At some time or other during your adolescence, or throughout your sex life, you’ve heard tell of this “impressive” phenomenon: “penis captivus”, or when a man’s penis becomes stuck inside the woman’s vagina. Like something from a horror film, can two bodies really become welded together, complete unable to detach from each other for a while? Or is it just another urban legend, that you can remove from your list of sex-related worries?
A common occurrence in dogs, so why not in humans too?!
Of course, we are not animals (well, most of us….) but we could imagine how this could happen to us humans as well: in fact you can often see it happen to dogs when they are mating, when the male gets stuck in the middle of the action! That said, human bodies are somewhat different from those of our four legged friends…
Penis captivus: a contraction that resembles vaginismus
If strictly speaking, the penis is not actually stuck inside the woman, some men may have experienced a very similar situation: the phenomenon can be caused by a contraction of the muscles around the vagina, which happens in vaginismus (pain during sex, to the extent that penetration can become completely impossible). However, instead of the vaginal muscles contracting before penetration (as happens with vaginismus), in the case of penis captivus, as it is called by doctors, the contractions happen after penetration. This is what leads to the feeling of being stuck inside. The causes for this type of contraction are not very well understood by specialists, who often explain it as a panic attack or muscle spasms. Embarrassing, sure, but it is nothing to fret about: doctors assure that there is no danger, and that the tumescent member will soon be released!
The myth of ending up in hospital because of penis captivus
It is a rare doctor who is confronted with such a phenomenon. According to the majority of gynaecologists, the stories about couples who show up in emergency departments, completely stuck together, are mainly myths, or fantasies concocted by more perverse types! Partners who become stuck can always find a way of freeing themselves before having to call the emergency services. We can only imagine the scene! So does that reassure you?
