problems of female doing it for themselves - manually or mechanically. 'The Neuropsychical Element in Conjugal Aversion', that is, why women say no to sex with

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

their husbands, is the title of an article published in 1892 in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. This paper suggested that a common 'source of marital aversion seems to lie in the fact that substitution of mechanical and iniquitous excitations [vibrators and masturbation] affords more satisfaction that the mutual legitimate ones do'.

Other medical journals published articles detailing ways in which male doctors could spot if their female patients were suffering from the 'masturbatory disease'. 'Signs of Masturbation in the Female', by E. H. Smith in The Pacific Medical Journal of 1903, is essentially a guide for doctors on how to detect if women have been masturbating. One sign, according to E. H. Smith, was one labium being longer than the other. Other signs of masturbation were that women were more sexually sensitive than they should be. Horrifically, to figure out whether a woman was more sexually sensitive than she should be, the medical journal advocated sending a 'mild faradic current', i.e. an electric shock, through the urethra.

It seems that western women couldn't win - they were either inferior to men because they were lacking in sexual feeling, or abnormal because they enjoyed and displayed their feelings of sexual pleasure. Many doctors appear to have been very confused. The late-nineteenth-century gynaecologist Otto Adler wrote that up to 40 per cent of women suffered from sexual anaesthesia. However, the women who made up this 'sexually anaesthetic' category included women who said they did masturbate to orgasm; women who said they had strong sexual desires (although they were unable to satisfy them); and a woman who was reported to have had an orgasm as she was being examined by the doctor. Adler's categorisation of what constituted sexual anaesthesia in women seems peculiar indeed, and not particularly robust. Meanwhile the 1899 edition of the reference guide for physicians, the Merck Manual on one page recommended massage as a treatment for hysteria, while on another it suggested sulphuric acid as a remedy for nymphomania. This brings to mind the barbaric idea of pouring carbolic acid on the clitoris as a 'cure' for female masturbation.

This state of confusion in the medical world as to how to understand female orgasm and sexual pleasure is, in part, perhaps explained by the differing messages being received from the authorities of the day. On the one hand, science said female orgasm had no role to play in sexual reproduction, therefore in the eyes of moral and church-going men, sexual pleasure could not be sanctioned in women, as it did not lead directly to procreation. However, on the other hand, science was still teaching (at least up to the end of the nineteenth century) that female orgasm was necessary for health - surely medical ethics demanded doctors do their job? Ultimately, though, just as with the clitoris, the loss of an obvious and immediate role in ensuring successful sexual reproduction

THE STORY OF V

meant that it was possible for the medical and scientific community to ignore the troublesome concept of the female orgasm. And in the main, they did, despite having recently routinely provided female orgasms on health grounds.

The history of the west's obsession with orgasms and health would not be complete without the story of Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), a Viennese doctor and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, who moved to the US in 1939. Orgasm, and how it was linked to health, was Reich's lifetime fascination. In his book The Function of the Orgasm - sex-economic problems of biological energy, published in 1927, Reich wrote of his belief that health, in particular psychological health, depends upon what he called 'orgastic potency', that is, the degree to which a person can surrender to and experience orgasm, free of any inhibitions. He suggested that humans store emotions in their muscles, and that during orgasm, the muscular contraction and relaxation of orgasm release these emotions, keeping a person healthy. That is, orgasm regulates the emotional energy of the body and relieves sexual tensions that would otherwise be transformed into neurosis. Orgasm, Reich envisaged,was the free flow of sexual or biological energy (which he called orgone) through the body.

The flipside of this, not being able to enjoy full and satisfying orgasms because of psychological or physiological tension blocks in the body, was ill-health. Reich explained and expanded on this in the following way:

People who are brought up with a negative attitude toward life and sex acquire a pleasure anxiety, which is physiologically anchored in muscle spasms. This neurotic pleasure anxiety is the basis on which life-negating, dictator-producing views of life are reproduced by the people themselves. It is the core of a fear of an independent, freedom-oriented way of life.

Reich's views on the importance of sexual pleasure were not shared by everyone, perhaps because of his controversial exhortations to fuck freely. A propaganda film he made in his youth, Mysteries of the Organism, promoting what he called orgasmatherapy, declares:

The human being averages 4,000 orgasms in a lifetime. Do not turn off this pulsating motor of joy and life force ... The biological charge and discharge produced by the genital embrace causes the orgasmic reflex, supremely pleasurable muscle contractions. Subjection to social disciplines may cause gastric ulcers, respiratory, coronary and vascular diseases. Comrade lovers, for your health's sake: fuck freely.

In a western world which would rather not talk about sex or orgasm, and which only permitted sex within marriage, for procreation purposes, Reich's views were dismissed and ridiculed and more. His books were

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

burnt twice in his life - the first time by the Nazis in Germany in 1933. Later, in the US, his belief that illnesses could be affected by orgasm (orgone energy) got him into serious trouble with the drug regulatory authorities there. He remains virtually the only post-war western writer to have their books burned by the American state (1956), and he died in prison a year later, jailed for non-compliance with an injunction that ordered him to refrain perpetually 'from making any statements or representations pertaining to the existence of orgone energy'.

It seems ironic that just over fifty years after American doctors were providing orgasms on health grounds, Reich was persecuted for suggesting the same - albeit far more publicly. There is a curious addendum to the Reich story, as there is now some western scientific research that suggests orgasms may well be good for health. Studies looking at men have shown that those who have two or more orgasms a week live longer than those who have one or none, while other studies looking at coronary disease in women and men suggest that a satisfying and orgasmic sex life may contribute to a strong and healthy heart. Is it possible that Reich was right, that the function of the orgasm is ensuring health of body and mind? Unfortunately, the jury is still out on this one. But for what it's worth, I'm happy to put my faith in enjoying an orgasm a day in an attempt to keep the doctor and death at bay.

The elixir of life

Before looking at what science today has to say about female orgasm and its connection with female genitalia, what about outside the Christian western world? How is orgasm understood elsewhere? Moreover, do views of female orgasm differ in cultures where sex is viewed as sacred? Fascinating, eastern belief systems, such as Taoism, which developed in China, and Tantra, from northern India, also viewed female orgasm as essential for health. First Tantrism. Orgasm in Tantric terms is understood as a resolution of two forces - call them expansion and contraction, or female and male - which results in cosmic harmony. Tantra, which teaches that Buddhahood, some say nirvana, resides in the vagina, places great emphasis on maithuna - a Tantric sex rite. During maithuna, which is often called yoni-puja (worship of the vagina), a man's goal is to feed or fuel himself off the woman's sexual/spiritual energy. In this way, it is said he can revitalise himself and achieve longevity. There's one sticking point though. Having sex is not enough. Successful sexual vampirism is only accomplished by ensuring the woman has an orgasm (and that the man does not ejaculate his semen).

There is also another reason why Tantrism perceives female orgasm to be essential. This stems from the idea that it is orgasm that releases a

THE STORY OF V

woman's rajas - her vivifying vaginal secretions. Indeed, in some Tantric schools, the main aim of maithuna is the production and collection of the woman's rajas, which the man will then ingest. Somewhat peculiarly, this can be done by collecting the vaginal juices on a leaf, mixing them with a little water and then drinking the genital cocktail. Or, if a man has truly mastered his Tantric sexual techniques, he can enhance his hormonal system by absorbing the rajas directly through his penis - a practice known as vajroli-mudra.

Female orgasm is also considered to have benefits for health and a long life within Taoism, which was founded by the sixth-century bce prophet Lao Tzu. In fact, Taoism teaches that sex is seen as one of the prime ways to come closer to the Tao, that is, ultimate reality, energy, movement and constant change, where the polar opposites of yin (female) andyang (male) are balanced and harmonious, continually uniting and metamorphosing into each other. Indeed, the basic principle of traditional Chinese philosophy says that 'the interaction of the female essence [yin] with the male essence [yang] is the Way of Life [Tao]'. Moreover, as Taoist sexual lore teaches that death is caused by the imbalance of yin and yang, sex is seen as a major force for rebalancing the body and thus cheating death.

For men, the way to garner longevity sexually is by the process of gathering and absorbing essential yin essence (cai Yin pu Yang), while withholding their own ejaculation. And just as in Tantric thought, this female elixir (known as khuai) is only produced when a woman has an orgasm. However, there is a slight twist. According to the Taoist sex manual A Popular Exposition of the Methods of Regenerating the Primary Vitalities, this life-giving essence can be supped from three places: a woman's mouth, her breasts and her vagina - hence it's called The Great Medicine of the Three Peaks. Regarding the vaginal juices, the manual states that it 'is called the Peak of the Purple Agaric, also the Grotto of the White Tiger, or the Mysterious Gateway. Its medicine is called Black Lead, or Moon Flower. It is in the vagina. Usually it does not flow out... Only the man who can control his passion and sexual excitement in coitus can obtain this medicine and achieve longevity'.

But what about women? Their orgasms may benefit men, but are orgasms good for female health as well? Well, in Taoist thought, the answer is a resounding and emphatic yes. In fact, in Taoism women seem to have a remarkable win-win situation. Not only are they understood to gain in energy and longevity from their own orgasms, but they can also nourish themselves by gathering a man's essence too (cai Yangpu Yin). In contrast, men can only gain from women's orgasms, not their own. Women, it is said, gain longevity via orgasm by allowing their sexual or creative energy (symbolised as the Kundalini serpent) to rise from the vagina, up the spine and to the brain. This type of nourishing whole-

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

body orgasm (where altered levels of consciousness are reached) is understood as a moment of union with the supreme Tao, or universe, and is called an 'orgasm of the valley'. Women are taught that they can help themselves to experience these profound and consciousness-altering orgasms by developing an awareness of and connection with their genital musculature (both vaginal and uterine).

Who has the best orgasm?

Curiously, eastern and western theories of female orgasm have something else in common - other than considering it a health boon. This sharing of ideas surrounds a question that we've all asked ourselves at one time or another - namely, who has the best orgasm, or greatest pleasure during sex? The answer it seems is unanimous - women do. Tellingly, it is a general belief in Greek mythology, Hinduism, Islam, Taoism, Christianity and western medicine that women enjoy greater pleasure during sexual activity. Within Taoist thought, this belief is expressed in the idea of a woman's yin energy being like water, or k'an, vast and inexhaustible, and very slow to cool, whereas a man's yang energy is like fire, or li, volatile and flaring up quickly, but easily spent and extinguished. Taoism also explains that it is easier.for women to draw sexual orgasmic energy up from their genitals as their energy is on balance more yin. That is, as they are more focused inwards, they have a greater ability to be in touch with their internal sensations, hence their greater orgasmic capacity.

The idea that women have greater sexual pleasure is recorded in Greek mythology in the story of Teiresias, a man who was famous for having spent seven years of his life as a woman, during which time he became a celebrated courtesan. Because of his sexual experiences as both a woman and a man, Teiresias was one day called by the Greek god Zeus to settle a dispute between Zeus and his wife, Hera. The married couple were arguing over who enjoyed the greatest pleasure, or the better orgasm (major voluptas) during sex. Teiresias' answer was simple:

If the parts of love-pleasure be counted as ten, Thrice three go to women, one only to men.

The tale of Teiresias and his championing of women's greater enjoyment of the pleasures of the flesh is echoed, almost uncannily, in many cultures. Very similar words and numbers are attributed to Ali ibn Abu Taleb, who was the husband of the Muslim prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima, and also the founder of the Shiite sect of Islam. According to him: 'Almighty God created sexual desire in ten parts; Then he gave nine parts to women and one to men.'

THE STORY OF V

The legend of Bhangasvana, recorded in the Hindu saga the Maha-bharata, contains many elements of Teiresias' myth too. Bhangasvana is a powerful king, a tiger among men, but he angers the god Indra, who punishes him by turning him into a woman. As a woman, Bhangasvana cannot rule his kingdom and is forced to live as a hermit. Years later, when Indra forgives the ex-king, the god grants Bhangasvana the choice of becoming a man once more, or remaining as a woman. Bhangasvana's reply? 'The woman has in union with man always the greater joy, that is why... I choose to be a woman. I feel greater pleasure in love as a woman, that is the truth, best among the gods. I am content with existence as a woman.'

Other Indian stories, including the companion epic the Ramayana, convey similar messages - women are capable of enjoying sex more than men, they are more sexual, and are insatiable sexually. Entertainingly, one Indian proverb tells how woman's power in eating is twice as great as a man's, her cunning or bashfulness four times as great, her decisions or boldness six times as great, and her impetuosity or delight in love eight times as great. Going back to the third century bce, the text of the Old Testament both recognises the voluptuousness of the vagina and warns against it with the following lines: 'There are three things that are never sated ... Hell, the mouth of the vulva, and the earth.'

Double pleasure equals double trouble?

Why did all these different civilisations consider women's sexual pleasure or orgasmic capacity to be so much greater than men's? Well, western medicine, with its emphasis on analysis,* made a brave attempt to explain why this should be. In fact, the question appears to have aroused the minds of many men of science, causing great consternation and, perhaps, a little envy and fear. On Coitus, a medical treatise written by Constantine the African, an eleventh-century doctor (and possibly the west's first sexologist), suggests that 'Pleasure in intercourse is greater in women than in males, since males derive pleasure only from the expulsion of a superfluity. Women experience twofold pleasure: both by expelling their own sperm and by receiving the male's sperm, from the desire of their fervent vulva.' In other words - women experience double the pleasure as a result of the thrill of both receiving warming male seed and emitting their own.

This idea of women's double pleasure is a frequent theme in western medicine, in particular from advocates of the two-seed theory of orgasm and conception (both women and men ejaculate semen). However, even those medical minds that insisted only men emitted seed during sex stated that women's sexual joy was the greater. According to medieval medic

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

Albertus Magnus, a proponent of the one-seed theory, this greater delight came from 'the touch either of the man's sperm in the womb or of the penis against her sexual part'. Avicenna, on the other hand, upped the stakes and suggested that woman's sexual pleasure was threefold. Women, Avicenna claimed, have 'three delights in intercourse: one from the motion of her own sperm, a second from the motion of the male sperm, and a third from the motion or rubbing that takes place in coitus'.

Sexual vampirism

Sadly for women, the hints of sexual vampirism that are found in the east's beliefs about female orgasm are also present in western ones - with a twist. It was not unusual for male medics to write of how women, via their vaginas, could feed sexually off men. For example, sixteenth-century physician Lemnius, writing of woman's greater sexual excitement, describes not only how 'she draws forth the man's seed and casts her own with it', but also how she 'takes more delight and is more recreated by it'. But in this sex-negative society, where sex was sanctioned only for procreative purposes, men got indignant about being used in this way. It appears that the idea that women have a greater capacity for sexual pleasure seems to have, been more threatening than welcoming.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, vampiric associations were made clear. Women, it was said, could use sex to 'suck the vigour of their menfolk, like the vampire'. Today, of course, it is always women that are vamps, never men. And, indeed, the definition of a vamp is a woman who exploits a man. The idea of women as sexually insatiable and vampiric is also very much to the fore in the earlier medieval medical compendium De Secretis Mulierum (Women s Secrets), which was still popular in the eighteenth century. Written to instruct celibate monks on the facts of life, Women s Secrets warns that:

The more women have sexual intercourse, the stronger they become, because they are made hot by the motion that the man makes during coitus. Further, male sperm is hot because it is of the same nature as air and when it is received by the woman it warms her entire body, so women are strengthened by this heat. On the other hand, men who have sex frequently are weakened by this act because they become exceedingly dried out.

However, Women s Secrets is a deeply misogynistic text, with a very strong subtext extolling the evil nature of women. Significantly, it added a very negative flavour to the western medical world's notions of women's greater, boundless sexual pleasure. Woman, the treatise warns, has 'a greater desire for coitus than a man, for something foul is drawn to the

THE STORY OF V

good'. Furthermore, it states, 'one should beware of every woman as one would avoid a venomous serpent and a horned devil, for if it were right to say what I know about women, the whole world would be astounded'. Indeed, it is argued that this text on women and the workings of their genitalia directly influenced the Malleus Maleficarum, the fifteenth-century inquisitorial treatise on witches, which includes the memorable maligning line: 'All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.'

Defining female orgasm

In the space of two millennia, female orgasm has been perceived in a myriad ways. This planet's greatest pleasure, an essential shake-out of female seed, a source of life-giving energy and a big fat zero - something that simply does not exist. Female orgasm, of course, does exist. And like male orgasm, female orgasm is defined as a perception (the acknowledgement of a sensation transmitted by nerves) accompanied by motor, that is muscular, activity. Brain and body working together beautifully. Without the muscular activity there is no orgasm, and a person must perceive the sensations generated by the muscular activity of the orgasm to experience it too. Another way of putting this is that there has to be tension before there can be release.

However, just as many aspects of female sexual anatomy, such as the structure and function of the clitoris or female prostate, remained hidden from view or uncertain until recently, so too has information surrounding female orgasm. More specifically, there is a lack of understanding of the physical characteristics of female orgasm, and the function of the pleasure phenomenon. Importantly, there are various reasons why a scientific appreciation of female orgasm has been so long in coming. Some of these factors are the same ones that have held back discoveries regarding female genitalia - namely, the reluctance in the west to fund research into projects connected with sex, in particular female sexuality or female genitalia. But one of the other reasons for this state of affairs is less sexist or moralistic. Put plainly, in the past it has been difficult to observe all the physical hallmarks of female orgasm. Thankfully, while such hallmarks may be harder to view, they are present, and they have been commented on over the centuries. Together they provide a perspective on the vagina that is without equal. Significantly, the view they reveal also says something vital about the function of female genitalia, as well as the function of female orgasm.

More than two millennia ago, Aristotle noted how during female orgasm a woman's cervix acted as a 'cupping vessel', seeming to serve to draw in semen. 'Movements of the matrix' is another description of what

THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM

physically happened during female orgasm. This cervical/uterine action was also amongst those observed by French physician Felix Roubaud, who published an account of the female sexual response cycle in 1855. Roubaud, like Aristotle, theorised that this cervical response to orgasm sucked up semen, and aided in conception, and in 1876 he published what is thought to be the first scientific account linking female orgasm with powerful pelvic muscle contractions.

Some descriptions of what happens to female genitalia on orgasm came about serendipitously. The following description of how the mouth (the os) of the cervix changes structure and shape during orgasm was made by an American doctor, Joseph Beck, in 1872 as he was treating a female patient. She apparently warned Beck before he touched her that she had a passionate nature and might have an orgasm from the pressure of his fingers. He took the opportunity to provide one of the first detailed reports of the response in female genitalia to arousal and orgasm:

[Carefully] separating the labia with my left hand, so that the os uteri [vaginal opening of the cervix] was brought clearly into view in the sunlight, I now swept my right forefinger quickly three or four times across the space between the cervix and the pubic arch, when almost immediately the orgasm occurred ... Instantly the height of the excitement was at hand, the os opened itself to the extent of fully an inch, as nearly as my eye could judge, made five or six successive gasps, as it were, drawing the external os into the cervix each time powerfully, and, it seemed to me, with a regular rhythmical action, at the same time losing its former density and hardness, and becoming quite soft to the touch. All these phenomena occurred within the space of twelve seconds of time certainly, and in an instant all was as before. At the near approach of the orgastic excitement the os and cervix became intensely congested, assuming almost a livid purple color, but upon the cessation of the action, as related, the os suddenly closed, the cervix again hardened itself, the intense congestion was dissipated, the organs concerned resolved themselves into their normal condition.