Sexual stimulation

Sexual stimulation is any stimulus that leads to arousal or orgasm. The term usually implies involvement of the genitals. This however does not have to be true under all circumstances. Sexual stimulation ranges from visual to aural and may include stimulation from written material as well.

Sexual stimulation in the human mind is as old as the physiological urge for sex. Shards of pottery as well as ancient depictions of sexually stimulative images have been on display in prominent pieces of art and architecture from time immemorial. Many forms of the arts such as fashion, design, painting, music have all had large portions of their subject matter devoted to cause sexual stimulation.

Sexual stimulation has long been a taboo subject in many cultures and continues to be so even today. While some religions have in various times accepted sexual stimulation out in the open purview of the public as normal, other religions have always held sexual stimulation as a closed and private part of the human condition. In Hinduism, for example, various arts and culture depicts sexually stimulating subject matter in a religious context. Nonetheless, the religion continues in contemporary times to represent very conservative values in regards to sexually stimulation in the public. Christianity, on the other hand, has traditionally viewed the depictions of sexual stimulation or an attempt at sexual stimulation in a very conservative light. While this continues to be true in some respects, many followers of this religion and culture, do not strictly adhere to this practice and it is common to see a very open and liberal view of sexual stimulation in the Christian West. The culture and religion of Islam is perhaps the strictest in terms of dictating sexual subject matter including sexual stimulation in the public. Its common for Islamic countries to have much stricter laws in accordance with strictly held beliefs when compared with their counterparts in the West.

The private side of sexual stimulation has also been under the strict watch of society and the amount of sexual stimulation allowed depends upon the religion and culture in question. The famous Missionary position was supposedly advocated as the only sexual position and all other sexually stimulating positions were disavowed by Christian missionaries. Various other religions consider sexual stimulation in private to be the main realm of a wife and husband. While some religions assumed that people would behave properly in bed not much discussion exists because of the taboo nature of the subject matter and thus not much is known. The Kama Sutra and the Perfumed Garden are two well known texts that delve into such a discussion in the Hindu and Muslim cultures. These texts are, however, are not religious sources and their importance and authority are therefore questionable.

In modern society sexual stimulation is a very profound subject that seems to drive a lot of actions and discourse in people's lives. From body piercings and tattoos to pornography and censorship many different areas of thought and action are affected by human depiction or action of sexual stimulation. Human development is an example of such an area where the sexual development of children is widely debated in the context of sexual stimulation. Most psychologists today argue that children should be taught from an young age to understand their bodies and the role of sexual stimulation, both physical and mental, from an early age. This kind of sexual education is a controversial theory that have spawned vehement proponents and opponents.

Physical sexual stimulation usually consists of the touching of various private parts in the human body. Masturbation is considered as a type of sexual stimulation. Physiological reactions are usually triggered through sensitive nerves in these body parts and cause the release of pleasure causing chemicals that act as mental rewards to pursue such stimulation. Arousal is usually the term used to describe such a physiological reaction. Physical sexual stimulation may also involve the touching of other people's body parts and may trigger similar physiological reactions.

Mental sexual stimulation consists of any visual images, imagination, reading material, auditory stimulation that causes sexual stimulation and leads to arousal. The degree of sexual stimulation derived from any such activity depends upon the person and the circumstance. Pornography is considered to be the most prominent example of mental stimulation and the watching of pornographic material can lead to arousal in many people.