First an idea about structure and abstraction as it applies to the primacy of existence over ideas.
Do electrons exist? Has one ever been directly observed? How about photons?
The simple fact is that, from a direct observational standpoint; they do not exist.
Rather, we INFER their existence from indirect observation of their effects. Over time, we have created, modified and re-created a series of laws explaining these entities. And we have even give them names, as though an "electron" were as perceptually tangible as a oak tree.
We have ascertained the existence of a structure through inference. The name and rules we apply to that structure are an abstraction.
The use of a given abstract concept to explain something infered is merely convention. I could use an entirely different name for referencing what we call electrons; and I could use entirely different basis for measurement that would replace coulombs, amps and farads.
Nevertheless, that underlying structural reality; however we choose to conceptualize it, would still exist and would still behave in the same fashion.
Giving gravity a different name or denying its existence because it is portrayed differently won't make it safe to step off the roof of a skyscraper; because the underlying reality doesn't change.
Next, the mind is powerful and can have powerful physiological effects.
Over time I have been involved in a lot of competitive stuff. At one time, competitive hurdling and at another time competitive martial arts.
One tool used in sports psychology -- a tool with a very sound basis -- is visualization. By merely visualizing the stages of a race or the execution of a punch, brain imaging studies show that the same neurons fire in the brain as if the action were being performed physically. The phenomenon of "muscle memory" is very real, but takes place in the brain rather than muscle. Visualization can reinforce and enhance the results of physical training.
But, in addition, it can even make your heartbeat increase, etc.
So what you are picturing in your mind can have physiologically measurable effects.
(Also, look to the studies of guys watching football.)
Well, if your thoughts alone can change your heart rate or reinforce physical training; then -- of course -- they can affect sexual physiology as well.
It could be as simple as being turned off by a beautiful woman who just so happens to be holding an Uzi that is pointed at you, or as complex as visualizing the existence of circulating energy in the body.
Finally, combining the two ideas.
I am not saying that tantra is an end-all and be-all absolutely factual thing. I know little about it until my next Amazon order comes in, and even then, I'll have very little actual experience. So I can't say with certainty that tantric practices are "all that."
But what I CAN say, with certainty, is that WHAT you are thinking and visualizing ABSOLUTELY has a profound effect on sexuality at any given point in time.
It is clear that tantra is one of many ways of giving conceptual form to an underlying structural mechanism that DOES have measurable real-world effects but is not directly observable.
Like you, I am skeptical of this sort of capacity being uniquely female. Likely, it is not.
But keep in mind that a person who deals with sexuality for a living, as opposed to doing it as a hobby, is likely to have more time and opportunity to learn about sexuality academically and also to apply that knowledge experientially.
So it isn't that females are automatically superior in that realm -- it is just that our social mores currently give them greater opportunities.
