Tuesday 22 December 2009

What's that line on my Scrotum? How it can affect your gender/sexuality

As a woman, I'm naturally very appreciative, as well as curious, about the male anatomical design and I've always been fascinated by the slightly raised line that seems to be the join of the ball sack but it was my friend, Softboy, who explained to me exactly what it was all about.


Known as the perineal raphe, it extends from the anus, through the mid-line of the scrotum (where it becomes the scrotal raphe) and upwards through the posterior mid-line aspect of the penis (to form the penile raphe).

This noticeable line is due to a phenomenon of foetal development where the scrotum (the equivalent of the labia in females) and penis close toward the midline and fuse, causing a ridge of tissue.

Softboy explained to me that this ridge of tissue is formed when the genetic coding decides that the foetus is going to be a boy. If things had gone the other way, then the tissue would have become the lips of the female labia and the tip of the penis would have been her clitoris.

If you look at the upward V formed by the vagina, uterus and fallopian tubes and then correspond them to the upside down V of the penis and balls you can see how it all works.

In cases where the genetic signals become confused, you get babies that have genitals which are neither one thing nor the other and none of it works properly.

Thinking about it in this way, the whole miracle of the formation and gestation of a foetus is quite extraordinary.

But there's even more to it than that.

There are homophobic arguments about people being "unnaturally" or "pervertedly" gay, or suffering what's known as 'body dysmorphia' - where they have all the characteristics of one gender, but are mentally the other. People also think of Hermaphrodites (from a fusion of Hermes and Aphrodite) as being genetic mutations outside the norm.

The point is that we are all hermaphrodite until a certain point in our development, when the X or Y chromosomes should fulfill their potential towards one gender specific development.

Sometimes, for some reason, either the body develops one way and the mind the other (Body Dysmorphia) or the genes get confused or crossed allowing both sets of genitalia to begin to develop (Hermaphrodite), or everything seems to be ok in the complete gender specific arena, but the sexual interest is towards ones own gender, which could possibly be viewed as very mild body dysmorphia.

The evidence for the completely natural, though incorrectly developed issues above are obvious in the evidential similarities shown not least in the perineal raphe, but also the similarity between the internal and external genitalia as below:

The G-spot in the female and prostate in the male giving deeper and more convulsive pelvic floor orgasms.

The fact that men still have 'totally useless' nipples for no apparent reason.

The fact that given heavy doses of steroids which directly trigger hormonal responses, transgender mutations can still be engineered in a person's hirsuteness, voice tone, and both organ and bone shape.

The type of superficial intensity of the clitoral/glans-penile orgasm.

The appearance of the clitoris (which tumesces - ie: swells under stimulation, out from under a hood) and the penis with its foreskin.

The similarity between the testes, vas diferens (tubes) and the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

In short, we are all more alike than we think, and only genetic irregularity makes any of us stray from the male/female norm..... and being gay, or a man/woman trapped in the other gender's body is not a perverted choice. It's just the unfortunate way it is for that being who developed in that way, and has to live in an ignorant society.

14 comments:

Gorilla Bananas said...

I think you need to experience the foot orgasm before calling things superficially intense, Joanna.

Shelagh said...

Male nipples...as I understand it, the X chromosome carries the basic blueprint for everything, the Y just carries a few alterations that make the male body different. Does that make sense?

Native Minnow said...

I always thought it was called the 'chode', 'taint', or 'gooch' - ha!

If you want to see some really crazy developmental stuff pertaining to gender, go read up on 'penis at twelve syndrome'.

Frequent Traveler said...

Very informative and intelligent Joanna. Thank you.

And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and those you love :)

Unknown said...

Yep, that's about the long and short of it (as it were!)

My nipples may be useless but they are very sensitive so, if nothing else, they are a fun prop in foreplay.

Anonymous said...

On male nipples, the following article from Scientific American provides an explanation. Basically, like the features that Joanna describes, they are a common feature of females and males. Why are they retained in males? There is no natural selection in favor of male nipples – i.e., they do not enhance our reproductive fitness, unless, that is, you ladies find them SO sexy LOL – but there is no natural selection against them either.

http://tinyurl.com/ydtloms

Anonymous said...

Wow, educational, interesting and well-written. Not that this is a surprise when reading your stuff, but still.

:-)

Happy holidays, sister!

Joanna Cake said...

Mr B, But you always want another one straight after!!! If the foot orgasm can keep me satisfied for the rest of the day, Im booking an air ticket now!

Shelagh - That was my understanding too. I just found the whole thing absolutely fascinating. I guess what we need to know now is what external factors affect the genes to make them behave in a different way.

Minnow - Id never heard any of those terms before.

Annie - Have a great one!

phallatio/Ben - Ruf's nipples are tiny and not particularly sensitive to stimulation. But then, I suppose, we are comparing to mine which are totally the opposite :)

Sapphirejay - Softboy is a very interesting man, who is helping me to progress in all sorts of directions. All outside of the bedroom of course :) Have a great holiday x

Savannah said...

I knew a man who when his nipples were sucked the opposite side of his mouth would go numb. Apparently he had never experienced that before I did it so maybe I have magic mouth muscles. :)

I just wanted to wish you and Ruf a very Happy and Wonderful Christmas.

Krazy said...

Bravo for sharing this piece of information.

Happy Holidays!

h said...

Trolls of both genders have hard sharp nipples. We use them as weapons.

Joanna Cake said...

Gypsy - LMAO, you tinker! Have a fab holiday :)

Krazy - Have a great time!

Trolly - Naturally :)

Gina said...

That has answered many questions I've had about men's bits for a long time.
Thanks!

Savannah said...

Not sure what a tinker is but it sounds cute. LOL.....