Erectile Dysfunction: Women Partners' Experience

In 2005, a study by William Fisher and his colleagues, on the sexual experience of women whose male partners suffered from erectile dysfunction, was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine (volume 2; pages 675-684). Research on erectile dysfunction has largely looked at the experience of this condition among men; far less attention has been paid to the perceptions and sexual experiences of their women partners. The study by Fisher and his colleagues was carried out to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and sexual experience of those women.

With the consent of each of their men partners, 293 women completed a questionnaire on their sexual experience, both before and after the development of their partner's erectile problem, and in relation to their partner's use prescribed drugs to deal with it. This study was part of a larger long term on-going research programme.

The women reported less frequent sexual activity after their partners developed erectile problems than before. Fewer women experienced sexual desire, arousal or orgasm and fewer women reported satisfaction with their sexual relationship after their partner developed his erectile problem than before. Decreases in the women’s sexual satisfaction and frequency of orgasm were related to the severity of their man’s erectile problem. However, the proportion of women who experienced sexual desire, arousal and orgasm at least "most times" was higher in the group whose men were using prescribed drugs to manage their erections.

Overall, erectile dysfunction was shown to have an adverse effects on the woman partner's sexual experience. Women with partners who were using prescribed drugs had a more satisfying sexual experience than those whose partners did not.

Bisexuality in Women

What is the true nature of bisexuality in women? New research suggests that being bisexual is a distinct orientation and not a temporary stage in women’s lives. So concludes a study published by Lisa Diamond, an Associate Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at the University of Utah, in the journal Developmental Psychology (2008, 44, 5-14).


Methods
This study used 5 waves of longitudinal data collected from 79 lesbian, bisexual, and “unlabeled” women to evaluate these models. Diamond conducted face-to-face interviews with the women in New York state in 1995 when they were between the ages of 18 and 25. She then interviewed them by phone every two years across the following decade. The research question was whether bisexuality in women was a temporary stage of denial or transition, a stable “3rd type” of sexual orientation or a heightened capacity for sexual fluidity. Both the “3rd orientation” and “fluidity” models found support in her data, but the “transitional stage” model did not.

Findings
Diamond found that over the 10 year period, two thirds of the women changed the identity labels they had used at the beginning of the study, and one third changed these labels 2 or more times. Yet, contrary to the “transitional stage” model, more women adopted bisexual or unlabeled identities than relinquished these identities; few bisexual or unlabeled women ended up identifying themselves as lesbian or heterosexual. Overall, the most commonly adopted identity was “unlabeled.” Bisexual and unlabeled women had stable overall distributions of same-sex and other-sex attractions but greater absolute fluctuations in attractions from assessment to assessment than lesbians.

Essentially, the bisexual women continued to be attracted to both sexes over the 10 year research period. "These findings are therefore more consistent with the model of bisexuality as a stable identity than a transitional stage," Diamond argued that this suggested that most women "possess the capacity to experience sexual desires for both sexes under the right circumstances." Diamond also found that bisexual women were more likely than lesbians to switch between describing themselves as ‘bisexual’ or ‘unlabeled’ than to identify themselves as ‘lesbian’ or ‘heterosexual’.

Conclusions
"If it was a phase, it should have burnt out" Diamond argued. "They might have had a change in identity and relationships (during those 10 or so years), but that pattern of non-exclusive desire was still there, even among those who had married. It debunks the notion of it (bisexuality) being just a phase."

Diamond also said heterosexual women may "experiment with same-sex desires and behaviours, but if they really are predominantly heterosexual, they may enjoy experimentation but may not change their sexuality." The study also debunks the stereotype that bisexual women are not able to commit to monogamous relationships, one way or the other, because they are always thinking about desire for the other gender.

Commentary
Sociologist Paula Rust of East Brunswick has conducted quantitative research on bisexuality in women for many years and has said that Diamond's research is important in that it is the only long-term look at women's bisexuality to date.

The Penis: Is Bigger Better?

Even in this supposedly enlightened age, men perpetually worry about the size of their penis. According to authoritative websites, although the vast majority of men are more than big enough to perform well as lovers, there is a widespread male belief that 'bigger would be better'. No matter how often it is stated that size does not matter and that women are not attracted to men because of the size of their penises, most men feel insecure. Such worry and feelings of insecurity can contribute to impotence and erectile dysfunction thus establishing a vicous circle and perpetuating the problem.

Normally
A non-erect penis usually measures between 8.5cm and 10.5cm (3-4 inches) from tip to base. The average figure is about 9.5cm (3.75 inches). However, this kind of exact measurement is useless. Many factors can cause a temporary or permanent shrinkage of 2 inches or more, for example cold weather or going swimming, illness or surgery. Furthermore, there is great variety in normal size and size itself is not an index of virility.

Erections
Interestingly, most penises become much the same size when erect. The man whose non-erect penis is smallish will usually achieve about a 100 per cent increase in length during sexual excitement. Interestingly, the man whose non-erect penis is on the largish size will probably manage about a 75 per cent increase. This means the great majority of penises measure between 15cm and 18cm (6-7 inches) when erect, with the average figure being about 16.5cm (6.5 inches).So if a man has got a 'small' penis, there is some sort of built-in compensating factor that will bring him up to about the same size as the man who appears to be 'better endowed'.

The Vagina
The important point here is that a woman’s vagina will accommodate itself to more-or-less any length of penis. The vagina of a woman who has not given birth is only 7.5cm (3 inches) long when she is not sexually excited. The figures for women who have had children are only slightly different. Even when aroused, a woman's vagina usually extends only to a length of about 10cm (4 inches). This means that any man's penis will fill his partner’s vagina completely, unless he happens to be one of those rare men with an erect penile length of less than 4 inches. So how does the average man with an erection of 6 inches manage to insert his penis into the vagina at all. Fortunately, the vagina has the most remarkable capacity for lengthening if something is introduced into it gradually. So the exceptional man whose erect penis is 8 inches long can still make love to any woman, providing he excites her properly and introduces his organ very slowly.