Besides masturbation by means of tactile excitation, ideal auto-erethism is widely spread among women. The votaries induce sexual libido by means of lustful conceptions and thoughts. The mere thought concubitus induces orgasm and ejaculation in such women. Such women are able to practice auto-erethism at all times and in all places. While riding in crowded cars and upon the most serious occasions, in churches and in other sacred places, the mere libidinous thought of being in concarnatione induces orgasm. These voluptuous dreamers may stuprare without any visible manipulations while conversing with their friends or listening to a sermon.
A young lady of twenty-five prefers to ride in crowded street cars and, if possible, refuses to accept a seat when offered by a sympathetic man, but remains standing before him, holding on to the strap. She then indulges in ideal auto-erethism by fancying herself of being in concarnatione viri ante se sedentis, cujus genua tentat quam sæpessime tangere suis genibus. At one occasion while riding in a crowded car and standing before a man who was interested in reading a book, pressit suis genibus viri genu during the orgasm in such a way that the man, a physician, looked up to see what was going on. The glowing face was in a state of extreme excitement. The staring eyes were fixed on one point, the hands holding the strap were trembling. Respiration was panting and the countenance distorted to a veritable grimace.
With some women even lustful thoughts are not required to induce sexual libido. They are found among women who are the victims of sexual repression. They restrain themselves from attaining orgasm in the natural way for moral or social reasons. Occasionally the internal stimuli overmaster them and bring about a sexual paroxysm, in the absence of any external stimulus and without resorting to ideal congressus.
Sérieux records the case of a woman, fifty years of age, who lived a chaste life. At times violent crises of sexual paroxysms would come on without any accompaniment of voluptuous thoughts or any mechanical help.
In some patients orgasm may be induced by means of sensory impressions, as by listening to music or the sight of nature in the country, and by the taste and touch of things which have no bearing upon the sexual parts whatever.
Schrenk-Notzing records the case of a female masturbator who induced orgasm without any tactile manipulation, simply by listening to music or while regarding paintings that displayed nothing of a lascivious character.
Another of his patients became sexually excited by the sight of the grandeur of nature, as by the sea, or high mountains.
With another of his patients the mere sight of a specially strong and sympathetic man immediately brings on orgasm.
In Ellis’ case the patient, while still a young girl, whenever a certain artist, whom she admired, touched her hand, felt erections and moisture in muliebribus. When her uncle’s knee once accidentally came in contact with her thigh, ejaculation took place. Once, casually seeing virilia, a convulsive ejaculation occurred accompanied by a delightful sensation, every fibre tingling with an exquisite glow of warmth.
One of the author’s hysterical patients became greatly excited sexually whenever she ate liver-sausages.
Another kind of auto-erethism occurs during sleep. Pollutions are accompanied in sleep by erotic dreams. At the height of the paroxysm an abundant discharge from the Bartholinian glands takes place. The orgasm in sleep is an autoerotic process which is entirely normal. In women who have not yet experienced orgasm in the waking state, the erotic phenomena during sleep are usually of a very vague kind. The real orgasm that awakes the sleeper and leaves its traces in the individual’s consciousness occurs only after orgasm has been once induced in the waking state. Erotic dreams occur in women more frequently than is ordinarily thought of nowadays. It was better known in the darker ages. Hence the wide-spread belief in Lillith and Samaël, the evil spirits, that visit young maidens and wives and also youths and husbands while in bed at night in order to seduce them.
Sometimes automatic masturbation is practised during sleep. The patient awakes to find her finger in the vagina.
If the pollutions occur at long intervals, they cause no direct injury to a good constitution. But if the women are not robust, and the pollutions happen too often, these drains are the cause of considerable nervous depression.
One of the author’s patients, a widow of about forty years of age, is suffering from almost nightly pollutions. These weaken her so much that she is seldom able to rise before noon-time.