Page:Fielding - Sex and the Love Life.pdf/157

penis is covered with a mucous membrane surface, and is liberally supplied with nerves, which are attuned to sexual response.

The clitoris of the female, however, is in proportion to its size even more abundantly supplied with nerves than the glans of the male. The clitoris is the principal seat of erotic sensation in the female, but there are several other erogenous zones which have a very definite sexual significance in stimulating sexual feeling.

Of the sexual parts, the vagina—the principal portion of the female organs involved in copulation—and the lower end of the womb, are also highly sensitive and are included in the erogenous zones; as also are the smaller lips (labia minora) of the external genitalia.

The next important zone in the female is the nipple of the breast, which is a part of the generative system of the woman, and directly related to the sexual organs in erotic sensibility as well as in function.

Thus, the female breasts have always been recognized as a factor in love-making and in stimulating sexual passion. For her part, woman has been more or less conscious of the erotic importance of her breasts and has contrived by the arrangement of dress, partial exposure, and otherwise, to make the most of this feminine asset.

The lips are also universally recognized as an erogenous zone, as is evidenced in the kiss. The kiss also figures prominently as a prelude to more intimate relations, as well as an expression of affection generally. Furthermore, it has been found that in a large percentage of individuals of either sex, more or less marked sexual desire is aroused by mechanical stimulation applied to the lips.

As the nerves approach the surface of the body, of which they are the medium for sensation, they split up into a net-