The British Channel 4 series: "The Truth About Female Desire" was a fascinating and wide ranging exploration of female sexuality with a firm grounding in science. Whether you saw the programmes or not I hope you will be interested in the reviews. This part covers how the programme was run; how the female sex organs work and what happens to them when a woman becomes sexually aroused.

For the programme, eight women volunteered to be 'sex guinea pigs' and assist scientists trying to discover more about how women's sex organs work. They were invited to an hotel where they stayed together for the duration of the series of experiments.

The first episode researched genital physiology and arousal. As you can only visually see the tip of the clitoris it is difficult to understand what changes occur when a woman is sexually aroused. It is easy to see a man's reaction to being sexually stimulated. A stiff erect penis is an obvious indication that he likes what he is doing or seeing. Individually, two of the woman agreed to participate in an experiment to see the effect of being aroused. They had to sit in a large shallow bath of (what they commented, could have been warmer!) water. The water was needed to allow the use of an ultra sonic imaging device (as used for look at a baby in the womb) to view the internal changes to the clitoral area. They were each given a waterproof vibrator which they used to stimulate themselves.

When they were sufficiently stimulated and about to have an orgasm they were handed the probe which had to be placed on the clitoris in a certain position. This was not at all easy as the girls were obviously in a high state of arousal and found it difficult to react to precise instructions - for example 'move the probe 180 degrees'. The scientist was able to see a scan and compare the aroused clitoris to that of one in a normal state.

The results were very good and we could clearly see the difference between three sets of images. It transpired that much of the clitoris is hidden from view behind the lips of the vagina. When stimulated the clitoris fills with blood and greatly increases in size - much the same as the workings of the penis.

The experiment worked very well but I thought the scientist seemed a little uncaring about the feelings of the much aroused girl left on the verge of orgasm in the chilly bath of water! Desperate to have an orgasm the girls were just thanked very much and told the experiment was over!

The programme also featured the girls relaxing in the hotel lounge discussing their own sexual experiences. One girl described to the others how her boyfriend had bought her a remote control vibro thong.
They had gone to the pub with her wearing the vibro thong and he taking the remote control. She said it was very exciting although he kept switching it on at inopportune moments. For instance when she had a tray of drinks in her hands which caused her to spill rather a lot. When she was at the bar trying to order the drinks and he turned it on she found it impossible to concentrate. She found her vibro thong experience very stimulating!

They all agreed that most women (and men) suffered from a lack of information and knowledge about the sexual workings of the female. One girl was extremely worried that a very long penis could damage her vagina but she was assured that this was not the case. Most girls had been in situations where they had been very stimulated but sexual intercourse had started to be a little painful. Because they were so wrapped up in the situation they did not realise what was happening and then did not like to say anything and did not want to stop. Apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable 'down there' as they put it, a few hours later they had all recovered.

Watch out for the remaining parts of the review which will cover investigations into the women's reaction to men (their looks, the way they sound and move and smell); to videos of sex (including lesbian, heterosexual and even animals having sex); how the way women choose a perfect partner/mate depends on their own psychology.