Editing Sexual stimulation (section)

{{Short description|Anything that causes a sexual response}}
{{Redirects here|Sexual pleasure|sexual pleasure in non-human animals|Animal sexual behavior#Pleasure}}
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[[File:Édouard-Henri Avril (22).jpg|thumb|One of the illustrations to ''[[De figuris Veneris]]'' by [[Édouard-Henri Avril]]. It portrays a male masturbating by manually stimulating his own penis while [[Sexual fantasy|sexually fantasizing]].|265x265px]]
{{Human sexual activity sidebar}}
'''Sexual stimulation''' is anything that leads to [[sexual arousal]] or [[orgasm]]. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimulus]].

Sexual stimulation is a broad term, usually understood to mean physical touching of the genitals or other body parts. The term can, however, include stimuli affecting the mind ([[sexual fantasy]]),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Levin |first1=Roy J. |last2=van Berlo |first2=Willy |date=2004-04-01 |title=Sexual arousal and orgasm in subjects who experience forced or non-consensual sexual stimulation – a review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353113103001536 |journal=Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=82–88 |doi=10.1016/j.jcfm.2003.10.008 |issn=1353-1131 |pmid=15261004|url-access=subscription }}</ref> or senses other than touch (such as sight, smell, or hearing). Sufficient physical stimulation of the genitals usually results in an orgasm.<ref name="Weiten">{{Cite book |last1=Weiten |first1=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423 |title=Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century |last2=Dunn |first2=Dana S. |last3=Hammer |first3=Elizabeth Yost |date=2011-01-01 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-111-18663-0 |page=386 |language=en |oclc=751245411}}</ref><ref name="Clitoris">{{cite web|title=I Want a Better Orgasm!|publisher=[[WebMD]]|access-date=August 18, 2011|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113132443/http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms|archive-date=2009-01-13}}</ref><ref name="Kenneth Mah">{{cite journal |last1=Mah |first1=Kenneth |last2=Binik |first2=Yitzchak M |date=January 7, 2001 |title=The nature of human orgasm: a critical review of major trends |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272735800000696 |journal=[[Clinical Psychology Review]] |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=823–856 |doi=10.1016/S0272-7358(00)00069-6 |issn=0272-7358 |oclc=121110003 |pmid=11497209 |quote=Women rated clitoral stimulation as at least somewhat more important than vaginal stimulation in achieving orgasm; only about 20% indicated that they did not require additional clitoral stimulation during intercourse.|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Kammerer-Doak">{{cite journal |last1=Kammerer-Doak |first1=Dorothy |last2=Rogers |first2=Rebecca G. |date=June 2008 |title=Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction |journal=Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=169–183 |doi=10.1016/j.ogc.2008.03.006 |issn=0889-8545 |oclc=264325988 |pmid=18486835 |quote=Most women report the inability to achieve orgasm with vaginal intercourse and require direct clitoral stimulation ... About 20% have coital climaxes...}}</ref> Stimulation can be [[Autoeroticism|by oneself]] ([[masturbation]] or [[sexual fantasy]]) or by a [[sexual partner]] ([[sexual intercourse]] or other [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]]), by use of [[Sex toy|objects or tools]], or by some combination of these methods.<ref>Based on "masturbation" in ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition'', Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003</ref>

Some people practice [[Edging (sexual practice)|orgasm control]], whereby a person or their partner controls the level of stimulation to prolong the experience leading up to orgasm.