Let’s talk ERECTIONS.
Most of them take place when an individual experiences sexual arousal (yes, ‘most’).
Healthline describes an erection as a “hardening of the penis.” The penis is generally flaccid, but “During an erection, it becomes temporarily engorged with blood and enlarged. This makes it feel stiff and causes it to stand up and away from the body.”
When an erection occurs, the brain signals the body to “widen the arteries connected to the penis, allowing more blood to enter.” Veins (the conduits that take the blood back to the heart) shrink, preventing blood from leaving the penis; thus, the erection is maintained. You might have never thought of it this way, but “Contrary to popular belief, the so-called love muscle does not contain any muscles. That's why you cannot move it very much when it's erect. The penis is a kind of sponge that fills with blood,” states the NHS.
According to the University of Iowa, for a normal erection to arise, both “Strong blood flow into the erectile tissue” and “Healthy veins that compress to hold the blood in the erectile tissue” are required.
Erections appear because of one of two main reasons: sexual arousal or “parasympathetic stimulation.” In other words, some erections result from direct stimulation that causes sexual arousal, i.e., seeing—or thinking about—something sexually appealing for the individual or engaging in sexual activities with other people. Other erections seem to ‘just happen’ for no apparent reason when, in truth, it’s the parasympathetic nervous system taking over.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that controls many of the bodily functions we don’t have conscious control over. Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA, explains that the parts of the body the parasympathetic nervous system acts on include:
Eyes
Lacrimal glands that produce tears
Parotid glands that also produce saliva
Salivary glands that produce saliva
Nerves in the stomach and trunk
Nerves that go to the bladder
Nerves and blood vessels responsible for the male erection
Within the realm of those ‘random’ erections, we can find what is commonly referred to as “morning glory”: nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). Individuals experience several erections during REM sleep (and therefore wake up to an erection). According to Medical News Today, “Regular episodes of NPT are a sign that the nerves and blood supply to the penis are healthy.” These erections do not happen because the individual was sexually aroused or having wet dreams; they’re a bodily function. (So maybe don’t tease your partner too much about who he was dreaming of *wink wink*.)
In fact, “As early as 16 weeks, erectile response in male fetuses has been viewed with ultrasound” and “In newborn males, spontaneous erections continue to occur, awake and asleep,” points out Sexuality Educator Remi Newman. Would we think of newborn babies or fetuses as being sexually aroused? It’s just the body doing body things.
According to Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, teenagers adjusting to the new testosterone levels in their bodies can be more prone to experience random erections. As the body gets used to the new levels of testosterone and people grow older, fewer spontaneous erections should occur.
Erections vs. Sexual Pleasure or Arousal
Sexuality, much like gender, also exists on a spectrum. Something we might have gotten wrong about male sexuality is the fact that an erection does not necessarily equal sexual arousal or willingness to engage in sexual activity.
And just as noteworthy, “Orgasm and ejaculation are two separate physiological processes.” In other words, penis owners don’t always ejaculate when they reach orgasm, nor do they always orgasm when they ejaculate. Mayo Clinic describes a dry orgasm as an orgasm that “occurs when you reach sexual climax but don't release semen from the penis (ejaculate) — or you release very little semen.”
Wibowo, E. and Wassersug, R. J. report that the “Evidence confirming this comes from some men, who retain the capability to reach orgasm in the absence of ejaculation. Examples include some men after a prostatectomy, men on ejaculation-inhibiting drugs, men with spinal cord injuries, and some diabetics.”
“After age 40, many men do not ejaculate as much and some eventually not at all. Nonetheless, orgasms do still occur just as they do in women who have gone through menopause and are no longer ovulating,” states the Beth Israel Lahey Health Winchester Hospital.
Understanding that these are a possibility helps us understand more of the inner workings of male sexuality. It might be that ejaculation in itself as the primary sexual goal needs to be replaced with whatever sexual pleasure truly means to the person you are having sex with.
