Word help, looking for words that suggest arousal but do not explicitly state it?

Hello, Sarah!

I agree. I encounter that obstacle whenever I write an erotic story. The thing is, since male sexual desire is primarily phallic, any word that attempts to describe male arousal invariably boils down to penile erection. For example, "he rose to the occasion," a phrase which, as you can tell, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to this obvious form of sexual arousal; Whenever I've read passages in the books that emanated from the old Grove Press (they were the original publishers of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" which was banned for many years) the anonymous authors tended to lean heavily on a limited set of phrases that they'd repeat ad infinitum--phrases like the examples you used in your post. In fact, you inadvertently summed up the issue in your last sentence when you said, "I think it's harder to find male appropriate vocab." Harder, indeed. I like the word, "tumescence," but again, it is a word that depicts a male's heightened state of arousal in the form of the growing bulge in his pants. There is no way around it; most women are convinced that if they don't have that kind of effect on a man then he is simply not turned on. Much is made on how sexual arousal will involve every aspect of a woman's being, particularly when she is gazed at or touched. But men are not sensitized to sensual touching; Mother Nature has imbued us with but one reason to get aroused at all--procreation.

Even other considerations, like the acquiring of financial wealth or men's' fascination with weaponry, have within them some degree of sexual connotation. The attainment of wealth on Wall Street, for example, is "sexy as hell"; the tactile stimulation of holding an oiled rifle stock, for some who are enamored of military life, is akin to embracing a woman. And so on and on.

And so I slog on with my writing and so must you. Male sexual arousal presents a challenge, which is why it's much more interesting, let alone fun, to write about what goes on in a woman when she is aroused. In fact, it's her arousal that drives most erotic novels and short stories; the guy is merely the supporting player.