Deep brain stimulation is an area of ongoing research whereby electrodes are surgically inserted into areas of the brain and a pacemaker is pulsed to activate that area. Promising developments have been made for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s Syndrome, phantom limb pain, or refractory major depression utilizing deep brain stimulation. In each of these conditions, deficiencies of a very small control region of the brain are linked to the associated symptoms, which is ideal for this type of modality. In the case of libido or pleasure, scientists have only recently begun to map out brain processes for controls. The orbitofrontal cortex in particular has come under significant scrutiny, as previously very little was known about its function. Dr. Morten Kringelbach, an Oxford psychiatrist, has a small body of research that is beginning to shed light on this area of the brain, and its links to our concepts of pleasure and reward.

With so much attention paid to male erectile dysfunction due to Viagra and its predecessors, one would think that female sexual dysfunction would also be studied aggressively. Unfortunately, research and answers have proven difficult to obtain, as sexual arousal appears to be much more multifactoral in females than males. The deep brain stimulation studies serve to offer some insight into this complicated problem, and should trigger further investigation into neural controls for sexual response.

Hopefully, the research being carried out at Oxford will help to bring some novel therapies to the millions of women who struggle daily with sexual dysfunction.

References

Morten L. Kringelbach (2005). The human orbitofrontal cortex: linking reward to hedonic experience Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 6 (9), 691-702 DOI: 10.1038/nrn1747

Kent C. Berridge, Morten L. Kringelbach (2008). Affective neuroscience of pleasure: reward in humans and animals Psychopharmacology, 199 (3), 457-480 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-008-1099-6

By having a clitoral orgasm, oxytocin is released.  Here’s why this release works as a hormone reset function.

Oxytocin is a multifunctional hormone. In pregnant women oxytocin is required for delivery contractions, and after delivery, oxytocin is essential in lactation. But also in women not pregnant or lactating, oxytocin is always essential. Like other sex-hormones (such as estrogen and progesterone) the body always composes and secretes some oxytocin, to influence different processes. Whenever the uterus contracts, like it does when you are having your period, oxytocin is secreted.

by having a clitoral orgasm, much more oxytocin is secreted. And these higher oxytocin levels are essential to reset the body. Like you need a compass sailing at open sea ; every once and a while you have to check the compass, and adjust your course. Without orgasms, your ship may sail way off course, causing a bacterial infection, a physically caused lack of interest, obesity, nervous breakdowns, psychotic behavior or even breast cancer ;

 stress ; Stress increases ACTH- and prolactin release. Oxytocin de-stresses , through regulating prolactin-  and ACTH-levels.Clitoral orgasms diminish stress. Now you know why you fall asleep after great sex.

 cancer ; Stress increases prolactin secretion.  And excessive prolactin can enhance breast cancer , brain tumors and leukemia. Oxytocin regulates prolactin secretion. Orgasms therefore decrease cancer risk.

 Oxytocin increases dopamine level . Dopamine is known to inhibit excessive prolactin secretion. Like stress, progesterone increases prolactin level too. 

 obesity ; Oxytocin also regulates appetite, through receptors in the brain. Oxytocin inhibits appetite to prevent obesity.

 You know when you se a woman all of a sudden looking fab ? How many times have you heard this one : “Oh, I have a new boyfriend and we have lots of great sex ? But you think “Girl, you just went on a diet”. Well sorry to bust your bubble, but it’s the sex, the orgasms and the oxytocin !

 bacteria ; Oxytocin is a natural antibiotic, attacking hostile bacteria, decreasing susceptibility to uterine infection (27).

 behavior ; Oxytocin is anti-psychotic ; oxytocin plays an important role in the regulation of normal cognitive functions and behaviors, which are disturbed in schizophrenia. Some forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder are also related to oxytocin dysfunction. 

Oxytocin also gives you fighting spirit. 

 memory ; Oxytocin plays a key role in meltdown of prior learning in preparation for new learning , like new books in a library have to be catalogued and shelved.

Orgasms keep you inquisitive and investigative ; ready and hungry for new input.

The lust for a clitoral orgasm originates from the physical necessity for ‘being reset hormonally’. Like the lust for consuming fruit originates from the physical necessity to obtain sufficient glucose, when glucose level is low. The better the orgasm, the more oxytocin is released. And like you need glucose in your blood to live, you need great orgasms to be in good health.

2. More sex means living longer, says science. One doc claims it can add up to eight years to your life.

3. Sex, even as little as once or twice a week, also increases immunoglobulin levels; the stuff in your blood that fights infection and disease, as much as 30 percent higher than in those who abstain.

4. “It is just after orgasm that the intense pelvic vasocongestion resulting from sexual excitement quickly disappears.

If orgasm is not attained, this vasodilation takes much longer to disappear, a fact that, in women, may cause painful phenomena due to the persistent engorgement of the inner genitals.”

5. Masturbation can burn up the calories, as well. You can lose between 100-150 calories for each act of masturbation, according to the Young People’s Reproductive and Sexual Health & Rights Organization.

6. You can raise that amount to around 300 calories, through a 5-minute vigorous masturbation session, according to Japanese scientist Dr. Shukan Tokuho.

7. “The average lovemaking session burns between 50 and 100 calories. Having sex 3 times a week burns 7500 calories per year.

That’s the equivalent of jogging 75 miles. The more intense the sex, the more calories are burned: up to 15,000 calories annually (at a frequency of 3 times weekly). 15,000 calories equals over 4 pounds of weight loss per year!”

8. Oxytocin is a powerful hormone released by men and women during orgasm. Consider some of the research on this important hormone:

• Oxytocin increases sexual receptivity and counteracts impotence. (Pedersen, C.A., 2002), (Arletti, 1997)

• Oxytocin reduces cravings for sweets. (Billings, 2006)

• Oxytocin calms. A single rat injected with oxytocin has a calming effect on a cage full of anxious rats. (Agren, 2002)

• Oxytocin counteracts the effects of cortisol, the stress hormone. (Legros, 2003) Less stress means increased immunity and faster recovery.

9. Sexual activity is often encouraged to cure headaches and menstrual cramps, as the release of endorphins can increase pain tolerance by as much as 70%.

10. During sexual stimulation, the production of the chemical phenetylamine (known to curb the appetite) increases.

11. Serotonin levels in the brain become elevated during sexual activity and can promote a sense of well being that has a calming effect on cravings, such as those for junk food or cigarettes.

12. Right before sexual climax, the level of DHEA in the body spikes to several times its normal level. DHEA is a natural steroid hormone known to:

• Improve brain function.

• Improve performance in the cardiovascular system.

• Increase fat metabolism.

• Boost the immune system, and promote healthy-looking skin.

13. The hormone estrogen is also released when the body achieves orgasm. More estrogen means healthier cardiovascular system, lower bad cholesterol, and suppler skin.

14. Regular sexual activity can also regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle.

15. A psychological study done at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania showed that students who engaged in regular sexual activity had one third higher levels of immunoglobin A, an antibody that boosts the immune system and can help fight colds and flu.

Achieving orgasm on a regular basis can boost infection-fighting cells up to 20%.

16. The deep breathing and elevated heart rate that occurs during arousal and orgasm causes more oxygen to circulate throughout the body, a process that keeps organs and tissues healthy.

17. Orgasms improve a woman’s chances of conception because the vagina and the contracting uterus cause increased blood flow to the pelvis. This helps the sperm fertilize the egg.

18. Tantric Therapy; Orgasms that last at least 20 minutes can alleviate clinical depression completely.

19. Sex boosts our body’s sense of smell.

20. After the orgasm, a rise of the hormone prolactin occurs inside your body. This chemical makes the brain’s stem cells to grow new neurons in the olfactory bulb, where smell is formed, increasing your olfactory abilities.

21. A sex session can burn as many calories as running 15 minutes on a treadmill.

22. After-Glow: During sex, the body perspires, which helps flush out toxins and releases skin-nourishing oils.

23. Absorbing semen vaginally or orally is a health booster. It gives a shot of zinc, calcium, potassium, fructose, and proteins—a veritable cornucopia of vitality!

24. A recent study found that women who gave their men oral sex, and swallowed, had a lower risk of preeclampsia, the dangerously high blood pressure that sometimes accompanies pregnancy.

25. High ejaculation frequency is related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer.

26. Sex can be rejuvenating and helps wounds heal faster.

Several experiments have shown that oxytocin can help even stubborn sores, like those suffered by diabetics, to heal by regenerating certain cells.

27. After studying 3,500 men and women, Dr. Weeks concluded that people who had one or two orgasms a week looked around

10 years younger than those who didn’t.

28. Fetuses have been monitored masturbating in utero, meaning that sexual pleasure (and orgasm) is a natural and innate part of who we are and how we feel good.

Not feeling guilty about taking the time to take care of you is natural, too.

29. Having a vaginal orgasm does more than just put a little pep in your step. It actually causes you to walk differently, with a longer stride and a greater pelvic rotation.

30. Cervical infections can be reduced with frequent clitoral stimulation.

31. It’s totally natural. Female porcupines have been witnessed using wooden sticks to masturbate.

32. Performance anxiety is believed to be the most common cause of orgasm problems. 90 percent of orgasm problems appear to be psychological in nature.

33. That warm, sexy rush you feel during foreplay is the result of blood heading straight to your vagina and clitoris.

34. A recent small-scale study at the Netherlands’ University of Groningen found that areas involving fear and emotion are actually deactivated during orgasm.

35. Oral sex is NOT foreplay -it’s COREPLAY as Kerner coined the term and it’s necessary.

Clitoral stimulus is the #1 path to successful orgasm.

36. It’s been hypothesized that having an orgasm and releasing that tide of oxytocin is a woman’s subconscious way of approving of her partner as a potential dad.

37. Evidence suggests that the more thoroughly you sexually satiate yourself—that is, the more intense or numerous your orgasms—the more acute the overall effects on you.

38. Studies are showing that as sexual activity goes up, the risk of breast cancer goes down.

39. “Functional MRI images show that women’s brains utilize much more oxygen during orgasm than usual, similar to the effects of exercise,” says Barry Komisaruk, PhD, coauthor of The Science of Orgasm.

“In other words, the brain is being nourished,” which helps keep your mind sharp.

40. Not only does sexual stimulation kind of bathe you in a sexy glow — if you’re having that much sex, it’s going to be on your mind more, and that shows on your face and in your movements — but it also becomes this fabulous self-fulfilling prophecy.

41. The mixed effort of sex and relaxation brought by orgasm is the ideal replacement for any sleeping tablet.

42. The mind uses the orgasm to discharge the tensions out of the system and replace them with a relaxed body state.

43. Women do not have a refractory period. They can be sexually aroused immediately after orgasm.

44. Many women are capable of multiple orgasms. The most female orgasms recorded by doctors, William Hartman and Marilyn Fithian, were 134 within a single hour. That is a little over two orgasms per minute. Interestingly, it has also been noted that some women are capable of multiple orgasms even during such seemingly mundane activities as stroking their eyebrow, rubbing their knee, thinking (about an orgasm), or brushing their teeth. Hmmm…

45. People who have meaningless sex or sex with out honest feelings report less intense orgasms and more problems achieving them – this translates in to a simple message, have meaningful sex with the one you love.

46. The famous sex researcher Dr. Alfred Kinsey once said that an orgasm “can be likened to the crescendo, climax, and sudden stillness achieved by an orchestra of human emotions … an explosion of tensions, and to sneezing”.

47. Dr. Gert Holstege stated that the brain during an orgasm looks much like the brain of a person on heroin.

48. One of the big shocks of the 20th century was that our nations sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, claimed she never achieved orgasm by any of her famous lovers (John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, etc.).

It wasn’t until shortly before her death (age 36) she told her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, “Bless you doctor—all the years I had never had one. What wasted years. How can I describe to you, a man, what it feels like to a woman? Think of a light switch with a rheostat control. As you begin to turn it on, the bulb begins to get bright, then brighter, and brighter and finally in a blinding flash is fully lit. It is so good…” Yeah, we know Marilyn.

49. For most men, anytime is a good time for an orgasm, but for women, there are certain times that are better than others. It has been found the best time for her (pleasure wise), is during her menstrual period. This is unfortunately when many women (and some men) are uncomfortable with having sex.

The reason orgasms are better during this time, is the increase in blood circulation around the groin area.

50. Even if sex lasts for 4.5 minutes (the average duration), the body burns off the same amount of calories as during 15 minutes of jogging.

51. The twitching of the glottis and bronchi gives a powerful wholesome effect: women who scream during sex rarely suffer from lung diseases – bronchitis and pneumonia.

52. Orgasms cause mini-cramps, thus all the congested cavities get cleaned. For example, pathogens that cause inflammation in the uterus pouch are eliminated.

53. The stimulant phenylethylamine (PEA) is involved in orgasm, which is also present in cocoa and chocolate and elevates energy, mood and attention.

PEA is produced in greater amounts when one is in love.

54. The hormone released during orgasm, Oxytocin; facilitates learning. Excessive college copulation has benefits.

55. Orgasm is the biggest non-chemical blast of dopamine available to us.

Clitoral orgasms do not serve conception, and are not obtained through sexual intercourse. Clitoral orgasms serve physical health, and pleasure, and are obtained through specific clitoric stimulus.

Details:

Clitoral Orgasm

The natural purpose of the clitoris:

In the female body hormone levels widely fluctuate, to enable one to become pregnant.

To prevent hormones from causing negative side effects, the female body contains a ”reset-button” : the clitoris ;

By having a clitoral orgasm, a lot of  is released.  Sexual arousal also increases oxytocin release a bit, but only a real orgasm really does. The better the orgasm (subjectively), the more oxytocin is secreted.

And what is the purpose of this oxytocin release ?

Oxytocin & Fertility

From the male point of view, sex is equal to sexual intercourse. And from this point of view, female orgasmic oxytocin release must serve conception, improving sperm transport.  But the sperm itself already contains all the necessary oxytocin. 

Though female oxytocin plays a role in the menstruation cycle , and does enhance sexual behavior, oxytocin in women is not at all essential to become pregnant. Extra oxytocin in women does not enhance sperm transport, but even decreases pregnancy rate .

Oxytocin is a sex hormone like the others ; they all strongly interact. Oxytocin influences LH, FSH, progesterone and estrogen levels through influencing LHRH release. Estrogen increases oxytocin release. Progesterone inhibits estrogen-induced oxytocine receptor production.

So there is no functional connection what so ever between sexual intercourse and female orgasm. And to many women that is not a surprise, because there is no way women in general can obtain orgasm through being penetrated.

But what is the physical purpose of female orgasm then ?

Reset Function

Oxytocin is a multifunctional hormone. In pregnant women oxytocin is required for delivery contractions, and after delivery, oxytocin is essential in lactation. But also in women not pregnant or lactating, oxytocin is always essential. Like other sex-hormones (such as estrogen and progesterone) the body always composes and secretes some oxytocin, to influence different processes. Whenever the uterus contracts, like it does when you are having your period, oxytocin is secreted.

By having a clitoral orgasm, much more oxytocin is secreted. And these higher oxytocin levels are essential to reset the body. Like you need a compass sailing at open sea ; every once and a while you have to check the compass, and adjust your course. Without orgasms, your ship may sail way off course, causing a bacterial infection, a physically caused lack of interest, obesity, nervous breakdowns, psychotic behavior or even breast cancer ;

Here’s a list of symptoms that an oxytocin releases will address:

1. stress ; Stress increases ACTH- and prolactin release. Oxytocin de-stresses, through regulating prolactin and ACTH-levels.  Clitoral orgasms diminish stress. Now you know why you fall asleep after great sex.

1. cancer ; Stress increases prolactin secretion. And excessive prolactin can enhance breast cancer, brain tumors and leukemia. Oxytocin regulates prolactin secretion. Orgasms therefore decrease cancer risk.
2. Oxytocin increases dopamine level. Dopamine is known to inhibit excessive prolactin secretion. Like stress, progesterone increases prolactin level too.
3. obesity ; Oxytocin also regulates appetite, through receptors in the brain.  Oxytocin inhibits appetite to prevent obesity.
4. You know when you see a woman all of a sudden looking fab ? How many times have you heard this one : “Oh, I have a new boyfriend and we have lots of great sex ? But you think “Right, you just went on a diet”. Well sorry to bust your bubble, but it’s the sex, the orgasms and the oxytocin !
5. bacteria ; Oxytocin is a natural antibiotic, attacking hostile bacteria, decreasing susceptibility to uterine infection.
6. behavior ; Oxytocin is anti-psychotic ; oxytocin plays an important role in the regulation of normal cognitive functions and behaviors, which are disturbed in schizophrenia. Some forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder are also related to oxytocin dysfunction.
7. Oxytocin also gives you fighting spirit.
8. memory ; Oxytocin plays a key role in meltdown of prior learning in preparation for new learning , like new books in a library have to be catalogued and shelved.
9. Orgasms keep you inquisitive and investigative ; ready and hungry for new input.

Perfect Orgasm

The lust for a clitoral orgasm originates from the physical necessity for ‘being reset hormonally’. Like the lust for consuming fruit originates from the physical necessity to obtain sufficient glucose, when glucose level is low. The better the orgasm, the more oxytocin is released. And like you need glucose in your blood to live, you need great orgasms to be in good health.

Now where’s my new vibrator…time to schedule a more regular dates with my Mrs.  C.  This is one health plan I can stick to!

While sex toys are often used recreationally, they can also improve sexual function for people with certain medical conditions. Diabetes and multiple sclerosis, for instance, affect nerve transmission, which can dull sexual sensation. People taking medications for high blood pressure and depression can also suffer side effects that limit sexual response. And women who undergo hormonal changes during menopause or who suffer nerve damage after surgery sometimes find their clitorises to be less sensitive; a sex toy might be necessary to increase arousal.

A unique way to combat low libido during menopause.

As you approach and pass through menopause, lower levels of estrogen and testosterone can cause vaginal dryness, less sensation, and pain or soreness with intercourse. The body is changing, even if the mind and the relationship are not. Luckily, a vibrator can come to the rescue! In addition to other help, like a personal lubricant and making healthy lifestyle choices, a vibrator can be a menopausal woman’s best friend.

Vibrators offer a different kind of stimulation to meet changing sexual needs. More intense and direct stimulation helps with arousal and orgasm ability, which can require more effort. While young women may lubricate almost instantly, it can take up to three minutes in post-menopausal women. Giving yourself the time and proper stimulation to get there is important. Orgasms may follow more easily.

Regular stimulation enhances blood flow to the genitals, which is important for menopausal women. The old “use it or lose it” definitely holds true when it comes to the vagina and menopause. Plus,vibrators provide a fun way to spice things up with your partner or to take your sexual satisfaction into your own hands.

A medically sound method of body care and naturally healthy process: Orgasms.

The urge to masturbate stems from powerful physiological factors that have evolved as a way to keep us healthy. Evolutionary biologist Robin Baker details the medical necessity of both male and female masturbation in his landmark book about sexual response called “Sperm Wars” and the recently published follow up “Baby Wars”.

Masturbation, it seems, is a form of genital “housekeeping”. Women experience the urge to masturbate as a way to eliminate debris or genital “gunk” that inhabits the mucus of the vagina and uterus (i.e. menstrual remnants, old sperm, or colonies of invading viruses and bacteria at the opening of the cervix). Dr. Baker explains, ” An orgasm via masturbation solves a dual problem. In the absence of the spoiling effects of semen, the orgasm rids her cervix of older mucus, relining the vaginal walls, ready to lubricate her next intercourse. An orgasm without semen present makes the remaining cervical mucus more acidic, hence more resistant to infection.”* Daily discharge routinely keep the vagina clean, but the urge to masturbate comes when there is more debris than the daily discharge can accommodate.

Here are some tips of what you can do during this play.

When doing the following techniques, use a stimulating massage cream or oil like those presented above to greatly increase the pleasure.

1.Tapping your clitoris: spread your pussy lips wide open by one hand. Gently tap your clitoris with two fingers of your other hand. Begin by tapping the tip of your clitoris, and proceed by taking the whole of your clitoris between your fingers. Also proceed by massaging your clitoris downwards between your fingers. Use alternating different degrees of pressure – a light pressure at the beginning to raise your excitement, and then greater pressure to heighten your feelings to climax, and then go back to a lighter pressure, and so on.

2.Clitoral rolling: Place your thumb and forefinger around the clitoris and gently roll it in between your fingers. Do this gently and slowly at first, then gradually speed up and use more power. You may also alternate between periods of higher speed and force ending with and orgasmic reaction, and periods with gentler work.

3.Circular massage: With one or two fingers, massage gently the top of your clitoris. Gradually you can speed up and use greater pressure. In between, make the massage broader so that it encompasses also the sides of the clitoris.

4.Fingering both your clitoris and vagina: With one of your hands, you massage your clitoris in the ways indicated above. With the other hand insert one, two or three fingers into your vagina. Massage the walls of your vagina, using different degree of pleasure from time to time. Press especially against the upper part of that wall, letting the pressure and undulation of the massaging work up in the direction of your urethra and your clitoris. In this way your most sensational areas will get the stimulation from two directions simultaneously.

5.Finger your clitoris while using a vibrator with one of your hands; you massage your clitoris in the ways indicated above. With the other hand you massage various parts of your pussy with a vibrator. You can place the vibrator just between your inner lips, letting its tip point up onto your clitoris. You can also massage with the vibrator at the inside of your grater lips, or at your vaginal opening.

6.Finger your clitoris while using a dildo: With one of your hands, you massage your clitoris in the ways indicated above. With the other hand you insert a dildo of a size that fits your own size, but is big enough to stretch the walls of your vagina. Move the dildo back and forth at the opening, and gradually insert it deeper and deeper, until it reaches as deep as possible. Push at the depth of your vagina, stretching your inner parts, also rotate the dildo in a circular fashion, and bend it from side to side, thus alternating stretching various parts of your inside.

You may also just lay with your dildo still inside your vagina, especially if it is great enough to give some stretching of its own. Many dildos are equipped with vibrating mechanisms. Having the vibration at a low frequency, you will constantly feel gentle exiting waves emanating from the stimulation of the dildo inside you, and these waves of pleasant feelings will gradually make you extremely exited and greatly enhance the total masturbation experience.

7. Squeezing your thighs: Some women can achieve orgasm by simply squeezing or rubbing their thighs together, thus stimulating the clitoris and the rest of the pelvic area indirectly. This is actually a technique you can use secretly and very hideously out in the public. Even if you do not reach the orgasm this way, it will nevertheless make pleasure.
But you can also squeeze your thighs when masturbating. Press your thighs together, and tighten them around your vaginal area a little while. Then relax, and repeat. You can try out doing it in several different speeds and find a speed that excites you most. Thigh squeezing is a technique you can use during part of the masturbation in order to build up your excitement.

source: http://www.abicana.com/masturbation.htm

The best place to learn more about this video is here:http://www.technologyoforgasm.com/index.asp  or you can purchase at Amazon.

Here’s a bit more information about the movie that I’ve gathered from the Technology of an Orgasm Website:

Synopsis

This is the story of one simple invention, the vibrator, and its relationship to one complex human behavior, the female orgasm. The history of the vibrator and its medical use had virtually vanished until historian, Rachel Maines, researching needlework patterns in early 20th century women’s magazines, ran across ads for electric vibrators. Piquing her curiosity, she traced the origins of this early electrified appliance and made an astonishing discovery. Under the guise of a medical treatment, Victorian doctors had used vibrators to relieve women of symptoms of hysteria by masturbating them to orgasm. Why did women need this treatment? Female sexual satisfaction was, and continues to be, misunderstood or, worse, ignored. Almost 70% of women do not reach orgasm by penetration alone. Yet, the social, legal and religious definition of “real” sex is just that: penetration of the vagina to MALE orgasm. FEMALE orgasm isn’t even considered. Is it any wonder that a lot of women were unsatisfied? Their dissatisfaction was labeled “hysteria.” Symptoms of hysteria were vague – being cranky, reading French novels while wearing tight corsets, etc. It was a disease manufactured by doctors creating a lucrative clientele and a mutually camouflaged procedure that satisfied both.

In the late 1920s, vibrators began appearing in blue movies. The camouflage was blown. Doctors dropped the treatment and manufacturers stopped advertising. The vibrator went underground and it disappeared from the annals of history until Maines happened upon it.

In the 1970s, the feminist movement, the birth control pill and legalized abortions ushered in the sexual revolution. Artist and author, Betty Dodson almost single handedly brought the vibrator back into women’s lives because of an accidental discovery. When Dodson and her lover used a barber’s scalp massager on her clitoris, she experienced intense orgasms. Inspired by this revelation, she began a crusade to teach women how to have orgasms with vibrators – alone and with partners.

In 2004, thirty years after Dodson’s happy discovery, the female orgasm is under attack again. Former fifth grade teacher, Joanne Webb, was arrested for selling vibrators to two undercover cops in a small Texas town. She had broken a state law that prohibits the sale of devices that stimulate the genitals. Texas and three other states have enacted these laws, a backlash to feminism. In these states, however, it is legal to advertise and sell Viagra. This double standard for women has far-reaching contemporary implications for sexual freedom, civil liberties and the right to privacy.

Reviews and Press

Margaret Cho – comedienne/actor
“This tremendously important and provocative film uses humor and great insight to illuminate our dark past…I loved it almost as much as I love my vibrator!”

Dr. Gina Ogden – best selling author “The Heart and Soul of Sex”
“All thumbs up for Passion and Power! This high-spirited cliche-busting documentary reveals all you ever wanted to know about the M-word, the O-word and more. You’ll laugh, gasp and open your eyes to the longtime control of what women really want and how freeing it can be to take pleasure literally into your own hands. As a sexuality therapist, I’ve heard many a woman confide – my vibrator is my Significant Other.”

Bonnie Graham – Radio Host New York
“…spectacular, magnificent photography… the interviews are in magnificent settings with clever framings that are active… motion is happening while people are talking… the movie MOVES! It’s quite a MASTERPIECE!!”

Natalie Angier – New York Times
“Electricity has given so much comfort to womankind …
It gave her the vacuum cleaner, the pop-up toaster and the automatic ice dispenser. And perhaps above all, it gave her the vibrator . . .

Filmmakers Notes

We, Producer/Directors Wendy Slick and Emiko Omori, are of the “sex, drugs and rock ’n roll” generation. Being liberated and informed women, or so we thought, we were astonished by what Rachel Maines uncovered in her research of vibrator history — that doctors were masturbating women as a treatment for a disease manufactured by the doctors themselves. This has been going on for 2,500 years. Opening the door to this taboo subject illuminated the connection between sex and power. In the current assault on our personal and civil rights, we feel an urgency to get this history out. It is tasteful and engagingly told. We want to reach a broad audience (age, gender and sexual orientation). In all of our works-in-progress screenings, after the documentary finished, there was lively and open discussions about sexual matters with people we hardly knew. We are liberating a subject long suppressed in our culture. And it’s about time.

You have to check out the pictures of ancient vibrators!

It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.