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The author of this volume is a professor of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the work might very well be considered a philosophy of sexuality. Although the 'book was
completed with the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation', it is not based on original research done by the author but is instead a rethinking of sexuality using the research of other investigators as evidence.
The preface and introduction immediately present the reader with an important aspect of the author's philosophy. He favors what he refers to as 'sexual pluralism', as opposed to the 'essentialism' of Freud, Masters and Johnson, and others. He postulates, for instance, three different acceptable types of female orgasm:
1The vulval orgasm is similar to what is usually referred to as a clitoral orgasm and is described as a rhythmic contraction of the orgasmic platform. This type of orgasm is not dependent on coitus but can be produced by masturbation. Masters and Johnson measured only the vulval orgasm, the author states, because of their selection of 'responsive' subjects and because, Singer believes, it is the only type of orgasm that could be reached in a laboratory environment with its lack of privacy.
2The uterine orgasm does not involve contraction of the orgasmic platform. It is felt 'deep' within the body and results only from repeated peniscervix contacts. In this orgasm, there is a strong contraction of the cricopharyngeal muscle, displacing the larynx and causing a period of apnoea. The apnoea ends with an explosive exhalation at the time of the orgasm and is followed by a feeling of relaxation and sexual satisfaction.
3The blended orgasm is composed of contractions of the orgasmic platform, but apnoea is also involved. It results only from coitus and is felt more deeply than the vulvar orgasm.
An 'essentialist' favors only one goal for sexuality as the correct one. Freud, for example, favored the vaginal over the clitoral orgasm and proposed th