Male orgasms make men want to have more sex so that they can pass on their genetic information—that’s why almost every male species has orgasms. But female animals don’t need orgasms in order to pass on their genetic information. In fact, some female animal species don’t have orgasms at all (the poor things).
So biologists began to wonder, “What role do female-gasms play in evolution? And if they do play a role, why are they so much harder for human women to achieve?”
Some behavioral scientists think that female orgasms indicates male’s virility or strengthen the emotional bonds between sex partners care so that both parents care for their children as a team. But scientists say if female orgasms do serve those important evolutionary functions, you’d think they’d be much easier to achieve.
For a guy to get off, all he has to do is start thrusting his junk into a moist hole (just about any will do). But female orgasms require more than just mere penetration—they require clitoral stimulation; something that doesn’t always occur during procreative sex.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Some evolutionary biologists think that women simply have orgasms because they share the same genital tissue as men. In utero the same tissue that forms into a man’s glan penis can also form into a woman’s clitoris; hence female climaxes could just be the by-product of shared bodily material (ie. the same reason men have non-lactating nipples).
But a recent study of 1,803 opposite-sex twin pairs showed that even siblings with the same genetic makeup still vary in how often and how easily they reach orgasms.
That’s not to say that female orgasms don’t play an evolutionary role, scientists just don’t know which role they play yet. But don’t let that keep you from enjoying them all the same.
Image via Robert McDon
Eric
Women have orgasms?
Dayday
I agree that the reason is “they share the same genital tissue as men”, only our genitalia, body composition and hormones is what sets us appart.
Dayday
@Eric: Yes especially lesbians.
Chad
@Eric: Yes they do, most often after you buy them jewelry.
Alvaro
Come on, this is so reductive. Who says all men simply have orgasms through penetration? Isn’t erotic fantasy the stuff of culture, rather than pure biology?
Capt. Obvious
@Dayday: Exactly. Occam’s razor: When faced with competing hypotheses that are equal in other respects, selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions is usually correct.
chrissie riot
@Eric: Sure do!
Anyway
But female orgasms require more than just mere penetration—they require clitoral stimulation; something that doesn’t always occur during procreative sex.
This isn’t entirely true but it also isn’t untrue… Some women (though not all) can have penetration orgasms but that’s because the clit is kind of wishbone shaped. One part is what we typically consider the clit, the other part presses against the vaginal wall so when a woman is penetrated the clit is being stimulated, it’s just not necessarily the external clitoris.
the crustybastard
In mammals, males generally present substantial danger to females and young. More males, greater danger. That’s why mammals generally live in groups with one adult male — because one male per group is all that’s strictly required for procreation. Additional adult males are at best, superfluous, and at worst, an ongoing hazard.
The human female orgasm gives women an incentive to keep more men around than are strictly required for mere procreation.
In exchange, human women suffer extraordinarily high levels of inter-species violence. Murder has ever been a leading cause of death for women. It’s especially threatening for pregnant women. Three recent US studies determined that ~20% of all women who die during pregnancy are murdered by their male partner.
(This theory also explains the evolutionary purpose of gay. Gays contribute to the overall success of a given population unit without posing a threat of sexual competition against other males, or posing a threat of violence to women and children. In other words, gays provide the benefit of additional males without the inherent risk.)
bigger foot
(This theory also explains the evolutionary purpose of gay. Gays contribute to the overall success of a given population unit without posing a threat of sexual competition against other males, or posing a threat of violence to women and children. In other words, gays provide the benefit of additional males without the inherent risk.)
And, there’s the population control theory: since we’ve amassed far too many humans on this here mudball, men become attracted to other men; this allows them to get their rocks off and not impregnate females. Sort of like a switch going off in genetic code. Also explains why there’s so many gays running around nowadays.
Better’n running off a cliff, little lemmings.
Patrick
@the crustybastard: Sorry to poke holes in your reasoning, but you’re assuming that humans have always been stockpilers trying to get enough resources to make it through winter. This is actually an idea socially forced upon us by the agricultural revolution. For most of human evolution we lived as hunter-gatherers, with plenty of food and sex to go around. Male on female violence is a fact of life now, but its a relatively recent development (only a few thousand years).
An alternate explanation as to why there are gay people and why females have orgasms (among many other things) is that humans are genetically wired to use sex primarily for social bonding, with procreation simply being a byproduct. Read “Sex at Dawn” for the full argument.
the crustybastard
@Patrick:
Wasn’t making that assumption at all, and not sure why you think so. Not sure why you think hunter-gatherers live in a world of uninterrupted plenty, also not sure why you think violence against women is a recent development.
Thus I’m not sure why you think you’re poking holes in my reasoning.
am
Why do women have orgasms? I thought the answer is totally obvious: if sex isn’t pleasurable, then why have sex at all? In other words, why would a woman consent to have sex (and procreate) if she didn’t enjoy it? It’s an evolutionary incentive for females to want to have sex.
“But scientists say if female orgasms do serve those important evolutionary functions, you’d think they’d be much easier to achieve.”
The fact that not all women consistently experience orgasm doesn’t refute this. Evolutionary adaptations aren’t always logical or fully effective. Think, for example, of the human vagina; it’s not very well-equipped to birth babies whose skulls are waaayy too big, leading to a lot of deaths-by-childbirth (or in our modern day, c-sections). And yet the human vagina and pelvis have not correspondingly evolved by increasing in width.
Bianca
I think we have orgasms exactly for the same reasons men have them – to convince us to have sex so we can have kids. True, half the time women don’t climax and sex can feel good even without it but the “promise/potential” of an orgasm makes it so much better.
Moo
If the twins are opposite sex, they don’t share the same genetic make up anymore than any other kind of siblings.
Jollysocks
Women have a harder time having orgasms because straight men are are bad at fucking them and don’t really understand their bodies. I have so many women friends tell me that they can get themselves off in 30 seconds whilst having sex with some men is just pure torture.
Men with men and women with women however . . . well, I think we all “get it” cause we got the same parts.