Sex at Dawn

I read (and for the life of me I can't remember the publishing) that the female orgasm helped facilitate conception. The article, like this one, spoke on the seeming absent contribution of an orgasm to the biological act of reproduction. It went on to state that the quick and repetitious muscle contractions were thought to help move the sperm towards the egg. I can't speak on the validity of this article (since I can't remember the source), but it seemed a plausible physiological explanation.

I am a very lucky female. I have orgasms very easily. Tipically 10 or more during intercourse. Also, after ejaculation; ejaculatory contractions make me orgasm...
I think the point of female orgasm is that if a female has great pleasure in intercourse, she will want to have sex more, right? It is obvious. Women who can´t have orgasms are not likely to be as interested in sex as me.I bet most only do it to please their mates.

I've often pondered the idea that orgasm helps women secure a more apt mate through several mechanisms.

For one, the greater difficulty women have reaching orgasm is beneficial in the sense that it does not reward promiscuity, which in the ancestral environment would have been very dangerous for women. Ending up pregnant with an uninvested male who can easily abandon you is NOT GOOD in a major way. Let alone the actual danger of childbirth.

Once she is convinced to have sex, a woman will notice that a man who is not heavily emotionally invested in her has a more difficult time helping her achieve an orgasm, and is therefore a less enjoyable and desirable lover. He's also a less desirable mate, since he'd probably be less inclined toward sharing his resources with her. He'd also be a less desirable father, if his main focus is himself.

I am a true believer in Evolutionary Psychology, but I find that most scientists get too bogged down in the male view of reproduction to see the whole picture. Reproducing is worthless when your babies die in childhood. The mother has to find a father willing to commit, provide and protect, or it is all for naught.

Why assume that female orgasm serves the same evolutionary purpose for every species? Camels spit and humans spit. Do they both spit for the same reason? Birds regurgitate, as do cows, as do humans. Does regurgitation serve the same function for all three species? Clearly not. Human females are cryptic ovulators; chimpanzee females are not. Perhaps, for chimpanzees, female orgasm promotes sperm competition; whereas, for humans, female orgasm(along with cryptic ovulation)promotes pair-bonding.

I think its the nature of evolution-minded theorists to be confounded by evolution period without even the need to mention female orgasm. Maybe this is because they choose to stand outside evolution as if it has nothing to do with them. As long as there is the view that we (humans) "come INTO this world" when what is closer to reality is that we "come OUT OF this world" then this will suggest the consciousness of an evolution-minded theorists, and the rest of us, is alien.

is irrelevant. Tantric practice elevates orgasm/pleasure to the level of the highest prayer and connection with the divine.

We might better ask why more women don't have orgasms and why when I gave a talk on human sexuality to a women's studies class a few years ago, over half the young women didn't know what the clitoris was - or the book Our Bodies, Our Selves.

This post offers much to weave with. I'll address women's pleasure in one of my next posts on She Bets Her Life. I've often suspected that there is a connection between a pleasure-barren life and addiction.

Mary, the why is important and interesting to other folks. I'm annoyed that your comment serves only to plug a post you haven't even written yet, and that is not actually on the same topic. You've overstepped.

as you will see, SacredNature, I responded almost immediately to Christopher. I wasn't plugging my post. A few of the other bloggers and I are consciously weaving communication with each other an the readers. was honoring Chris Ryan's post. Be glad to communicate with you about this. My email is shegetsherlife@gmail.com.

It raises the possibility of a post on the deep ethics of posting. Thank you.

Research into female sexual behavior runs quickly into a wall of fallacy, lies, some reflecting basal academic misogeny, others, the intentional patriarchal and religious censorship enforcing terror for the purposes of social engineering and population control.

Orgasms have been selected for and function beyond their presumed purpose. Presumbably a purpose of pleasure to reward sexual engagement and encourage copulation, the prerequite to reproduction, as a positive experience,
and to affirm mate choice.

Of course the nerve mass granting heightened sensitivity of the genital area, serves or might serve as a sensor that cues the brain in decision making, and eases birth, menstrual discomfort...

You mentioned the fact that men typically orgasm with more frequency than women and perhaps this too serves as a mechanism to increase sexual interest. Since intermittent reinforcement is the hardest to extinguish, maybe the fact that women are usually unable to always reach orgasm actually increases the frequency they engage in sex.

I suppose this wouldn't explain why males almost always experience orgasm, but just a thought! Interesting article, well done!

There's a huge variability in women's orgasm patterns, which in itself may indicate different evolutionary strategies evolving in parallel. Of course, orgasm is a reward for doing reproductive work, which is why it won't go away even if the more orgasmic women might (statistically) be more promiscuous too, and therefore might have somewhat lesser protection of their children.

Or maybe sex is (also) part of group bonding mechanisms (bonobos?) so that orgasmic and non-monogamous actually might lead to a more safe position. At least in some cultural settings - had this been an important genral selection criterion, I think we should have had an higher incidence of "naturally" multi-orgasmic women. The female orgasm is a reward for the male, too.

That so many women have problems getting orgasm from penetration, could indicate that female sexuality has evolved in part independently from coital sex? Maybe development of human sexuality has been more dominated by women's choices and preferences than we realize? Our species-wise large penises for example - not selected for the joy of men, I think.

The female orgasm is as much or more a matching phenomenon as a mating one. Women have always had flings or longer relationships with sexually and/or emotionally more adept males, more or less regardless of their spouses/daily partners - as have men. Orgasm can much more be regarded as a reward for such pleasure-seeking, extra-marital activity than for monogamy: There are risks involved, and if there is no immediate reward, it's safer to stick with the spouse.

There is a long-term reward, however: Reproducing in several combinations gives the woman's genes better chances of spreading, as long as the offspring is cared for. In particular if the extra contributor is more attractive and sex-positive than the daily provider.

But this larger degree of "sex-positivity" will also - on the average - benefit the primary relationship. It's just not mandatory for that relationship to work. Which, I think, is why so many women are able to become or stay alienated to their own sexuality. But there maybe another important evolutionary factor here, too: Women who are not so easily "turned on", may apply harder quality criteria to their relationships, with much less inclination to build on sand.

All this ambiguity prepares the scene for the second act: The human as a partly self-invented social construction with sexuality an important, and highly deveoped, part.

Thanks everyone for fascinating comments. Personally, I (and my wife, an African psychiatrist) believe that the variability of female orgasm is probably very much a cultural artifact. There are cultures in which virtually all women report orgasm in almost every sexual encounter. Others veer toward the opposite extreme.

In our book, we explore at some depth capricorny's suggestion concerning sex as a bonding mechanism on a group level (as opposed to just in a couple). This aligns well with our understanding of human sexual evolution.

If you're interested, you can read excerpts at www.sexatdawn.com

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions.

CPR

Let me boil the answer down to simple words.

If a female human was not capable of having an orgasm, she would NEVER engage in intercourse... EVER.

End of story.

Female promiscuity (distinct from above average sexual activity with a single mate) is a stupid reproductive strategy, though its other advantages are also stupid.