I was in high school when my guy friend told me about blue balls. It wasn’t a pretty picture as it was the first time I’d imagined discolored ball sacs. After some research, I found out the term “blue balls” emphasizes the terrible pain from not “finishing” during sex.

According to Discovery Health, when a man becomes sexually aroused, blood flows into the penis and creates his engorged boner. This process is called vasocongestion. If the male reaches orgasm and releases, his genitals should return to their normal size.

However, if he’s unable to orgasm and ejaculate, the blood pooled into his penis will remain and create painful pressure on his testicles. A bluish color appears when blood fills the vessels in the testicles, hence the term “blue balls.”

According to the majority of males I’ve encountered, blue balls are the worst and the “meanest” sexual act a woman can do to a guy. It’s a term that makes women feel guilty, as if their only job is finish the man off.

This led me to think: What about females? Just because our sexual arousal isn’t as prominent as a raging hard-on doesn’t mean our needs should be met any less. In fact, there is a female equivalent to blue balls. It’s called “blue bean,” the bean referring to the clitoris.

When a woman becomes sexually aroused, her clitoris will harden and swell with blood. The vaginal walls and labia will also get pumped with blood. If she doesn’t reach orgasm the remaining blood will stay in the clitoris. This will cause blue bean.

According to Go Ask Alice! — a health website run by Columbia University health care providers, researchers and specialists — anyone can experience discomfort due to continuous vasocongestion. This means that a woman can have just as high of a libido as a man. It also demonstrates that women experience similar sexual pains as men do.

Now there are a couple of remedies for blue balls and blue bean. A cold shower or cold compress can reduce the swelling. However, for a more fun relief, masturbation is always an option. Allowing yourself to release is healthy and enjoyable.

Yet the conversation of blue bean raises another question: Why isn’t a female’s orgasm as wide of a concern as a male’s?

In a study conducted by ABC news, 75 percent of women are not reaching orgasm through intercourse. Hegemonic norm society has defined intercourse about the male pleasure — it’s about his completion and orgasm. It’s almost as if women aren’t allowed to feel good.

In a heterosexual relationship, it is stereotypically thought that a man can do whatever he wants in bed with no regard to his partner. He can and will go on until he finishes. It doesn’t matter if she’s had an orgasm. Women are not allowed the rushing pleasure to an orgasm. Women are alive solely to keep their man happy. With this old-fashioned way of thinking, it’s no wonder that society barely accepts the meaning of “blue bean.”

Society must eliminate the idea that women are objects for personal enjoyment. Women are more than just toys for the male population. When it comes to sex, women have just as many frustrations and desires as men do. It’s time we acknowledge this so women can have more orgasms.

While we can’t always control when we get blue genitals, try to orgasm as much as you can. Orgasms are fun, so don’t deprive yourself from having one.

Isabella Ong is a sophomore television, radio and film major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. She can be reached at iong01@syr.edu.

Published on February 17, 2016 at 10:53 pm