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October 13th, 2011
07:14 AM ET
Are female orgasms a 'bonus'?Ian Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex on Thursdays on The Chart. Read more from him on his website, GoodInBed.
Investigators want to know whether the female orgasm is an “adaptation” or “byproduct” of evolution. In other words, does the female orgasm, like the male orgasm, have its own evolutionary raison d’etre and contribute directly to reproductive success? Or is it just an awesome bonus? Make that totally awesome. This question of whether the female orgasm is an adaptation or a byproduct came to the fore in 2005 with the publication of “The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution,” in which Indiana University professor Elisabeth Lloyd rigorously examined 21 theories that sought to promote the female orgasm as an adaptation and, ultimately, found all of them lacking. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have had some thought-provoking conversations with Lloyd on various topics – such as whether premature ejaculation makes good evolutionary sense – and recently, her work has been once again garnering much-deserved attention. · Another theory states that female orgasm is a part of mate selection: A woman will choose her mate based on his ability to bring her to climax. · And a third main theory involves the belief that the contractions of female orgasm will draw sperm up the reproductive tract and into the uterus. In her book, Lloyd argues that studies show that the vast majority of women do not experience orgasm as a result of intercourse alone, or do so inconsistently, so how could the female orgasm be an adaptation? If the female orgasm, like the male orgasm, was essential to the propagation of humanity, wouldn’t it need to occur consistently via sexual intercourse? Instead, Lloyd argues to view the female orgasm through the lens of the “byproduct” theory, which holds that orgasm is a trait that is so heavily selected in males (reproduction wouldn’t happen without it) that women retain an inherent capacity – after all, men and women are physiologically the same during the first eight weeks of gestation: Penises grow out, clitorises grow in, but they share the same organic structure and tissue. According to Lloyd, “It is crucial to note that the penis and the clitoris are the ‘same’ organ in men and women. ... [T]he nervous and erectile tissues involved in orgasm in both sexes arose from a common embryological source.” This same byproduct theory also explains why men have nipples: The biological necessity of nursing our young makes the nipple so highly selected in women that male embryos develop immature structures as an evolutionary byproduct. Similar to the clitoris, the male nipple contains highly sensitive tissue that contributes to male sexual arousal and pleasure. Male nipples: arousing? Yes. Necessary? No. Yet a study of twins and siblings published recently in the journal Animal Behavior questions the byproduct theory of female orgasm. Researchers looked for similarities in orgasm function between 10,000 Finnish female and male twins. And although there were significant similarities between same-sex twins, the researchers found no such correlation in orgasm function between opposite-sex twins, a correlation one would expect if female orgasm is a byproduct of male orgasm. All this debate of adaptation vs. byproduct shouldn’t really matter to the average person who just wants to enjoy orgasms. The problem, though, is that we tend to believe that what’s “natural” is better, even orgasms. And if we do argue that the female orgasm is some sort of “evolutionary norm,” then what should be said of all the women who do not orgasm consistently – that they are somehow not normal? As a sex counselor, I frequently receive e-mails from women who are unable to achieve orgasm via intercourse and wonder, “What can I do to change this? What’s wrong with me?” Well, if we stop thinking of female orgasms as something that should naturally result from intercourse, then we can also stop feeling that there’s one right way to have orgasms. In this sense, the byproduct theory offers a more expansive and encompassing view of female sexuality. Unfortunately the term “byproduct” doesn’t exactly resonate with a sense of the exalted, so perhaps we should stick to Lloyd’s later rephrasing of the female orgasm as a “fantastic bonus” – or as I like to say, totally awesome! soundoff (1,434 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Next »Leave a Reply to Keely Gunyon
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What do female orgasms and male nipples have in common? It’s a question that is helping inform research into the purpose of female orgasm (other than simply as a form of pleasure).
I'm sorry, mail Nips are not arousable... period.
No disrespect – but my fiance's are....
Minerva, no disrespect – but he just says that to make you feel better. It's senstive to you and you do it to him and to not hurt your feelings he says that it feels good – when in reality he just wants you to go down on him.
Wrong wrong wrong. Do my nips right can damn near make me climax. 2nd only to head.
WRONG pal! Mine are so sensitive I can almost orgasm when the wife is doing them right. And she says my junk gets way harder inside her when she tweaks them.
couples need to experiment more and quit being lazy.
Actually, all babies are born female, it's that one chromo that makes the male.
All babies are born female?
There's really an argument about who's "equipment" is better? Really? Obviously, neither can procreate without the other in some shape or form.
if all babies are born female why do I have a peniis?
Yo JO JO, no not all babies are born female. poor choice of words. Only during the first 8 weeks are they the same. But after nine moths, they are born either male or female.
JoJo you REALLY need to take a biology class.
Because Steve is a Gay.
I assume what JoJo meant to say is that all baby's start off female at conception.
@UR an idiot
:I orgasm every time and it goes on for minutes – often having multiples. I wouldn't trade my "second class" equipment for :anything.
Video...or this is not true! 🙂
Jo Jo did make an error, but it is true that developing embryos are anatomically female as a default. There's some pretty tricky biochemical signaling and so on that has to go on to develop male parts.
More scientific proof that nature via evolution made women for men, and men for women and thats what NATURE dictates and is set for. Anything that deviates from that is just that, an unnatural deviation.
Fantastic finds and studies.
Hmm, your logic does not follow from what has been presented in this article. Is that Hocus-Pocus cloaked and masquerading around as science. Nice try, buddy. Go read up.
"nature vs. evolution"? What in the h@#$ are you talking about? Those are the same thing. And by the way, humans evolved as a result of their environment. So maybe people being gay, which is what I assume you're getting at with your passive aggressive pseudo science, is a result of evolution in our species based on the current environment we live in. You see, there's no right or wrong in evolution, it just is what it is. You can't moralize it to your own ends, but nice try.
Instead of screwing like monkeys, this line of thought gets us screwing like sweaty, hairless monkeys. The human form of life is meant for something more, to rise above our animalistic mentalities.
Exactly. The goal should be intimacy not orgasm. If the goal is met the benefits are abundant.
You WISH you were hairless ... monkey.
I take offence at the idea that there's something wrong with the way monkeys screw. How do you know? Maybe we should all screw like monkeys.
"The human form of life is meant for something more" Says who? I sense a religious undertone here. We are not "meant" for anything by anyone. Just like any other life form, we "simply" evolved into what we are now. There is no divine influence or a meaning behind it.
I think it would be a lot easier just to screw monkeys instead
ever see edie murphy's take on this?
Two words - Lorena Bobbitt. The 1st words out of her mouth were "he always has orgasm and never helps me" or something like that. The 'bob barker' was the only solution for the frustrated woman. Alternatively, she could have HELPED HERSELF.
I consider myself a true gentlemen, ladies always first!
I agree with you, ladies first multiple times and then I will get mine. I have always been able to satisfy any woman I have been with. People need to experiment and figure out what works. Everyone can get theirs with a little practice.
@big john, oh my god do you have an ego. You have also dated some liars.
Why is the male member the largest of all primates compared to his size, adaptation or a byproduct? Everything about our bodies point to the fact female pleasure played a huge role in human evolution. 0's for women increases the chances of picking a male partner who she wants to keep doing the deed with. Most of us who have them easily look forward to having them again and again and again.
Exactly...
I am strangely turned on by this.
what a perv
Grim Reaper needs to be grimly reaped.
Grim Reaper has never been able to please a woman, obviously.
Nope – it actually makes him HARDER, thank you very much – but that's ok if you don't believe me – this is not a contest...
Lol Minerva, you know nothing aobut the male body or psyche. Do your man a favor, go down on him, then go to sleep.
"Second class equipment"??????? Can you incubate a baby for 9 months?
Solution: Tongue is Mighter than the Sword. Add the natural Loob of Silva to finger(s), read "She Comes First"...and often by the way. The female orgamism is alive and well, if ur lucky one can come across a squirkter...THEn the sword...dig? Good Luck ladies. If she is wondering why she can't orgasm its not her fault its the Dudes,...that simple. I'm sleeping well 🙂
You are so right about the tongue.
My wife praises my tongue and the "seizures" it causes 😉
Q: How do you know when a woman has an orgasm ?
A: Who cares
What a downer....geeze, I feel for your gf/wife...pfft
And this is why you'll die alone.
@Ness1, No. This is why God invented call girls.
How do I know? when she's screaming and thrashng wildly about. Damn, I'm so good I scream my own name!
Call girls don't attend funerals, or sit by your deathbed for that matter. Hence, "die alone".
The author looks a lot like the guy in the stock photo with the woman...
NECESSITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It sucks for a woman who cannot climax.....my wife never has an issue. Maybe why she is always smiling?
tee hee
Please sir... can I have some more 'second-class equipment?'
Only a man would write such an idiotic article. Congratulations, idiot. You're an embarrassment to men.
Please fire this imbecile. Please or send him to Afghanistan, I'm sure he can find something good to write there.
You are the idiot. Did you not read it?
Why is it idiotic? I think it's an interesting question. Whether the female orgasm actually contributes to conception or not.
I orgasm every time and it goes on for minutes – often having multiples. I wouldn't trade my "second class" equipment for anything.
You sound like the woman of my dreams. Can we meet somewhere?
Your "second class" equipment has always, and will always, control/persuade/dominate my "first class" equipment. As I don't think it's fair and wish it were the other way around, it is what it is 😉
Alll Righty, giggity giggity giggity 🙂
We can do it in 4.5, you slacker 🙂
I happen to worship their "second class equipment". Actually, it's superior in a lot of ways.
While there have been times in my life where I "worshipped" this particular part of female anatomy being discus.sed, I don't find it superior or co.ming with less baggage than the equivalent male counter part. Males do not have to deal with menstrual cramps or other related biological issues including emotional upheavals, rollercoasters or the ability to control ones emotions, that the ver.gin.a is more open to infection and bacteria, diseases that are more prevalent or soley as.sociated with the female reproductive system such as endometriosis, yeast infections, and then the more extreme effects of menopause. After observing what my wives and female friends have had to go through in relation to their reproduc tive parts... you couldn't pay me enough money to have my external parts switched out for a female internal system.
While there have been times .in my life where I "worshipped" this particular part of female ana.tomy being discus.sed, I don't find it superior or co.ming with less baggage than the equivalent male counter part. Males do not have to deal with men.strua.l cramps or other related biological issues I.ncluding emotional upheavals, rollercoas.ters or the ability to control ones emotions, that the female repro system is more open to infection and bacteria, diseases that are more prevalent or soley as.sociated with the female reproductive system such as endometriosis, yeast infections, and then the more extreme effects of menopause. After observing what my wives and female friends have had to go through in relation to their reproduc tive parts... you couldn't pay me enough money to have my external parts switched out for a female internal system.
Female orgasm is necessary to treat "hysteria." Victorian doctors used to digitally "treat" women who were experiencing "hysteria" by bringing them to orgasm.
That is by far the greatest hoax that man ever came up with.
I always find the best approach to this subject is to just stick it in, say a few Hail Mary's, and hope for the best.
Either that, or visualize Rosie O'Donnell throughout the loving act....
Underdeveloped organ? WTH?
Female parts mature earlier because they are perfect as they are. As always, the guys need more time to develop.
Like fine wines, they're always better aged....
Yeah,but we can pee in the snow. LOL
LMAO. You are poking a bee hive with a stick
Are trannies all 1st class?
Evolution is not the best explanation of male/female. Perhaps creation and woman being made from man should be considered as a better explanation of similarities and differences between them. Of course believing in creation means a creator who had/has purpose in mind for what was created.
According to creation, man was made from dust, then God decided to make a better version using the man as a prototype.
@Katie,
You know why cavemen dragged their women around by their hair ? Because if they dragged them around by their feet, they would fill up with dirt.
What? Are you out of your mind? Do you know that you have organs in your body that serve no purpose, but they are there as an evolutionary byproduct? Case in point is the appendix. It is nothing but can be trouble at times. Go look in your bible why god created the appendix and come back to me with an answer.
Yeah, dude. Let's forget science, and turn to religion to answer questions of biology and evolution. A 2000 year old text holds the answer to why I can get off.
All we have to do is look for other female animals that experiance orgasm ...hmmmm ....i don't know any. Infact, some of them scream, like lions, while having intercourse. SO IT IS A BONUS
Good lord. Only a man would question whether a female orgasm was a necessity or a bonus, and what it might mean biologically. Do they question why a man needs to have pleasure during his copulation? (Hint – if it wasn't fun, he probably wouldn't bother being so intimate or producing offspring.)
You are letting your emotions on the subject cloud your judgement. If the man didn't have an orgasm, he would have trouble releasing the semen. If a woman didn't have an orgasm, she could still get pregnant. Follow the logic? The writer said that female orgasm were "totally awesome" but biologically unnecessary. Give him a break for the "totally awesome" part.
Katie,
Dr. Elisabeth Lloyd, the one mentioned in the article performing this study.... sound like a man's name to you? If you're still confused after reading the article, click on the hyperlink of her name which will take you to a picture of HER.
Katie, I think you missed the point of the article. It's a question of whether the female orgasm contributes to the chance of conception or not.
I'm a lesbian. I have absolutely no use for men.
SHOCKER!!!
Enjoy your buzz cut...
No buzz cut for me. I'm actually a model. Why so narrow minded, Kareem? 😉
No use for men ? I bet you own a phallus shaped toy
Nope!
@Don Draper
Even if she does own a toy...that still doesn't indicate a need for men...that's why she has the toy.
It takes speed to create an orgasm, stop thinking that what you see on the internet is sufficient, when the girl is obviously faking it you know the guy is doing something wrong. Slow and boring is just that, slow and boring.
I second Teri, and I am a man.
For more insight on this read novel – king of Bat'ha
Men, ignore this confusing talk.
Women are just like engines. Passion is their spark and emotion is their fuel. Put fire in that engine and make it roar! Learn to truly make your Woman purrrr and you, my friend, will be paid back 10 fold.
Butcher, are you single?
That's why so many women wear gold diaphrams. They want their husbands to come into money...
good one Kareem. Like your name, too.
Necessity or Bonus?
Try Myth.
I'm guessing you're single
this article is BS to distract you from the protest outside.
Ruffnutt, you don't sound like you do so well with the ladies.
This won't fly with a man writing it, even if it was Dr. Oz.
A good man tries his best, that's all he can do.
The female orgasam "carries" the sperm up into the overies. I learned this in bio-technology. Female animal "breeders" that are artificially inseminated are brought to orgasam to make sure that it "takes" and the female becomes pregnant.
A female doesn't have to orgasm to become pregnant.
Does it really matter if it's necessary or not? Who really cares? If your any kind of considerate lover you want to make sure your partner is having at least as much 'fun' as you are. As for me, I try very hard to make her climb the walls, even if I finish first, I never want to leave her 'wanting'
Finger bang, finger bang, finger all the way...
Oh what fun it is to ride, on long finger today!
You like riding on fingers???
Will you apologize to me before or after I prove you wrong?
I ensure my GF has at least one, the more she enjoys it the more I get. WIN-WIN
OK, They have an oragasm, But what is it? And what about these chicks that do it by the cup full? Where is that coming from?
I'm the one that has difficulty reaching orgasm - to the point that I just give up all together because it's wearing me out and taking way too long.
She has at least two if not more every time...and that's just fine with me. As long as she's happy.
It`s called whisky dic Phil, I love it when that happens, Makes her walk funny the next day...
Fine time to ask what it is now since I`ve been bathing in it all these years, Prolly don`t want to know.
I'll bet you're single and constantly wonder why, don't you? Second class equipment? Let's see you create life, pal. misogyny isn't attractive and neither is your low self-esteem, perceived inadequacies, or fear of women. Don't blame us because it's too small and you can't perform.
We started at the same time, it's not my fault you can't keep up. 😉