Lets talk about Marital Intimacy

So this past week my family relations class talked on the topic of marital intimacy.  In my opinion I think that the differences between a man and a woman during sexual intimacy lead to benefits.  First let's start by going through some of the differences.  There are 4 phases of sex: Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm/Climax and a Refractory phase.  Men tend to reach the phase of excitement before woman, during the plateau phase it is a much smaller amount of time than a woman needs, followed by a faster climax period and a longer refractory phase.  It was proven that a men's sexual desire peaks at the age of 18 and a woman's sexual desire peaks at the age of 30.  Pretty big difference but it is important to understand what your spouse is going through to avoid any awkwardness, miscommunication or having one's expectations not being achieved.
Another way in which a man and woman differ in sex was explained to our class by our teacher using a circle diagram...

	This diagram explains that for a woman to have sex she needs to feel safe, close and connected to the other person and a man needs to have sex in order for him to feel those things.   Now how can these differences be a benefit?  Recognizing and understanding the differences helps make sure all the needs are met.  As the cycle above gets more momentum it covers all the areas.  This causes for us to focus on other person rather than focusing on our selves.  These differences need work and a couple will sometimes struggle together.  A lot of the time in a variety of situations we tend to find ourselves saying "why can't this be easy".  We can't forget that the easy things are not worth it but it is those hard things that are.  Hard times make us grow and become a better version of ourselves.  Another way where these differences can be a benefit is because trust must be built.  A couple also learns to make sacrifices for each other.