Increasing Knowledge

Traces of acid phosphatase were detected in women’s worn underwear. Positive values were already detected after 24 hours at the urethral opening and later increasingly, due in part to gravity, inside the vagina. It was confirmed that

these traces in underwear originated from continuous female prostate secretions. They are solely female in origin without any sort of male involvement (Zaviacˇiˇc, et al., 1987b and 1988c).

Women continuously secrete imperceptibly small amounts of fluid from their prostate glands, just like men. This rea-lization was a bombshell to the forensic science communi-ty in the late 1980s. The consternation was understanda-ble, especially since back in the days when DNA analysis, today a routine practice, was not yet available, detection of acid phosphatase was commonly used to establish irrefuta-ble evidence of biological traces in cases of rape and similar offences. The minute it was established that women also possess a functioning prostate gland, this was no longer con-sidered solid proof.

Since the secretion from the prostate gland also contains fructose, its continuous presence may also be beneficial to reproduction. The basal fructose level in the vagina corre-sponds to the volume found in prostate secretion ( Zaviacˇiˇc, 1999). After the male ejaculates in the vagina during inter-course, the concentration of saccharide (a special type of sugar) significantly increases due to the fructose coming from the male ejaculatory ducts. Thus the woman can impact the motility of the sperm with her own fructose – although not to the same extent as the man. Since good motility is one of the decisive factors enabling the biologi-cally superior sperm cells to fertilize the egg, it is possible that both sexes contribute to this process because of the importance this holds for reproduction (Zaviacˇiˇc, 1999).

Sexually masochistic people repeatedly experience strong sexual impulses and fantasies involving being humiliated,

beaten, bound, or suffering in some other way. In one spe-cific form of this perversion, hypoxyphilia, the individuals choke themselves or place themselves in danger of suffoca-tion in order to increase their sexual pleasure, or they ask their partners to do so.

Clinical reports of autoerotic asphyxia are on the rise. The victims, usually male and some still quite young, strangle, hang or choke themselves during masturbation, resulting in an unintentional fatal lack of oxygen supply to the brain.

Many die in the process. There are over 100 such deaths reported annually in the United States. Paraphernalia com-monly found at the fatality scene are mirrors, erotic litera-ture and safeguards to prevent oxygen from being cut off permanently. Often the corpse is found with a post-mortem erection and signs of ejaculation caused by the life-threaten-ing lack of oxygen. Forensic doctors have also found in per-forming autopsies that some women also ejaculate in such situations (Zaviacˇiˇc, 1988c).

Women, in general, apparently prefer having orgasms with the emission of fluid, because they subjectively derive great-er satisfaction from it than from an orgasm without eja-culation (Whipple, 1994; Schubach, 1997; etc). Conse-quently, the female ejaculatory phenomenon could shed some light on the motivation behind the life-threatening hypoxyphilia.

Above all, the volume of the female ejaculatory fluid remains a mystery. How can female volumes by far exceed the amounts produced by men, given the fact that the male prostate is substantially bigger?

The amount of secretion depends mainly on the size of the

glands and their storage capacity. Ninety-five percent of male ejaculate ranges in volume from 0.2 to 6.6 ml, while the maximum volume ever recorded was 13 ml (cf. MacLe-od, 1950). Approximately one-third of the total ejaculated fluid is produced by the prostate and the rest comes from the seminal vesicles and the epididymis. The small saliva-ry glands offer a useful comparison. Dentists know how much saliva is produced during treatment. One study, for example, recorded 103 ml of saliva in one hour (cf. Sauer-wein, 1974; p 158). There have even been reports of saliva spurting out in such streams that it even hit the dentist’s face. Nevertheless, this does not explain the reported vol-umes of genital secretion in excess of one liter.

Since practically all of the literature, both old and new, only provided more or less rough estimates, I instigated a study to extrapolate more exact data. A subject who had reported frequently having excessive amounts of orgasmic emissions was instructed to take as much time as desired for clitoral masturbation. Within the space of almost two hours she experienced a series of orgasms. She took long breaks inter-mittently, during which she read erotic literature. The total volume of ejaculated fluid was 114 ml. In analyzing the colorless, transparent liquid, this time special attention was paid to the electrolytes. Here as well, there were marked differences from urine parameters (Stifter, 1988, tab. 8).

The conclusion I draw from this research is that there must be additional sources of female ejaculatory fluid in addition to the paraurethral glands, which virtually all of the relevant recent literature considers to be the sole source of female eja-culatory fluid. It is hard to imagine that the female prosta-te is able to produce such volumes alone, especially consi-dering the dimensions portrayed in Huffman’s wax model.