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.

Christopher Ryan Ph.D.
Much as women's breasts have fascinated many male, evolution-minded theorists, the female orgasm has confounded them. Like breasts, female orgasm is a major head-scratcher for mainstream narratives of human sexual evolution. It's not necessary for conception, so why should it exist at all? For a long time, in fact, scientists claimed that women were the only female animals to experience orgasm. But once female biologists and primatologists arrived on the scene, it became obvious that many female primates were indeed experiencing full-on, wake-the-neighbors orgasms.
The underlying motivation for claiming that female orgasm was unique to human beings probably lay in its central role in the standard narrative of human sexual evolution. According to this view, orgasm evolved in the human female to facilitate and sustain the long-term pair bond at the heart of the nuclear family. Once you've swallowed that story, it becomes problematic to admit that the females of other primate species without a hint of nuclear families are orgasmic, too. Your problem gets worse if the most orgasmic species happen to be among the most promiscuous as well, which appears to be the case.
As primate sexuality expert Alan Dixson writes, this monogamy-maintenance explanation for female orgasm "seems far-fetched." "After all," he writes, "females of other primate species, and particularly those with multimale- multifemale [promiscuous] mating systems such as macaques and chimpanzees, exhibit orgasmic responses in the absence of such bonding or the formation of stable family units." On the other hand, Dixson goes on to note, "Gibbons, which are primarily monogamous, do not exhibit obvious signs of female orgasm." Although Dixson classifies humans as mildly polygynous in his survey of primate sexuality, he seems to have doubts, as when he writes, "One might argue that . . . the female's orgasm is rewarding, increases her willingness to copulate with a variety of males rather than one partner, and thus promotes sperm competition."
Donald Symons and others have argued that "orgasm is most parsimoniously interpreted as a potential all female mammals possess." What helps realize this "potential" in some human societies, argues Symons, are "techniques of foreplay and intercourse [that] provide sufficiently intense and uninterrupted stimulation for females to orgasm." In other words, Symons thinks women have more orgasms than mares simply because men are better lovers than stallions. Stomp your foot three times if you believe this.
In support of his theory, Symons cites studies like Kinsey's showing that fewer than half of women questioned (Americans in the 1950s) experienced orgasm at least nine out of ten times they had intercourse, whereas in other societies (he refers to Mangaia, in the South Pacific), elaborate and extended sexual play result in nearly universal orgasm for women. "Orgasm," Symons concludes, "never is considered to be a spontaneous and inevitable occurrence for females as it always is for males." For Symons, Stephen Jay Gould, Elisabeth Lloyd, and others, some women have orgasms sometimes because all men do every time. For them, the female orgasm is the equivalent of male nipples: a structural echo without function in one sex of a trait vital in the other.
This seems highly unlikely.
Some of this material appears in Sex at Dawn, where we explore more likely explanations for the female orgasm in humans and other mammals.
Be sure to read the following responses to this post by our bloggers:
reference
Robin Baker made that argument in his book "Sperm Wars" of about a dozen years ago (and related research papers). I'm not sure if the idea originated with him or had an earlier pedigree.
It was critiqued by others on the basis that conception could obviously occur without said bio-physical mechanism in operation, so it was difficult to quantify exactly how strong any evolutionary selection in favor of it might be. It's also indisputable there's scant data one way or the other, and controlled experiments are clearly impossible, so the idea just sorta hangs out there as a possibility.
Baker and Bellis
Yes, that's right. The more academic book is by Baker and Bellis, but I understand that Bellis wasn't enthused about the popularization of the research (which caused a huge stir).
There is actually a relatively robust literature on sperm competition, focused on the possible function of the female orgasm and various anatomical features of both men and women, see this paper, for example: http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/ep021223.pdf
In our book, we argue that sperm competition is clearly evident in the design of the human reproductive system—an argument with which many will disagree, no doubt.
CPR
Orgasms
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 that a natural condition or
I that a natural condition or a trained condition ? and how do you do it ? Thanks for your reply.
Bernard from Costa Rica.
I don't know. I didn't do
I don't know. I didn't do anything specific to increase my orgasms. But they have been getting easier and easier as I get older (I am 25). The first time I had sex I didn't reach orgasm, but the second time I had three. I think most women who can't have orgasms because they are too nervous when they have sex to really enjoy it. They may not like themselves or their partner too much, so it is not a very good experience. I do know that the most important thing is not tecnique or time, it is how we feel. When I feel the most connected emotionally to my husband, that is when I have the most pleasure. It also depends on the fertility cycle. When I am fertile, all I can think about is sex, and I have to control myself not to start checking out every guy I find atractive. My girfriends also say they have more than one orgasm most times. I guess I am genetically gifted to have it easier, but I believe woman are meant to have multiple orgasms (and partners).
Thanks
Appreciate your sharing of your experience. We talk about a lot of what you mention here in our book: the variability of women's experience over the menstrual cycle, the importance of intimacy of different kinds, the relationship between multiple orgasms and multiple partners. We also agree with your sense that the wide variability of orgasmic response has much more to do with psychology and culture than it does with biology. I read a study years ago done by a female Australian gynecologist who found that fashion models had more difficulty reaching orgasm than any other profession she looked at. Her hypothesis was that these women were the most self-conscious and unable to relax (and possibly suspicious of their partner's motivations, I'd wager). In any case, let's hope things just keep getting better for you and your husband!
CPR
Good times
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.
Interesting post
I agree with you about the fact that science seems to take a male view approach on most things like this. It's quite humorous to see such things, even today, being so male driven. As if a woman's choices and desires are just not needed. If such things don't matter for women, then why should they matter for men at all, they're both a part of sex. Nature could have cococted a way for men to orgasm without seeking pleasure from it. Nature finds a way, at least if you believe in evolution. Giraffe's necks grew, animals reproduce, baby turtles follow the moonlight to find the ocean, it's innate responses and we grow and change. Orgasms on both sides, are just an added pleasant "side affect" that I'm very glad we have.
Strange basic concept
The underlying but unspoken basic idea is that women would not "need" to derive pleasure from sex because their male partners could rape them any time.
I don't know, however, how the (mostly male?) evol psych proponents imagine that the intense social bonding that allows human children to grow up and mature over many years would be created and maintained if the basic relationships within the group were dominated by violence.
Fascinated at all the
Fascinated at all the anti-male bigotry being expressed here. By persons male and female. Is hating someone because of their gender acceptable? Clearly.
Fascinating that pointing out
Fascinating that pointing out the obvious male bias in science (and as a scientist, there is) is considered hatred and bigotry.
Most anatomy textbooks still use the male body as the default and female bodies are usually mentioned only during reproduction or as an aside. Many times non-female parts are standard and if it is different in females that is an exception (ex: , despite over 50% of the human population being female.
Pointing it out is not bigotry - it's a step to CORRECT bigotry.
Indeed
Right you are. One of my favorite examples is when evolutionary theorists point to "delayed orgasm" in women. Who says men's quick orgasms are "right on time"?
Fascinated at all the
Fascinated at all the inherently misogynistic articles posted. The basic assumption is that female orgasms are unnecessary, because women shouldn't enjoy sex.
Wow! Chimpanzee Orgasms Are A Whole Different Animal.
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.
The impossibility of discovering Truth through objectivity
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.
Why?
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.
pleasure and addiction
Looking forward to your post, though to question why is rarely irrelevant. Fellow blogger Stanton Peele advanced the argument that addiction is an expression of a distorted relationship with pleasure in his classic book, Love and Addiction.
CPR
oops, you are right, sorry about the irrelevant
I was being poetic. As you know, the more we understand the physiological underpinnings of thoughts and behaviors (the sub-strata of addiction) the more we have a chance to change - and when someone pursues pleasure to the point of sex addiction they enter a terrifying realm. Thanks for your response.
Mary, the why is important
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.
I consider myself corrected
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.
Gould is dead so we can reconcile facts.
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...
Orgasm Frequency
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!
Female gene-spreading, maybe?
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.
great comments
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
Female orgasm: necessary?
There is an Irish island where it is reputed that no woman ever orgasms.
Let me boil the answer down
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.
?
How would you know without being a female who doesn't orgasm? Care to share your research?
Seriously!! What are you
Seriously!! What are you talking about! Most females orgasm only via clitoris and not vaginally so your theory is null! Sorry
Female promiscuity (distinct
Female promiscuity (distinct from above average sexual activity with a single mate) is a stupid reproductive strategy, though its other advantages are also stupid.
No advantage to female promiscuity
Yeah, if she has sex with ten guys a day she can get pregnant only once in 9 to 12 months unless she miscarries or aborts.
If a guy has sex with ten women in a day he could possibly get all ten pregnant (his sperm count does go down with repeats in a short time). He could do this day after day. That is, unless he got to where he ran at the sight of a woman.
The female gets little to no advantage from promiscuity.
The male gets a great advantage as far as having lots of offspring.
All I gotta say is...
That picherr of the monkey is so fucking gross. Just sayinn.
Multiples & Faking
First of all, to the person who said that women would never have sex if they didn't have orgasms... seriously? Women across the world have sex everyday without reaching orgasm. Ever heard of faking it? That expression exists for a reason.
Second, Why would someone thing we developed orgasms as a way to partner bond? Seriously? Why then would women be so much more able to have multiple orgasms than men? Wouldn't that instead suggest that we were instead meant to have multiple partners by such things. You could go on with many male partners, and achieve such sensations over and over again... makes more sense than getting it once with one partner, and wasting the ability for multiple orgasms. Scientifically speaking of course.
"Scientifically speaking"?
Yeah and hey! Don't go wastin' those multiples on scientists now.
When the shoe fits...
When the shoe fits... wear it.
Orgasm is something like coffee... there's no bad one.
So, when the orgasm fits... have it.
Don't blame a woman for not having an orgasm every time; don't blame men for not helping their woman to orgasm every time; don't blame men for often having an orgasm, when the woman has not been able to have one. And, don't blame women who need a man to assist them to have an orgasm.
And, cheer the women who have them "at will".
1 out of every 20 men can give me a orgasim.
I grew up in a strict christian home where sex was not discussed 1973-1991. My curiousity of sex led me to expirement one encounter each year for 5 years until I decided that sex was a pleasure similar to that of a warm bath or a warm brownie. I was in a hurry to move away from my parents so married a man who fit my check list. He had slept with 30 women and I had been with 5 so I wanted to catch up and see what I was missing out on. I believed that a orgasm should be breathtakingly wonderful and at 23 I had yet to achieve such pleasure. Similar to the previous story entitled, "She didn't get the kind of sex she wanted." I had a longing to experience ultimate pleasure. Over a course of 5 years I searched for a orgasm with 120 men and I found 6 that satisfied me. It required finding someone that placed the same high priority on sex as I did. My husband said, "Well if you don't like the way I do it why should I bother trying. At least one of us can orgasm." I believe he was too easily discouraged to learn how to improve and his rush to have his orgasm led to my unfaithfulness and our divorce.
I am very discriminating with penis size, taste and body smell in my decision to form a relationship or not.
I would love to write a book called the encylopedia of penis'.
I lost my sex drive after my 2nd child. Nutrition gave me my sex drive back. I am not plugging a brand. I am simply stating that there is something in these ingredients that made me want to have sex. This pill felt as if someone grabed my numb crotch and said WAKE UP! The pill restored my body to its natural state. I just needed a jump start. My hypothesis is NUTRITION can AID ORGASM.
Salvia officinalis (Sage leaf), Rubus idaeus (Red raspberry leaf), Isoflavones from Pueraria montana (kudzu root extract) and Trifolium pratense (red clover extract), Capsicum annuum (Capsicum pepper) , Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice root), Morella cerifera (Bayberry fruit), Turnera diffusa (Damiana leaf), Valeriana officinalis (Valeriana root), Zingiber officinale (Ginger root), Actaea racemosa (Black cohosh root).
mymelissa121@gmail.com
Are you hear to tarnish the
Are you hear to tarnish the post with spam? Are you trying to say something and holding back?
Ever thought about geological
Ever thought about geological time? Obviously you don't even do logic, since by your own unscientific logic, orgasms would be achieved solo.
oh dear, most women can effectively achieve orgasm
solo. By geological time, did you meant, "I felt the earth move?"
Biology
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember learning that all organisms start out female; it is the introduction of hormones during fetal development (driven by genes, obviously) that differentiates us into male/female. This is the reasoning behind all the parallels in our physiology: men have nipples, the female clitoris is the same group of cells found in the male penis(?), etc.
So... if we all start out female and some of us become male, then shouldn't the line: "some women have orgasms sometimes because all men do every time" be reworded as "men have orgasms because women can"? ;-)
That said, it is absolutely important to relax with the process and not try so hard to achieve climax. The brain has been described by some as our largest sexual organ; the mind-body connection should not be ignored. Some people of both sexes can orgasm simply by vividly imagining a sexual encounter (in fact, I would venture to say that we can all learn to do this). And, similarly, from everything I've heard over the years (not a scientific survey, granted), the best (most orgasmic?) sex comes from pairings in which the partners are focused on each other, relaxed, and simply enjoying themselves. Worrying too much about body image, what your partner thinks of you, whether you're going to conceive - all that can interfere. And not just for women - some impotent men improve by learning to relax.
As noted in the article, there are cultural differences, which to my mind backs up the psychological aspect; women in the more repressed societies (i.e. America) don't orgasm as frequently because they've been conditioned to believe they shouldn't be enjoying it (or whatever).
Just some thoughts. :-)
There you have it
The grand tradition of misogyny in the sciences continues.
Response
It seems relatively simple to me. Just as levels of beauty seem superfluous on the surface, thought reveals that beauty is an attractive force developed to stimulate the reproductive process. In the same way, the orgasm is essentially an incentive for women to have sex and, subsequently, reproduce.
I like the reversal
Thinking of a penis as an overgrown clitoris puts it all together. Women, how would you feel if your clit were massaged as fully as a penis is during intercourse? Women might come as often as men! And as quick.
I like the reversal
Maybe not, as direct contact with the clitoris tends to overstimulate it, even to the point of being painful.
Empirical female orgasm data
Dear Dr. Ryan,
In a couple places you suggest that it is now understood that non-human females do experience orgasm and even indicate that it is possible to distinguish female orgasm frequency among promiscuous and non-promiscuous species.
Could you pass along the references to empirical data which support this 'fact'? This topic was that of my doctoral dissertation in 1977. I may have missed publications of empirical evidence and would love to see it. Behavioral manifestations of non-human female orgasm are interesting but not conclusive and are most difficult to establish operationally.
Also, I have a some unpublished data I gathered at the Laboratory of Comparative Ethology (NICHD - Lab Chief is Steve Suomi) which clearly show extreme intra-uterine pressure changes in the rhesus female during copulation and which are most salient around ejaculation. A document with a graphic is on my web page "My Research" http://academic.uprm.edu/~ephoebus/id28.htm.
Eric Phoebus
references
Hi Eric,
I responded to the email listed on your web site. Essentially, I directed you to Dixson (2009), pp. 76-77, where these data are listed. Let me know if you didn't get my message and I'll re-post here. Thanks for your comment.
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