<< Anoxia >>

The facial conspectus of a sexually responding individual, especially at the time of orgasm, suggests that he or she may be suffering from a shortage of oxygen—an anoxia. This sort of shortage is characteristic of the athlete at the peak of his performance, or of the person involved in heavy labor; and the face of the human female or male who is approaching sexual climax often bears a striking resemblance to that of the runner who is making a supreme effort to finish his race.
The possibility of an anoxia during sexual response is further suggested by the following: Cannon 1920:205, 209 states that great exertion and strong emotions may cause “asphyxia.” Van de Velde 1930:245 mentions an excess of CO₂ in the blood at orgasm. Rossen, Kabat, and Anderson 1943:513-515 list the following symptoms of anoxia: fixation of the eyes, narrowed and blurring of vision, loss of consciousness, mild convulsion—all of which we have found in the sexual syndrome. Shock in Reymert 1950:279 speaks of hyperventilation leading to “local tissue anoxia” and cerebral vasoconstriction. Klumbies and Kleinsorge 1950a:956; 1950b:63, show that sexual activity increases oxygen consumption.

The face of the individual who is approaching orgasm similarly and for the same reason presents the traditional aspect of a person who is being tortured. Prostitutes who attempt to deceive (jive) their patrons, or unresponsive wives who similarly attempt to make their husbands believe that they are enjoying their coitus, fall into an error because they assume that an erotically aroused person should look happy and pleased and should smile and become increasingly alert as he or she approaches the culmination of the act. On the contrary, an individual who is really responding is as incapable of looking happy as the individual who is being tortured.

It would not be difficult to investigate the possibility that an anoxia is actually involved during sexual response. Such an anoxia could be detected with simple mechanical devices, and this is one of the first aspects of the physiology of sexual response which might well be studied.

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