It is part of popular belief that a man pants during sexual intercourse, and that this is due to his sexual exertions. The belief is true, but the reason is wrong. The St. Louis study showed that in the plateau stage and especially in the orgasmic stage men breathe more rapidly but usually less deeply. The increase in the rate of breathing- and during orgasm a man may take in breaths at a rate of as many as forty a minute – is not related to his sexual exertions, but to the degree to which he is sexually stimulated.
These three findings – a raised heart rate, a raised blood pressure, and an increase in his rate of breathing – are a man’s principal general reactions to sexual stimulation. In addition, a number of men find that their nipples become erect and somewhat swollen. This is a normal reaction to sexual stimulation in women, whose breasts also become more congested with blood and heavier in the plateau and orgasmic phases. The breasts may increase their size and weight by as much as one-quarter in women who have never breast-fed, but among women who have suckled the increase is less. By contrast, only about one man in three experiences any effect on his breasts. It is also unrelated to the physical type of man – a ‘he-man’ may experience nipple-swelling and erection as frequently as a mild-mannered, ‘feminine’ type of man.
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