orgasm: Definition from Answers.com

The term ‘orgasm’ — derived from ‘organ’, meaning to grow ripe, swell, or be lustful — is applied equally to the sexual climaxes of women and men. The medical lexicon distinguishes orgasm from ejaculation; the latter term specifically describes a sudden spurt of fluid released in response to sexual excitement. The distinction arises partly because there is some question about whether female orgasms may result in an ejaculation, and partly because males can experience orgasms without ejaculation. (Pre-adolescent males and some adult males can apparently reach orgasm without the emission of semen.)

Poets have long sung of the pleasures of orgasm. Perhaps the most common literary trope for orgasm is that which likens the experience to dying; orgasm became, for seventeenth-century poets, la petite morte. (The historian and philosopher Michel Foucault famously punned on this relationship between l'amour and la morte.) Thus, in Imperfect Enjoyment, even while bemoaning the problem of premature ejaculation, Etherege looked with pleasure on that moment ‘When, overjoyed with victory, I fall/Dead at the foot of the surrendered wall.’

Sexologists in this century have struggled to put the orgasmic experience into more precise, clinical terms. Probably the simplest description comes from Alfred Kinsey, the American human-sex researcher, who, in his classic 1948 study, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, suggested that ‘the most important consequence of sexual orgasm is the abrupt release of the extreme tension which preceded the event and the rather sudden return to a normal or subnormal physiologic state after the event.’ Kinsey's description of orgasm in his 1953 Sexual Behavior in the Human Female was a bit more dramatic: ‘This explosive discharge of neuromuscular tensions at the peak of sexual response is what we identify as orgasm.’

In short, sexologists of today have only confirmed what the poets of yesteryear knew — that sexual climax and dying share some key physiological similarities, not the least of which is the occasional loss of consciousness. Wrote Kinsey, ‘Some, and perhaps most persons may become momentarily unconscious at the moment of orgasm, and some may remain unconscious or only vaguely aware of reality throughout the spasms or convulsions which follow orgasm.’ Pleasurable? Kinsey wondered, on noting the intensity of experience, so similar to epileptic fits and physiologic responses to electric shock. ‘In the most extreme types of sexual reaction, an individual who has experienced orgasm may double and throw his [or her] whole body into continuous and violent motion, arch his back, throw his hips, twist his head, thrust out his arms and legs, verbalize, moan, groan, or scream, in much the same way as a person who is suffering the extremes of torture.’ Kinsey could only conclude, ‘this makes it all the more amazing that most persons consider that sexual orgasm … provide[s] one of the most supreme of physical satisfactions.’

Satisfying indeed, but to what end? Two questions pervade two millennia of medical constructions of the orgasm: ‘Can you suffer from too few or too many?’ and: ‘What purpose does the female orgasm have?’

Aristotle worried that the wombs of over-stimulated women would become slippery and inhospitable to fetuses, but generally early anatomists were relatively unobsessed with questions of frequency. Humoral theories tended to require, for health, some periodic release of ‘seed’ (or at least a careful diet which would reduce production of the excitable stuff). Humoral theory held that semen was made up of phlegm — interestingly, the same stuff as the brain. (Upon opening, post-mortem, the head of a particularly lecherous fellow, an early-modern anatomist noted, without surprise, that there wasn't much brain left.) To relieve pressure, early-modern English medical texts recommended regular intercourse or even occasional episodes of masturbation. But too much activity was thought to risk the health or production of offspring, as well as one's own health.

The nineteenth century saw much bile spilled over the concern that people were excessively spending their energies on sexual gratification. Many Victorian physicians, enamoured of a conservation-of-energy approach to physiology, warned that frequent orgasms would only drain the life from the body and leave the other systems wanting. (A far less happy sex-and-death link.) This essentially constituted a new version of the old bodily-economy trope. Inventors designed devices to discourage erections (these tended to involve sharply-barbed clamps), and many physicians recommended clitorectomies for ‘hysterical’ women, particularly those who enjoyed too much sex or sex with other women. Even well into this century, versions of this dire belief — that one's bodily supply of energy could be squandered by sexual emissions — hung on. Most male athletes are familiar with the aphorism which prohibits ‘spending’ oneself before a match.

On the heels of the Victorians, Sigmund Freud invented new ways to worry about (or worry about worrying about) sexual gratification. Most infamous among feminists is Freud's belief that truly mature women achieve vaginal orgasms, not clitoral ones. Laqueur aptly notes that, ‘prior to 1905 [the publication of Freud's theory], no one thought that there was any other kind of female orgasm than the clitoral sort.’ In his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Freud argued that, while pre-pubescent girls might enjoy clitoral orgasms, clitoral stimulation in the adult woman was only meant to ‘[transmit] the excitation to the adjacent female sexual parts’, namely the vagina, ‘just as — to use a simile — pine shavings can be kindled in order to set a log of harder wood on fire.’ If a woman could not move her seat of excitation to her vagina, she would only wind up frigid. Meanwhile, Freud argued that the very transfer of excitation from clitoris to vagina over the course of a woman's maturation left her prone to hysteria.

Kinsey's studies did much to dispel the vaginal-orgasm dogma of Freud. Indeed, Kinsey, who saw vaginal orgasm as a ‘biological impossibility’, took Freud to task for leaving thousands of women in a well of frustration and shame. Masters and Johnson's 1966 tome, Human Sexual Response, and The Hite Report of 1976 confirmed Kinsey's findings: most women do not experience orgasms directly from intercourse, and female orgasms originate from stimulation of the clitoris. By the 1960s, so fascinated with orgasms had the populace become that the British writer Malcolm Muggeridge declared in 1966, ‘The orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and fulfillment.’ Popular quasi-medical texts today offer clues about how to achieve more, better, and better-timed orgasms.

Freud's impetus towards vaginal stimulation did not die away after Kinsey, Masters and Johnson, and Hite. Sexologists continue to investigate the sensitivity of the vagina and the ability of certain women to achieve orgasm without direct clitoral stimulation. Reports of a ‘G spot’ — a zone of high sensitivity in the vagina — are yearly put forth and summarily condemned. (Beverly Whipple and John Perry named the ‘G spot’ after the gynecologist Ernst Graefenberg.) Some researchers posit that stimulation of a vaginal ‘G spot’ can lead to ejaculation.

Perhaps because science has been mostly a male sport, few scientific minds have pondered the question of the purpose of the male orgasm, but many a man (and a few women) have contemplated the point of the female orgasm. Early anatomists, who presumed essential similarities between men's and women's bodies, figured that, if men's orgasms were needed for reproduction, so were women's. Thomas Laqueur, in his historical study of sex, imagined the logic of Hippocrates: ‘Like a flame that flares when wine is sprinkled on it, the woman's heat blazes most brilliantly when the male sperm is sprayed on it … She shivers. The womb seals itself. And the combined elements for a new life are safely contained within.’ Aristotle figured that, if a woman did not climax, she would not become pregnant. These ideas led to some curious (and ineffective) attempts at birth control.

Well into the early-modern period, the assumption stood firm that woman's well-timed orgasm was necessary to conception. Patricia Crawford has argued that, in early-modern England, this belief had both good and bad implications for women. On the one hand, men who wanted heirs would have worked harder for their partners' satisfaction. But ‘if a rape were followed by pregnancy, the law deemed it no rape because the woman had, by definition, enjoyed the encounter.’

Once it became clear that women's orgasms were in fact unnecessary for pregnancy, the question of their purpose attracted the attentions of evolutionists. (That women can have multiple, closely-timed orgasms particularly bothers certain theorists.) Sarah Blaffer Hardy, Randy Thornhill, and other sociobiologists have offered reasons for why the female orgasm might be (or have been) functionally adaptive in evolution — that is, why female orgasm would be conducive to a lineage's life. (Thus sociobiology tries to translate the female's petite morte into the species' grande vie.) Other evolutionists, like Stephen Jay Gould, have argued alternatively that female orgasms have no adaptive purpose — that they are just a pleasant side-effect of the fact that human males and females share embryological roots: the clitoris and the penis are embryological homologues, so it makes sense that the clitoris would be super-sensitive and able to be stimulated to climax. Gould has sensibly noted that many non-scientists really don't care all that much why orgasms exist.

— Alice Dreger

Bibliography

Gould, S. J. (1987). Freudian slip. Natural History, 96, 14-21.
Laqueur, T. (1990). Making sex: body and gender from the Greeks to Freud. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Porter, R. and Teich, M. (ed.) (1994). Sexual knowledge, sexual science: the history of attitudes to sexuality. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

See also coitus; ejaculation; fertility; sexuality.

For other uses, see Orgasm (disambiguation).

An orgasm (from Greek orgasmos, from organ to mature, swell, also sexual climax) is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure.^[1] Experienced by both males and females, orgasm is controlled by the involuntary, or autonomic, limbic system, and is accompanied by quick cycles of muscle contraction in the lower pelvic muscles, which surround the primary sexual organs and the anus. Orgasms are often associated with other involuntary actions, including muscular spasms in multiple areas of the body, a general euphoric sensation and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations are expressed.

Orgasm is an autonomic physiologic response to sexual stimulation. Brain activity scans indicate the importance of the limbic system in the orgasmic response.^{[citation needed]} In humans, orgasms usually result from the stimulation of the penis in males and the clitoris in females. Stimulation can be by self (masturbation) or by a partner (sexual intercourse, oral sex, mutual masturbation, etc.). Partners simultaneously stimulating each other's sex organs by mutual masturbation, penetrative intercourse, or other rhythmic inter-genital contact may experience simultaneous orgasms. Partners can learn to control their own and each other's orgasms.

The moments after orgasm are often a relaxing experience, which is attributed to the release of neurohormones oxytocin and prolactin.^[2] Male and female brains demonstrate similar changes during orgasm (by partner controlled orgasm), with brain activity scans showing a temporary reduction decrease in the metabolic activity of large parts of the cerebral cortex with normal or increased metabolic activity in the limbic areas of the brain.^[3]

Achieving orgasm

In men, the most common way of achieving orgasm is by the stimulation of the penis; while in women it is the stimulation of the clitoris. Such stimulation can be achieved from a variety of activities. In men, sufficient stimulation can be achieved during vaginal or anal sexual intercourse, oral sex (fellatio), or by masturbation. This is usually accompanied by ejaculation. In women, orgasm may be achieved during vaginal sexual intercourse, oral sex (cunnilingus), masturbation, or other non-penetrative sex, and may be by the use of a sensual vibrator or an erotic electrostimulation, besides other activities. Orgasm may also be achieved by stimulation of the nipples, uterus, or other erogenous zones. In addition to physical stimulation, orgasm can be achieved from psychological arousal alone, such as during dreaming (which may be a nocturnal emission).

Important in sexual stimulation are internal glands, called the Skene's glands in women and the prostate in men, two homologous structures. In common use, the term G-spot refers to these areas.

Orgasm control

Orgasm control by self, or by a partner, is managing the physical stimulation and sensation connected with the emotional and physiologic excitement levels. Through the practice of masturbation, individuals can learn to develop control of their own body's orgasmic response and timing. In partnered stimulation, either partner can control his or her own orgasmic response and timing. With mutual agreement, either partner can similarly learn to control or enhance his or her partner's orgasmic response and timing. Partner stimulation orgasm techniques referred to as mutual masturbation or orgasm control can be learned and practiced focused on either partner to refine the control of orgasmic response of the other. Partners choose which is in control or in response to the other during mutual masturbation. By learning and practice of the shared orgasmic response between partners, orgasm control can be expanded. A technique known as expanded orgasm is a method of both controlling, enhancing, and extending the orgasmic response of either partner.

Orgasm control is most effectively practiced first by self masturbation, then by partnered non-simultaneous mutual masturbation. A regular practice of mutual masturbation with partner controlled orgasmic response can improve both learned orgasm control and orgasm expansiveness for any sexual interaction. Practiced orgasm control can improve male or female orgasm experience and can improve male ejaculation control. Regular practice of partnered orgasm control allows learning, refining and expanding the orgasmic response of both partners. Techniques stimulating orgasm in either gender include manual genital stroking and/or a vibrator for self stimulation in masturbation. This can be shared with a partner observing or the stimulation can be controlled by a chosen partner of any gender. An example of a safer sex consensual partner manually stroking orgasmic control technique is described in expanded orgasm. Practiced mindful orgasmic control techniques can help learning, enhancing, and extending our body's natural limbic system orgasmic response. The practice of orgasm control applies to female and male masturbation and any gender partnered combinations. Practiced orgasm control improves learned and natural orgasmic response in most sexual interactions.

Female orgasm

Discussions of female orgasm are complicated by the fact that, perhaps artificially, orgasm in women has sometimes been labeled as two different things: the clitoral orgasm and the vaginal orgasm.

The concept of vaginal orgasm as a separate phenomenon was first postulated by Sigmund Freud. In 1905, Freud stated that clitoral orgasm was purely an adolescent phenomenon, and upon reaching puberty the proper response of mature women was a change-over to vaginal orgasms, meaning orgasms without any clitoral stimulation. While Freud provided no evidence for this basic assumption, the consequences of this theory were considerable. Many women felt inadequate when they could not achieve orgasm via vaginal intercourse alone, involving little or no clitoral stimulation.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966, Masters and Johnson published pivotal research about the phases of sexual stimulation.^[4] Their work included women and men, and unlike Alfred Kinsey earlier (in 1948 and 1953), tried to determine the physiological stages before and after orgasm.^[5] Masters and Johnson observed that both clitoral and vaginal orgasms had the same stages of physical response. They argued that clitoral stimulation is the primary source of both kinds of orgasms.

Recent discoveries about the size of the clitoris show that clitoral tissue extends some considerable distance inside the body, around the vagina. This discovery may possibly invalidate any attempt to claim that clitoral orgasm and vaginal orgasm are two different things.^[6]

The link between the clitoris and the vagina reinforces the idea that the clitoris is the 'seat' of the female orgasm. It is now clear that clitoral tissue is far more widespread than the small visible part most people associate with the word. It is possible that some women have more extensive clitoral tissues and nerves than others, and therefore whereas many women can only achieve orgasm by direct stimulation of the external parts of the clitoris, for others the stimulation of the more generalized tissues of the clitoris via intercourse may be sufficient.

A recent theory receiving some publicity is that the female body can achieve orgasm both from stimulation of the clitoris and from stimulation of the G-spot. The Gräfenberg spot, or G-spot, is a small area behind the female pubic bone surrounding the urethra and accessible through the anterior wall of the vagina. The G-spot orgasm is sometimes referred to as "vaginal," because it results from stimulation inside the vagina, including during sexual intercourse. The size of this spot appears to vary very considerably from person to person.

Anal stimulation

In both sexes, pleasure can be derived from the nerve endings around the anus and the anus itself, such as during anal sex. Hence, anal-oral contact can still be pleasurable without stimulation of the clitoris. Jack Morin has claimed that "anal orgasm" has nothing to do with the prostate orgasm, although the two are often confused.^[7]

Breast and nipple stimulation

A "breast orgasm" is a female orgasm that is triggered from the stimulation of a woman's breast.^[8] Not all women experience this effect when the breasts are stimulated; however, some women claim that the stimulation of the breast area during sexual intercourse and foreplay, or just the simple act of having their breasts fondled, has created mild to intense orgasms. According to one study that questioned 213 women, 29% of them had experienced a breast orgasm at one time or another.^[9] This shows that it is not common, but it is possible. An orgasm is believed to occur in part because of the hormone oxytocin, which is produced in the body during sexual excitement and arousal. It has also been shown that oxytocin is produced when an individual's nipples are stimulated and become erect.^[10]

Spontaneous orgasms

Orgasms can be spontaneous, seeming to occur with no direct stimulation. Occasionally, orgasms can occur during sexual dreams (see nocturnal emission).

The first orgasm of this type was reported among people who had spinal cord injury (SCI). Although SCI very often leads to loss of certain sensations and altered self-perception, a person with this disturbance is not deprived of sexual feelings such as sexual arousal and erotic desires. Thus some individuals are able to initiate orgasm by mere mental stimulation.

Some non-sexual activity may result in a spontaneous orgasm. The best example of such activity is a release of tension that unintentionally involves slight genital stimulation, like rubbing of the seat of the bicycle against genitals during riding, exercising, when pelvic muscles are tightened or when yawning or sneezing.

It was also discovered that some anti-depressant drugs may provoke spontaneous climax as a side effect.^[11] There is no accurate data for how many patients who were on treatment with antidepressant drugs experienced spontaneous orgasm, as most were unwilling to acknowledge the fact.

Involuntary orgasms

Orgasms can happen as the result of forced sexual contact as during rape or sexual assault, and are often associated with feelings of shame caused by internalization of victim-blaming attitudes.^[12]^[13] The incidence of those who experience unsolicited sexual contact and experience orgasm is very low, though possibly underreported due to shame or embarrassment. Involuntary orgasms can happen regardless of gender.^[14]

Multiple orgasms

In some cases, women, or less often men,^[15] either do not have a refractory period or have a very short one and thus can experience a second orgasm, and perhaps further ones, soon after the first. After the first, subsequent climaxes may be stronger or more pleasurable as the stimulation accumulates. For some women, their clitoris and nipples are very sensitive after climax, making additional stimulation initially painful.

There are sensational reports of women having too many orgasms, including an unauthenticated claim that a young British woman has them constantly throughout the day, whenever she experiences the slightest vibration.^[16]

It is possible for a man to have an orgasm without ejaculation (dry orgasm) or to ejaculate without reaching orgasm. Some men have reported having multiple consecutive orgasms, particularly without ejaculation. Males who experience dry orgasms can often produce multiple orgasms, as the refractory period is reduced.^[17] Some males are able to masturbate for hours at a time, achieving orgasm many times.^[17] Some men are multiorgasmic since they remember, while others have learned to achieve multiple orgasms.^[15] In recent years, a number of books have described various techniques to achieve multiple orgasms. Most multi-orgasmic men (and their partners) report that refraining from ejaculation results in a far more energetic post-orgasm state.^[18] Additionally, some men have also reported that this can produce more powerful ejaculatory orgasms when they choose to have them.

One technique is to put pressure on the perineum, about halfway between the scrotum and the anus, just before ejaculating to prevent ejaculation. This can, however, lead to retrograde ejaculation, i.e., redirecting semen into the urinary bladder rather than through the urethra to the outside. It may also cause long term damage due to the pressure put on the nerves and blood vessels in the perineum, akin to that reported by some males who ride bicycles with narrow seats for extended periods.^{[citation needed]} Men who have had prostate or bladder surgery, for whatever reason, may also experience dry orgasms because of retrograde ejaculation.

Other techniques are analogous to reports by multi-orgasmic women indicating that they must relax and "let go" to experience multiple orgasms. These techniques involve mental and physical controls over pre-ejaculatory vasocongestion and emissions, rather than ejaculatory contractions or forced retention as above. Anecdotally, successful implementation of these techniques can result in continuous or multiple "full-body" orgasms.^[19] Gentle digital stimulation of the prostate, seminal vesicles, and vas deferens provides erogenous pleasure that sustains intense emissions orgasms for some men. A dildo device (the Aneros) claims to stimulate the prostate and help men reach these kinds of orgasms.

Many men who began masturbation or other sexual activity prior to puberty report having been able to achieve multiple non-ejaculatory orgasms. Young male children are capable of having multiple orgasms due to the lack of refractory period until they reach their first ejaculation. In female children it is always possible, even after the onset of puberty. This capacity generally disappears in males with the subject's first ejaculation. Some evidence indicates that orgasms of men before puberty are qualitatively similar to the "normal" female experience of orgasm, suggesting that hormonal changes during puberty have a strong influence on the character of male orgasm.^[20]

A number of studies have pointed to the hormone prolactin as the likely cause of male refractory period. Because of this, there is currently an experimental interest in drugs which inhibit prolactin, such as cabergoline (also known as Cabeser, or Dostinex). Anecdotal reports on cabergoline suggest it may be able to eliminate the refractory period altogether, allowing men to experience multiple ejaculatory orgasms in rapid succession. At least one scientific study supports these claims.^[21] Cabergoline is a hormone-altering drug and has many potential side effects. It has not been approved for treating sexual dysfunction. Another possible reason may be an increased infusion of the hormone oxytocin. Furthermore, it is believed that the amount by which oxytocin is increased may affect the length of each refractory period.

A scientific study to successfully document natural, fully ejaculatory, multiple orgasms in an adult man was conducted at Rutgers University in 1995. During the study, six fully ejaculatory orgasms were experienced in 36 minutes, with no apparent refractory period.^[22] It can also be said that in some cases, the refractory period can be reduced or even eliminated through the course of puberty and on into adulthood. Later, P. Haake et al. observed a single male individual producing multiple orgasms without elevated prolactin response.^[23]

Definitions of "orgasm"

Definitions of 'orgasm' vary, and there is no consensus on how to consistently classify it.^[24] There were listed at least twenty-six definitions of orgasm.^[25]

There is some debate whether certain types of sexual sensation should be accurately classified as 'orgasm', including female orgasms caused by G-spot stimulation alone, and the demonstration of extended or continuous orgasms lasting several minutes or even an hour.^[26] The question centers around clinical definition of orgasm.

Orgasm is usually defined in a clinical context strictly by the muscular contractions involved, and also by characteristic patterns of change in heart rate, blood pressure, and often respiration rate and depth.^[4] But this way of viewing orgasm is merely physiological, while there are also psychological, endocrinological, and neurological definitions of 'orgasm'.^[24]

In these and similar cases, the sensations experienced are subjective and do not necessarily involve the involuntary contractions characteristic of orgasm. However, the sensations in both sexes are extremely pleasurable and are often felt throughout the body, causing a mental state that is often described as transcendental, and with vasocongestion and associated pleasure comparable to that of a full contractionary orgasm. For example, modern findings support distinction between ejaculation are male orgasm.^[25]

For this reason, there are views on both sides as to whether these can be accurately defined as orgasms.

Evolutionary function of orgasms

Male orgasms that expel sperm from the body into the vagina during intercourse may result in conception. Evolutionary biologists have several hypotheses about the role, if any, of the female orgasm in the reproductive process. In 1967, Desmond Morris first suggested in his popular-science book The Naked Ape that female orgasm evolved to encourage physical intimacy with a male partner and help reinforce the pair bond. Morris suggested that the relative difficulty in achieving female orgasm, in comparison to the male's, might be favorable in Darwinian evolution by leading the female to select mates who bear qualities like patience, care, imagination, intelligence, as opposed to qualities like size and aggression, which pertain to mate selection in other primates. Such advantageous qualities thereby become accentuated within the species, driven by the differences between male and female orgasm. If males were motivated by, and taken to the point of, orgasm in the same way as females, those advantageous qualities would not be needed, since self-interest would be enough.

Morris also proposed that orgasm might facilitate conception by exhausting the female and keeping her horizontal, thus preventing the sperm from leaking out. This possibility, sometimes called the "Poleax Hypothesis" or the "Knockout Hypothesis," is now considered highly doubtful. A number of feminists see this as misogynistic, as it favours the concept of sex as female subjugation.

Other theories are based on the idea that the female orgasm might increase fertility. For example, the 30% reduction in size of the vagina could help clench onto the penis (much like, or perhaps caused by, the pubococcygeus muscles), which would make it more stimulating for the male (thus ensuring faster or more voluminous ejaculation). The British biologists Baker and Bellis have suggested that the female orgasm may have an "upsuck" action (similar to the esophagus' ability to swallow when upside down), resulting in the retaining of favorable sperm and making conception more likely.^[27] They posited a role of female orgasm in sperm competition.

A 1994 Learning Channel documentary on sex had fiber optic cameras inside the vagina of a woman while she had sexual intercourse. During her orgasm, her pelvic muscles contracted and her cervix repeatedly dipped into a pool of semen in the vaginal fornix, as if to ensure that sperm would proceed by the external orifice of the uterus, making conception more likely.^[28] Elisabeth Lloyd has criticized the accompanying narration of this film clip which describes it as an example of "Sperm Upsuck", saying that it depicted normal contractions during a uterine orgasm, which have not been shown to have any effect on fertility.^[29]

The fact that women tend to reach orgasm more easily when they are ovulating suggests that it is tied to increasing fertility.^[30]

Other biologists surmise that the orgasm simply serves to motivate sex, thus increasing the rate of reproduction, which would be selected for during evolution. Since males typically reach orgasms faster than females, it potentially encourages a female's desire to engage in intercourse more frequently, increasing the likelihood of conception.

Function of female orgasm

The clitoris is homologous to the penis; that is, they both develop from the same embryonic structure. Stephen Jay Gould and other researchers have claimed that the clitoris is vestigial in females, and that female orgasm serves no particular evolutionary function. Proponents of this hypothesis, such as Dr. Elisabeth Lloyd, point to the relative difficulty of achieving female orgasm through vaginal sex, the limited evidence for increased fertility after orgasm and the lack of statistical correlation between the capacity of a woman to orgasm and the likelihood that she will engage in intercourse.^[31]

Science writer Natalie Angier has criticized this hypothesis as understating and devaluing the psychosocial value of female orgasm. Catherine Blackledge in The Story of V, citing studies that indicate a possible connection between orgasm and successful conception, has criticized the hypothesis as ignoring the ongoing evolutionary advantages that result from successful conception. The anthropologist and primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has also criticized the argument that female orgasm is vestigial, writing that the idea smacked of sexism.^[32]

Evolutionary biologist Robin Baker argues in Sperm Wars that occurrence and timing of orgasms are all a part of the female body's unconscious strategy to collect and retain sperm from more evolutionarily fit men. An orgasm during intercourse functions as a bypass button to a woman's natural cervical filter against sperm and pathogens. An orgasm before functions to strengthen the filter.

Genetic basis of individual variation

A 2005 twin study found that one in three women reported never or seldom achieving orgasm during intercourse, and only one in ten always orgasmed. This variation in ability to orgasm, generally thought to be psychosocial, was found to be 34% to 45% genetic. The study, examining 4000 women, was published in Biology letters, a Royal Society journal.^[33]^[34] Dr. Elisabeth Lloyd has cited this as evidence for the notion that female orgasm is not adaptive.^[35]

Medical aspects of orgasm

Physiological responses

Orgasm phases and cycles

Masters and Johnson were the first to study the sexual response cycle in the early 1960s, based on the observation of 382 women and 312 men. They described a cycle that begins with excitement as blood rushes into the genitals, then reaches a plateau during which they are fully aroused, which leads to orgasm, and finally resolution, in which the blood leaves the genitals.^[36]

In the 1970s, Helen Singer Kaplan added desire to the cycle, which she claimed preceded sexual excitation. She noted that the emotions of anxiety, defensiveness and the failure of communication could interfere with desire and hence orgasm.^[37]

In the late 1980s and after, Rosemary Basson proposed a more cyclical alternative to what had largely been viewed as linear progression.^[38] In her model desire feeds arousal and orgasm, and is in turn fueled by the rest of the orgasmic cycle. Rather than orgasm being the peak of the sexual experience, she noted that is just one point in the circle and that people could feel sexually satisfied at any stage, reducing the focus on climax as an end-goal of all sexual activity.^[39]

In men

During orgasm, a human male experiences rapid, rhythmic contractions of the anal sphincter, the prostate, and the muscles of the penis. The sperm are transmitted up the vas deferens from the testicles, into the prostate gland as well as through the seminal vesicles to produce what is known as semen. The prostate produces a secretion that forms one of the components of ejaculate. Contraction of the sphincter and prostate force stored semen to be expelled through the penis's urethral opening. The process takes from three to ten seconds, and produces a warm and highly pleasurable feeling.

Normally, as a man ages, the amount of semen he ejaculates diminishes, and so does the duration of orgasms. This does not normally affect the intensity of pleasure, but merely shortens the duration.

After ejaculation, a refractory period usually occurs, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm. This can last anywhere from less than a minute to several hours, depending on age and other individual factors.

Sensation

As a man nears orgasm during stimulation of the penis, he feels an intense and highly pleasurable pulsating sensation of neuromuscular euphoria. These pulses begin with a throb of the anal sphincter and travel to the tip of the penis. They eventually increase in speed and intensity as the orgasm approaches, until a final "plateau" of pleasure sustained for several seconds, the orgasm.

During orgasm, semen is usually ejaculated and may continue to be ejaculated for a few seconds after the euphoric sensation gradually tapers off. It is believed that the exact feeling of "orgasm" varies from one man to another,^[40] but most men agree that it is highly pleasurable.

In women

A typical woman's orgasm lasts much longer than that of a man.^[41] It is preceded by erection of the clitoris and moistening of the opening of the vagina. Some women exhibit a sex flush, a reddening of the skin over much of the body due to increased blood flow to the skin. As a woman nears orgasm, the clitoral glans moves inward under the clitoral hood, and the labia minora (inner lips) become darker. As orgasm becomes imminent, the outer third of the vagina tightens and narrows, while overall the vagina lengthens and dilates and also becomes congested from engorged soft tissue.^[42] Elsewhere in the body, the breasts swell because myofibroblasts of the nipple-aerolar complex contract, causing erection of the nipples and contraction of the aerolar diameter, reaching their maximum at the start of orgasm.^{[citation needed]} The uterus then experiences a series of between 3 and 15 muscular contractions^{[citation needed]}. A woman experiences full orgasm when her uterus, vagina, anus, and pelvic muscles undergo a series of rhythmic contractions. Most women find these contractions very pleasurable. By the end of orgasm, breast size has returned to normal, but nipples take longer than the rest of the breast.

Recently, researchers from the University Medical Center of Groningen, the Netherlands, correlated the sensation of orgasm with muscular contractions occurring at a frequency of 8–13 Hz centered in the pelvis and measured in the anus. They argue that the presence of this particular frequency of contractions can distinguish between voluntary contraction of these muscles and spontaneous involuntary contractions, and appears to more accurately correlate with orgasm as opposed to other metrics like heart rate that only measure excitation. They claim to have identified "[t]he first objective and quantitative measure that has a strong correspondence with the subjective experience that orgasm ultimately is". They note that the measure of contractions that occur at a frequency of 8–13 Hz is specific to orgasm. They found that using this metric they could distinguish from rest, voluntary muscular contractions, and even unsuccessful orgasm attempts.^[43]

Orgasm and the brain

There have been very few studies correlating orgasm and brain activity in real time, owing to cultural barriers and technical difficulties. However a series of studies conducted by Gert Holstege and his colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have established physiological characteristics which are unique to orgasm, including brain activity, as well as variation in the responses between men and women.

One study examined 12 healthy women using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner while they were being stimulated by their partners. Brain changes were observed and compared between states of rest, sexual stimulation, faked orgasm, and actual orgasm. " Differences were reported on the brain changes associated with men and women during stimulation. However the same changes in brain activity were observed in both sexes in which the brain regions associated with behavioral control, fear and anxiety shut down. Regarding these changes, Holstege said in an interview with the London Times, "What this means is that deactivation, letting go of all fear and anxiety, might be the most important thing, even necessary, to have an orgasm."^[44]

During stroking of the clitoris, the parts of the female brain responsible for processing fear, anxiety and behavioral control start to relax and reduce in activity. This reaches a peak at orgasm when the female brain’s emotion centers are effectively closed down to produce an almost trance-like state. Holstege is quoted as saying, at the 2005 meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Development: "At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings." ^[45]

Initial reports indicated it was difficult to observe the effects of orgasm on men using PET scan, because the duration of male orgasm was much shorter. However, a subsequent report by Rudie Kortekaas, et. al. noted, “Gender commonalities were most evident during orgasm… From these results, we conclude that during the sexual act, differential brain responses across genders are principally related to the stimulatory (plateau) phase and not to the orgasmic phase itself.” ^[3]

Orgasm and health

Orgasm, and indeed sex as a whole, are physical activities that can require exertion of many major bodily systems. A 1997 study in the British Medical Journal^[46] based upon 918 men age 45-59 found that after a ten year follow-up, men who had fewer orgasms were twice as likely to die of any cause as those having two or more orgasms a week. A follow-up in 2001 which focused more specifically on cardiovascular health found that having sex three or more times a week was associated with a 50% reduction in the risk of heart attack or stroke. (Note that as a rule, correlation does not imply causation).

Orgasmic dysfunction

The inability to have orgasm is called anorgasmia, ejaculatory anhedonia, or inorgasmia. If a male experiences erection and ejaculation but no orgasm, he is said to have sexual anhedonia.

For a variety of reasons, some people choose to fake an orgasm. A recent Redbook survey shows that 52% of women regularly fake orgasms. Only 17% are likely to have an orgasm during sexual intercourse, because the clitoris often is not stimulated enough by intercourse alone. 43% of women report “some kind of sexual problem,” such as inability to achieve orgasm, boredom with sex, or total lack of interest in sex.^{[citation needed]}

If orgasm is desired, anorgasmia is mainly attributed to an inability to relax, or "let go." It seems to be closely associated with performance pressure and an unwillingness to pursue pleasure, as separate from the other person's satisfaction. Often, women worry so much about the pleasure of their partner that they become anxious, which manifests as impatience with the delay of orgasm for them. This delay can lead to frustration of not reaching orgasmic sexual satisfaction. Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, in his 1927 book The Function of the Orgasm was the first to make orgasm central to the concept of mental health, and defined neurosis in terms of blocks to having full orgasm. Although orgasm dysfunction can have psychological components, physiological factors often play a role. For instance, delayed orgasm or the inability to achieve orgasm is a common side effect of many medications.

Specifically in relation to simultaneous orgasm and similar practices, many sexologists claim that the problem of premature ejaculation^[47] is closely related to the idea encouraged by a scientific approach in early 20th century when mutual orgasm was overly emphasized as an objective and a sign of true sexual satisfaction in intimate relationships.

Drugs and orgasm

Certain drugs have been reported to have enhancing effects on orgasm. Nitrite inhalants are used by both men and women to enhance orgasm. GHB, GBL and 1,4 Butanediol are commonly used to enhance orgasms. Cocaine also increases sexual desire while delaying orgasm.^[48] Both male and female users of stimulants, such as 3,4-MDMA (ecstasy), amphetamines, and psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, and marihuana sometimes report heightened sexual pleasure. Throughout history, recreational drugs have been used to enhance orgasm^[49] but, due to lack of research (or government-mandated research restrictions), may be unreliable or have hazardous side effects. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women have enhanced orgasms with sildenafil (commercially known as Viagra).^{[citation needed]}

In tantric sex

Tantric sex is the ancient Indian spiritual tradition of sexual practices. It attributes a different value to orgasm than traditional cultural approaches to sexuality. Some practitioners of tantric sex aim to eliminate orgasm from sexual intercourse by remaining for a long time in the pre-orgasmic and non-emission state. Advocates of this, such as Rajneesh, claim that it eventually causes orgasmic feelings to spread out to all of one's conscious experience.^[50]^[51]

Some advocates of tantric and neotantric sex claim that Western culture focuses too much on the goal of climactic orgasm, which reduces our ability to have intense pleasure during other moments of the sexual experience. Eliminating this enables a richer, fuller and more intense connection.^[52]

These practices should not be confused with Buddhist tantra (Vajrayana).

In other animals

References

Notes

^ What Every Woman Needs to Know About Sexual Satisfaction - Marriage
^ Exton MS, Krüger TH, Koch M, et al. (April 2001). "Coitus-induced orgasm stimulates prolactin secretion in healthy subjects". Psychoneuroendocrinology 26 (3): 287–94. doi:10.1016/S0306-4530(00)00053-6. PMID 11166491.
^ ^a ^b Georgiadis JR, Reinders AA, Paans AM, Renken R, Kortekaas R (October 2009). "Men versus women on sexual brain function: prominent differences during tactile genital stimulation, but not during orgasm". Human Brain Mapping 30 (10): 3089–101. doi:10.1002/hbm.20733. PMID 19219848.
^ ^a ^b Masters, W.H., & Johnson, V.E. (1970). Human Sexual Response. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ^{[page needed]}
^ "Masters and Johnson". The Discovery Channel. http://health.discovery.com/centers/sex/sexpedia/mandj.html. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
^ O'Connell HE, Sanjeevan KV, Hutson JM (October 2005). "Anatomy of the clitoris". The Journal of Urology 174 (4 Pt 1): 1189–95. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000173639.38898.cd. PMID 16145367. Lay summary – BBC News (June 11, 2006).
^ Morin, Jack (1998). Anal Pleasure and Health (3d ed.). Down There Press. ISBN 0-940208-20-2. ^{[page needed]}
^ Levay, Simon; Sharon McBride Valente (2005-11-15). Human Sexuality, Second Edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc.. ISBN 9780878934652. ^{[page needed]}
^ Otto, Herbert A. (1988) New Orgasm Options: Expanding Sexual Pleasure.
^ Levin R, Meston C (May 2006). "Nipple/Breast stimulation and sexual arousal in young men and women". The Journal of Sexual Medicine 3 (3): 450–4. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00230.x. PMID 16681470.
^ "The core of female orgasm". Human Sexuality - Orgasm. Sex Terms. http://sexterms.virtualove.net/human-sexuality/female-orgasm.html.
^ Nancy Tuana, Rosemarie Tong, Feminism and Philosophy, Westview Press, (ISBN 0813322138, 9780813322131), 1995^{[page needed]}
^ [1] D. John Anthony, "Trauma Counseling", Anugraha Publications, Tamil Nadu, India, Sep. 2005.
^ Levin RJ, van Berlo W (April 2004). "Sexual arousal and orgasm in subjects who experience forced or non-consensual sexual stimulation -- a review". Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine 11 (2): 82–8. doi:10.1016/j.jcfm.2003.10.008. PMID 15261004.
^ ^a ^b Dunn ME, Trost JE (October 1989). "Male multiple orgasms: a descriptive study". Archives of Sexual Behavior 18 (5): 377–87. doi:10.1007/BF01541970. PMID 2818169. }
^ "British woman suffers from orgasms every 5 minutes". Pravda. 2006-05-26. http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/26-05-2006/81080-orgasm-0.
^ ^a ^b Janssen, D.F. (October 2002). "Volume II: The Sexual Curriculum: The Manufacture and Performance of Pre-Adult Sexualities.". Growing Up Sexually -- The Sexual Curriculum.
^ Havelock Ellis Studies in the Psychology of Sex, vol. vi, p. 552, F. A. Davis Co., 1910, Kindle Edition 2008 ISBN: B0016PEMOS
^ "Continuous Male Orgasms". http://www.sexuality.org/l/sex/cmo.html. "Learn to enhance and maintain indefinitely the physiological events and associated pleasure of an absolutely imminent ejaculatory orgasm."
^ Byerly, Paul & Lori. "How to make sex better for him". http://www.themarriagebed.com/pages/sexuality/splay/betterforhim.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-02. "Boys who discover masturbation before puberty can't ejaculate, but they can have orgasms. They can also have multiple orgasms like women can, but then lose this ability when puberty adds ejaculation to their orgasms."
^ Krüger TH, Haake P, Haverkamp J, et al. (December 2003). "Effects of acute prolactin manipulation on sexual drive and function in males". The Journal of Endocrinology 179 (3): 357–65. doi:10.1677/joe.0.1790357. PMID 14656205.
^ Whipple, B.; B. Myers and B. Komisaruk (1998). "Male Multiple Ejaculatory Orgasms: A Case Study". Journal of Sex Education and Therapy 23 (2): 157 – 62.
^ Haake P, Exton MS, Haverkamp J, et al. (April 2002). "Absence of orgasm-induced prolactin secretion in a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject". International Journal of Impotence Research 14 (2): 133–5. doi:10.1038/sj.ijir.3900823. PMID 11979330.
^ ^a ^b Levine, R.J. (2004). "An orgasm is... who defines what an orgasm is?". Sexual and Relationship Therapy 19: 101–107. doi:10.1080/14681990410001641663.
^ ^a ^b Mah K, Binik YM (August 2001). "The nature of human orgasm: a critical review of major trends". Clinical Psychology Review 21 (6): 823–56. doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(00)00069-6. PMID 11497209.
^ Schwartz, Bob (May 1992). The One Hour Orgasm: A New Approach to Achieving Maximum Sexual Pleasure. Breakthru Publishing. ISBN 0942540077. ^{[page needed]}
^ Baker, R. R., and Bellis, M. A. (1993). "Human sperm competition: Ejaculate manipulation by females and a function for the female orgasm". Animal Behavior 46 (5): 887–909. doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1272.
^ Desmond Morris (host). (1994). The Human Animal. [TV]. The Learning Channel.
^ Reviews
^ Adam, David (2005-06-08). "Female orgasm all in the genes". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1501314,00.html. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
^ Reviews
^ Christopher Shea (2005-04-24). "Orgasmic science". The Boston Globe. http://www.arlindo-correia.com/241005.html.
^ "Female orgasm is 'down to genes'". BBC. 2005-06-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4616899.stm. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
^ Primary Care Sciences Research Centre, Keele University (2005-06-07). "Genetic influences on variation in female orgasmic function: a twin study by Dr KM Dunn, Dr LF Cherkas and Prof TD Spector". Press release. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/rs-sir060605.php. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
^ Reviews
^ Masters, William H.; Virginia E. Johnson, Reproductive Biology Research Foundation (U.S.) (1966). Human Sexual Response. Little, Brown. p. 366. ISBN 0316549878, 9780316549875.
^ Kaplan HS (1977). "Hypoactive sexual desire". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 3 (1): 3–9. PMID 864734.
^ Portner, Martin (May 15, 2008). "The Orgasmic Mind: The Neurological Roots of Sexual Pleasure". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-orgasmic-mind. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
^ Basson R (2000). "The female sexual response: a different model". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 26 (1): 51–65. doi:10.1080/009262300278641. PMID 10693116.
^ "Do all orgasms feel alike?". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_2_39/ai_91475118. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
^ "Women fall into 'trance' during orgasm". Mark Henderson (Times Online). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article535521.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
^ "Anatomic and physiologic changes during female sexual response". Clinical Proceedings. Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. http://www.arhp.org/healthcareproviders/cme/onlinecme/NYNCP/changes.cfm. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
^ van Netten JJ, Georgiadis JR, Nieuwenburg A, Kortekaas R (April 2008). "8-13 Hz fluctuations in rectal pressure are an objective marker of clitorally-induced orgasm in women". Archives of Sexual Behavior 37 (2): 279–85. doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9112-9. PMID 17186125.
^ Henderson, Mark (June 20, 2005). "Women fall into 'trance' during orgasm". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article535521.ece. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
^ Portner, Martin (May 15, 2008). "The Orgasmic Mind: The Neurological Roots of Sexual Pleasure". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-orgasmic-mind. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
^ Sex and Death, Are They Related?^{[verification needed]}
^ The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Italy
^ thegooddrugsguide.com
^ Marijuana and Sex: A Classic Combination
^ Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree (1983). Tantra, Spirituality, and Sex. Rajneeshpuram, Or.: Rajneesh Foundation Internat.. ISBN 0880506962. ^{[page needed]}
^ Chia, Mantak & Abrams, Douglas (1996). The Multi-Orgasmic Man. Harper San Francisco. ISBN 0-06-251336-2. ^{[page needed]}
^ Douglas, N & Slinger, P (1979). Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy. Destiny Books. ISBN 0892812664. ^{[page needed]}
^ Crocodilian Captive Care FAQ (Caiman, Alligator, Crocodile)
^ National Geographic's Dolphins: The wild side documentary (1999), IMDb. "Sex is as frequent as it is casual, a social tool used to strengthen and maintain bonds. But beneath the harmony lies a darker side of dolphins. Gangs of strong males pick on younger or smaller dolphins.", quote from National Geographic website

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