What Is The Male Orgasm?
The male orgasm consists of the contraction and pulsating most men feel in their penis, prostate and pelvic areas. These sensations are met by increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tensing, anal, sphincter and pubococcygeus muscle (muscles at the base of the penis) contractions, and an increase in blood pressure, which then result in a massive and sudden release of pressure.
Okay, so that is a little technical for something so pleasurable, but, did you know that ejaculation and orgasm are two separate things? Well it’s true!
Orgasm
Right before orgasm, seminal fluids build up at the base of the penis. This gives the feeling that you are about to ejaculate, (or cum). This is the orgasm, and may be experienced as an intense, tightening and tingling sensation, although each man may experience something slightly different.
Ejaculation
Ejaculation is a powerful, spontaneous muscle spasm. This spasm originates at the base of the spine, passes through and uses the P.C. muscle, (see above) and causes the rapid ejection of semen.
Your testicles tighten up close to your body, your urinary tract closes, to allow the semen to exit via the urethra. In conjunction with this, you may experience a sensation of release, together with intense sensitivity of the glans penis (head), shaft and pelvic area.
An average healthy male will ejaculate between 3 and 5ml of semen, and in each millilitre there are between 150 and 500 million sperms.
It is lucky for us that all this physiology, muscle contractions, spasms etc all add up to one of the most pleasurable sensations that it is possible to feel. With practise we can learn to delay or prolong our orgasm and cum. In this way we may enjoy both as separate parts of a fun filled whole experience.
As with most things there are exceptions to this and these reasons can vary. If you experience any problems or have any concerns with orgasm, ejaculation or maintaining an erection you should consult your doctor or a medical professional.
Pleasure
Sex can be both pleasurable and exciting without orgasm or ejaculation.
There are many different types of pleasure for a person to feel and there are many different things that we each dislike.
For some of us orgasm or ejaculation is not the goal or even the end of sex; pleasure is. If striving for orgasm or ejaculation gives you pleasure then, go for it, but if pressure to orgasm or ejaculate is making your sex life miserable then letting go of this as a goal may make sense for you.
If you can relax and express yourself; let yourself feel the sensations, you may well find that you become able to experience sex in a totally different way.
If you are experiencing difficulty relaxing during sexual activity and are worried by this you might consider talking to us so we can refer you to people who can support you to work on it.
Masturbation
Masturbation is stimulating your own body in a way that brings about sexual pleasure, release or comfort. This can be done on your own or with other people watching.
There are many myths around masturbation (wanking), such as:
- It’s wrong, dirty or unhealthy
- Only men do it
- Women who own sex toys, don’t need men
- It’s a sad, lonely and desperate thing to do
We don’t think any of this is true. Here are a few quick RRP beliefs:
- It is our right to pleasure ourselves
- It is a great way to explore and learn about your body and what you like
- It be a good source of relaxation and stress relief
- It is safer sex
- It is normal
- It can help you to get used to the feel of condoms (practice!)
Yes it can help to lower the amount of zinc in your system, which some believe can affect your mood. If you do not masturbate then nature may take over and may produce nocturnal emissions (wet dreams) to re-balance your zinc levels.
No you will NOT go blind!