Erogenous Zones
From Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality
Many people, particularly younger people, want to know which parts of the body will provide their partner with erotic, arousing sensations. However, it is misleading to talk about “zones” or areas that are common to everyone, other than the obvious genital areas. Practically every part of the body, even the navel, may produce erotic sensations when touched—from the stroking of hair to the touching and sucking of toes. It all depends upon who is doing the touching, how, when, and under what conditions. It is very important to learn one’s own preferences and to be able to communicate them. Therefore, one should touch and stimulate one’s self in all parts of the body (within practical limits) with bare hands, oils, massagers, and vibrators, for example. Similarly, one may explore one’s partner’s body and ask him or her what is most pleasing.
It is important to realize that no two men or women are identical in the erotic intensity of each part of the body. This is because eroticism is not merely a matter of nerve endings; it is also a matter of perception. For example, the nerve endings that produce erotic sensations in the vagina are concentrated only in the outer third of the vaginal entrance. But this is not as important as how a woman perceives sensation in the inner two-thirds if they too are stimulated. If she is equally or even more responsive in the deeper parts of the vagina, then she should relax and enjoy stimuli there. If a man gets turned on when his wife rubs her breasts across his bald head—wonderful. It does not matter if you believe you are the only one in the world who enjoys a certain kind of stimulation. It is your body. Only you know the sensations you feel, so learn as much as you can about that body. Think of your entire body as a map maker thinks of the planet Earth. You, and later your partner, can map the different types and degrees of erotic sensations that you each get from exploring every inch of the other person’s body. Just as map makers have kept refining maps over the years, you should keep on exploring your own body, at times with the help of others, to know every inch of the “erotic road”!
