Erogenous zones and human sexual response

Errogenous Zones in Middle Ages, Renaissance, And Baroque

Art has always been used to showcase the desired and desirable in nature and in imagination. The definition of the erogenous zone is any body part that causes sexual desire or stimulation to increase. These zones can be located at various parts of the body and their sensitivity will be less or more depending on the individual. It has been argued that even before doctors made studies of these zones on the human body, the artists were already utilizing them in art to add a symbolic message of sexual desire and stimulation.

Besides the male and female genitalia, the most commonly known erogenous zones are the mouth and neck, chest and abdomen. Next to that are the fingers. Some find the feet and particularly the toes equally stimulating.

In the Middle Ages and entering into the early Renaissance, appreciation for the human arm started appearing in works of art. This includes the armpit which became a symbol of sexual activity. This is partly because that the equivalent of pheromones in animals would be secreted from the glands in the armpits. More hypothesized is that the armpit is perhaps one of the most vulnerable points on the human body. Since it is usually protected by the placement of the arms, the armpit is relatively little exposed to elements or to touch. Therefore, any physical attention this part of the body does get is not yet numbed by constant interaction.

During the Renaissance, painters worked diligently to create new ways to depict the human form on canvas and wood. The intention was to create the most realistic depiction of humanity possible in this two-dimensional medium. One of the things that these artists noticed was that when women became sexually excited, their nostrils dilated and the earlobes distended slightly. Men instinctually responded to the sight of these things without consciously understanding the reasoning behind them. Hence, if one looks carefully at portraiture from this time period, it is evident that of major importance to the artists is the presentation of the subject's face. The face possesses many of the human erogenous zones, at least the ones that are appropriate to show in public.