Editing Sexual stimulation (section)

==Physical sexual stimulation==
Physical sexual stimulation consists of touching the genitals or other [[erogenous zone]]s.

===Genital===
[[File:Erogenous zones of an adult female and adult male.jpg|thumb|Erogenous zones listed on a man and woman]]
[[Masturbation]], [[erotic massage]], and [[Non-penetrative sex#Manual sex|manual sex]] are types of physical stimulation involving the genitals. This stimulation is usually from sensitive [[Somatosensory system|touch receptors]] in the skin or other erogenous zones, which detect when they're being touched. [[Sexual arousal|Arousal]] is triggered through these receptors in these body parts,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schober |first1=Justine M. |last2=Pfaff |first2=Donald |author-link2=Donald W. Pfaff |date=2007 |title=The neurophysiology of sexual arousal |journal=Best Practice & Research. Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=445–461 |doi=10.1016/j.beem.2007.04.006 |issn=1521-690X |pmid=17875491}}</ref> which cause the release of pleasure-causing chemicals ([[endorphin]]s) that act as mental rewards to pursue such stimulation. Someone may become aroused by simply touching another person, though the [[bulbocavernosus reflex]] only occurs when a sexual organ (penis or clitoris) is stimulated.<ref name="Wheeless">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-07-22 |title=Bulbocavernosus Reflex |url=https://www.wheelessonline.com/bones/bulbocavernosus-reflex/ |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics |language=en-US}}</ref>

One study found that women benefit more from pleasurable sex with a committed partner, while gender did not impact the relationship with masturbation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Goodman |first1=Rachel E. |last2=Snoeyink |first2=Megan J. |last3=Martinez |first3=Larry R. |date=2022-12-15 |title=Conceptualizing Sexual Pleasure at Home as a Work-Related Stress Recovery Activity |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2150138 |journal=The Journal of Sex Research |volume=61 |issue=2 |language=en |pages=184–195 |doi=10.1080/00224499.2022.2150138 |issn=0022-4499 |oclc=9711069013 |pmid=36519736|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

The purpose of [[sex toy]]s is to provide pleasure and stimulation through an alternative route than just using people's bodies. They can be used by someone on their own, with partnered sex, or group sex. They can be exciting and provide new types of stimulation that the body cannot produce, such as vibrations.

Sex toys have been used as a source of sexual stimulation for thousands of years. There have been [[dildo]]s found from the [[Paleolithic|Palaeolithic era]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=2005-07-25 |title=Ancient Phallus Unearthed in Cave. |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4713323.stm }}</ref> made of [[siltstone]] and polished to a high gloss. Dildos were also made of camel dung and coated with resin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Christina |first=Eva |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFcWmcGLXJ4C |title=The Book of Kink: Sex Beyond the Missionary |publisher=Tarcher Perigree |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-101-54509-6 |location=New York |oclc=883308309}}</ref> Historians are uncertain whether these have been used for [[religious ritual]]s or for personal pleasure. It is known that dildos were used for [[fertility ritual]]s,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/sex-toy|title=The long, strange history of sex toys.|work=Alternet |date=2013-06-19|access-date=2016-11-21|archive-date=2018-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110080435/https://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/sex-toy}}</ref> however. The [[ancient Greeks]] created their dildos from a carved penis covered in leather or animal intestines to create a more natural feel.<ref name=":1" /> The Romans created double-ended dildos for use with a partner. Ancient Chinese dildos were made of [[bronze]] or other metals and some were hollow allowing them to be filled with liquid to simulate an [[ejaculation]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=van Driel |first=Mels |title=With the hand: a cultural history of masturbation |publisher=Reaktion Books. |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-86189-957-6 |editor-last=Vincent |editor-first=Paul |location=London |oclc=1055406389}}</ref> These were used because wealthy Chinese men would often have too many wives to please. In Persia, it was thought that the blood of the [[hymen]] was [[Ritually impure|unclean]], and should be avoided by husbands. On the night before a woman's wedding, a local holy man would come and break her hymen with a large stone dildo, a ritual also used to confirm the virginity of the bride.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monger |first=George Peter |title=Marriage customs of the world: from henna to honeymoons |publisher=ABC-Clio |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-987-4 |edition=2nd |location=California |oclc=879074157}}</ref>

===Non-genital===
There are many areas through which a person can be sexually stimulated, other than the genitals. For example, the nipples, thighs, lips, and neck can all provide sexual stimulation when touched. 
[[File:Oral nipple stimulation small sharpened.png|thumb|Sexual stimulation of a nipple]]
; [[Nipples]]
: One study<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Levin |first1=Roy |last2=Meston |first2=Cindy |author-link2=Cindy Meston |year=2006 |title=Nipple/breast stimulation and sexual arousal in young men and women. |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=450–454 |citeseerx=10.1.1.421.7798 |doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00230.x |issn=1743-6095 |oclc=5154187115 |pmid=16681470}}</ref> administered a questionnaire about sexual activity to 301 participants and found that 81.5% of women reported that stimulating their nipples caused or enhanced sexual arousal and that 59.1% of them asked to have their nipples stimulated during sex. Furthermore, 51.7% of men reported that nipple stimulation caused sexual arousal, and 39% said that it enhanced their existing arousal. Research using<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Pappas |first=Stephanie |date=2011-08-05 |title=Surprise finding in response to nipple stimulation |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/surprise-finding-in-response-to-nipple-stimulation/ |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Komisaruk |first1=Barry R. |author-link=Barry R. Komisaruk |last2=Wise |first2=Nan |last3=Frangos |first3=Eleni |last4=Liu |first4=Wen-Ching |last5=Allen |first5=Kachina |last6=Brody |first6=Stuart |date=2011-10-01 |title=Women's Clitoris, Vagina, and Cervix Mapped on the Sensory Cortex: fMRI Evidence |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |language=en |volume=8 |issue=10 |pages=2822–2830 |doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02388.x |issn=1743-6109 |oclc=755915661 |pmc=3186818 |pmid=21797981}}</ref> [[Brain scan|brain-scanning technology]] found that stimulating nipples in women resulted in the activation of the genital area of the [[sensory cortex]]. The research suggests the sensations are genital orgasms caused by [[nipple stimulation]], and may also be directly linked to "the genital area of the brain".<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levi |first=Roy J. |year=2006 |title=The breast/nipple/areola complex and human sexuality. |journal=Sexual & Relationship Therapy |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=237–249 |doi=10.1080/14681990600674674 |issn=1468-1994 |oclc=360784295 |s2cid=219696836}}</ref> In women, one study indicated that sensation from the nipples travels to the same part of the brain as sensations from the [[vagina]], clitoris and cervix. Nipple stimulation may trigger uterine contractions, which then produce a sensation in the genital area of the brain.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />
; [[Thigh]]s
: In 2012, the California Institute of Technology<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gazzola |first1=Valeria |author-link=Valeria Gazzola |last2=Spezio |first2=Michael L. |last3=Etzel |first3=Joset A. |last4=Castelli |first4=Fulvia |last5=Adolphs |first5=Ralph |last6=Keysers |first6=Christian |author-link6=Christian Keysers |year=2012 |title=Primary somatosensory cortex discriminates affective significance in social touch. |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=109 |issue=25 |pages=1657–1666 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1113211109 |issn=0027-8424 |oclc=796036576 |pmc=3382530 |pmid=22665808 |doi-access=free}}</ref> measured brain responses in heterosexual males as they were having their inner thighs touched whilst being [[MRI Scanner|MRI scanned]]. They were either watching a video of a woman touching their thigh or a man touching their thigh. They reported more sexual pleasure when they thought it was the woman touching them than the man, and this was reflected in their MRI scans with greater arousal of their somatosensory cortex. It can be therefore concluded that the thighs are an area that can cause sexual stimulation when touched.
; [[Lip]]s
: Lips contain a huge number of [[nerve endings]] and are considered to be an erogenous zone. Women report experiencing more pleasure from the stimulation of their lips than men do (see below for sex differences in stimulation). In addition to stimulation of the lips by touching, men can be visually stimulated by looking at a woman's lips. It has also been<ref>{{Cite book |last=Symons |first=Donald |title=The Evolution of Human Sexuality. |title-link=The Evolution of Human Sexuality |publisher=Oxford university press. |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-19-987422-4 |location=New York |jstor=2825810 |oclc=729246375 |author-link=Donald Symons}}</ref> reported that men prefer women with fuller lips because they are an indicator of youth.
; [[Neck]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Turnbull |first1=Oliver H. |last2=Lovett |first2=Victoria E. |last3=Chaldecott |first3=Jackie |last4=Lucas |first4=Marilyn D. |year=2014 |title=Reports of intimate touch: Erogenous zones and somatosensory cortical organization |journal=Cortex |volume=53 |pages=146–154 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2013.07.010 |issn=0010-9452 |oclc=5902357995 |pmid=23993282 |s2cid=24804760}}</ref>
: A sample of 800 participants rated 41 different body parts on their erogenous intensity on a scale of 1–10 (10 being the most arousing). Females reported neck stimulation as being more arousing than men did.

===Sex differences in erogenous zones===
This table<ref name=":2" /> shows the sex differences in erogenous zones and includes the top ten most arousing areas for both sexes. Each body part was rated out of ten for how arousing it is when touched. Apart from body parts exclusive to one gender such as the penis or clitoris, many of the erogenous zones are similar and contain many nerve endings. 
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" |Females
! colspan="3" |Males
|-
!Zone
!Mean
!Standard deviation
!Zone
!Mean
!Standard deviation
|-
!Clitoris
|9.17
|2.12
!Penis
|9.00
|2.50
|-
!Vagina
|8.40
|2.35
!Mouth/lips
|7.03
|2.68
|-
!Mouth/lips
|7.91
|2.27
!Scrotum
|6.50
|3.72
|-
!Nape of neck
|7.51
|2.70
!Inner thigh
|5.84
|3.39
|-
!Breasts
|7.35
|2.73
!Nape of neck
|5.65
|3.50
|-
!Nipples
|7.35
|3.15
!Nipples
|4.89
|3.79
|-
!Inner thigh
|6.70
|2.99
!Perineum
|4.81
|4.10
|-
!Back of neck
|6.20
|3.15
!Pubic hairline
|4.80
|3.82
|-
!Ears
|5.06
|3.40
!Back of neck
|4.53
|3.42
|-
!Lower back
|4.73
|3.38
!Ears
|4.30
|3.50
|}

===Internal stimulation===
The [[excitation-transfer theory]] states that existing arousal in the body can be transformed into another type of arousal. For example, sometimes people can be sexually stimulated from residual arousal arising from something such as exercise, being transformed into another type of arousal such as sexual arousal. In one study<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cantor |first1=Joanne |last2=Bryant |first2=Jennings |last3=Zillmann |first3=Dolf |author-link3=Dolf Zillmann |year=1975 |title=Enhancement of experienced sexual arousal in response to erotic stimuli through misattribution of unrelated residual excitation. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/21948123 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=69–75 |doi=10.1037/h0076784 |issn=0022-3514 |oclc=114247732 |pmid=1206469}}</ref> participants performed some physical exercise and at different stages of recovery had to watch an erotic film and rate how aroused it made them feel. They found that participants who were still experiencing excitatory residues from the exercise rated the film as more arousing than those who had fully recovered from the exercise. This suggests that the remaining arousal from the exercise was being transformed into sexual arousal without any external stimulation.