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| Frenzy of Exultations (1894), by Władysław Podkowiński |
The how, through enough trial and error can be, if not absolutely determined, at least advanced to some degree.
The why on the other hand, well, perhaps the why is often too philosophical to be explained with certainty. But that doesn't deter me.
And on the question of
why, well, perhaps it was a piece I did a couple of days ago on vestigiality
that got me to thinking about the female orgasm. Specifically, why, in the
grand scheme of things there are so many nerve endings in the surrounding
tissue and far, far fewer where you would think they should be?
Our brain’s reward circuitry, believed to dole out its happy chemicals in response to actions essential for our survival, seems to have a rather peculiar definition of what qualifies as essential.
Our brain’s reward circuitry, believed to dole out its happy chemicals in response to actions essential for our survival, seems to have a rather peculiar definition of what qualifies as essential.
Was Mother Nature
feeling a bit guilty about the cramps and painful childbirth? Or maybe things
simply developed as they did to serve the dual purposes of making sex enjoyable
and childbirth tolerable.
I'm not going to get into statistics, they are easy enough to look up. But I'll say this, it's grim. Well, maybe not grim, maybe just a bit, meh.
The vagina may very well
be wondering why its anatomical neighbour is getting all the rewards, while it
gets stuck with all the heavy lifting.
Sorry vagina, it seems
few people care about why you are the way you are. Based upon the comparatively
scant amount of information my search turned up, it would
seem we are far more concerned with the how of the orgasm than the why.
And in the absence of any proven connection between the female orgasm and
fertility, perhaps the how is all we really need to know.
Still, I can’t help but
wonder, if such a large proportion of females are unable to reach orgasm
during vaginal sex, but are almost guaranteed results from masturbation, then
why (from an evolutionary standpoint) has the particular nature of the female orgasm persisted?
Are those nerve endings
vestigial? Clearly they are not a prerequisite for procreation. Are they a
fortunate accident? Are we missing something?
Why are ladies designed
this way?
THE WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & HOW
Orgasm is the
sudden discharge of accumulated sexual tension during the sexual response
cycle, resulting in rhythmic muscular contractions in the pelvic region
characterized by sexual pleasure. [1 - 3}
Experienced by males and females, orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or *autonomic nervous system. [2][37]
Experienced by males and females, orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or *autonomic nervous system. [2][37]
*The autonomic nervous
system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that functions
largely below the level of consciousness to control visceral functions, including heart
rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary
dilation, urination, sexual arousal, breathing and swallowing. [33]
The nerves involved and
their corresponding genital areas: [34]
- hypogastric nerve - transmits from the uterus and the cervix in women and from the prostate in men
- pelvic nerve - transmits from the vagina and cervix in women and from the rectum in both sexes
- pudendal nerve - transmits from the clitoris in women and from the scrotum and penis in men
- vagus nerve - transmits from the cervix, uterus and vagina
The post-orgasm recovery phase, is attributable to the release of oxytocin, prolactin, and endorphins. [4]
In 1905, Sigmund
Freud stated that clitoral orgasms are purely an adolescent phenomenon and that
upon reaching puberty, the proper response of mature women is a change-over to
vaginal orgasms, meaning orgasms without any clitoral stimulation. [22 - 25]
Alfred Kinsey was
the first researcher to harshly criticize Freud's ideas about female sexuality
and orgasm when, through his interviews with thousands of women,[10] Kinsey
found that most of the women he surveyed could not have vaginal orgasms. [23]
 |
| The female reproductive system; the G-spot is indicated at number 4). The complete labeling is: 1) fallopian tube; 2) urinary bladder; 3) pubic bone; 4) vagina (position of G-spot); 5) clitoris; 6) urethra; 7) vulva; 8) ovary; 9) sigmoid colonti; 10) uterus; 11) vaginal fornix; 12) cervix; 13) rectum; and 14) anus [37] |
A study by Rutgers
University, published 2011, was the first to map the female genitals onto the
sensory portion of the brain. [8]
The brain scans showed that the brain registered distinct feelings between stimulating the clitoris, the cervix and the vaginal wall – where the G-spot is reported to be – when several women stimulated themselves in a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) machine. [8]
With regard to specific
density of nerve endings, while the area commonly described as the G-spot may
produce an orgasm,[2][19] intense sexual pleasure (including orgasm) from
vaginal stimulation is occasional or otherwise absent because the vagina has
significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris. [5][16][20][21]
Clitoral orgasms are easier to achieve because the clitoris as a whole, has more than 8,000 sensory nerve endings, which is as many, if not more than the human penis. [9][13 - 15]
THEORIES ON THE ORIGINS & PURPOSE OF THE FEMALE ORGASM
INCREASES FERTILITY
The British
biologists Baker and Bellis have suggested that the female orgasm may have an
"upsuck" action, resulting in the retaining of favorable sperm and
making conception more likely. [27][35]
The observation that women tend to
reach orgasm more easily when they are ovulating also suggests that it is tied
to increasing fertility. [28]
REINFORCES THE PAIR BOND OR 'MONOGAMY-MAINTENANCE'
Desmond Morris
suggested in his 1967 popular-science book, The Naked Ape that the
female orgasm evolved to encourage physical intimacy with a male partner and
help reinforce the pair bond. [37]
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. [37]
Such advantageous qualities thereby become accentuated within the
species, driven by the differences between male and female orgasm.[37]
IS RELATED TO FEMALE PROMISCUITY
Evolutionary psychologists
Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, in their discussion of the female orgasm,
address how long it takes for females to achieve orgasm compared to males, and
females' ability to have multiple orgasms, hypothesizing how especially
well-suited to multiple partners and insemination this is. [29][39]
They quote primate
sexuality specialist Alan Dixson in saying that the monogamy-maintenance
explanation for female orgasm seems unlikely because: [29]
"...females of other primate species, and particularly those with multi-male-multi-female [promiscuous] mating systems such as macaques and chimpanzees, exhibit orgasmic responses in the absence of such bonding or the formation of stable family units.”
Conversely, “Gibbons, which are primarily monogamous, do not exhibit obvious signs of female orgasm…. One might argue that ... the female's orgasm as rewarding, increases her willingness to copulate with a variety of males rather than one partner, and thus promotes sperm competition.”
NON-ADAPTIVE HYPOTHESIS
Donald Symons and Stephen
Jay Gould, have asserted that the clitoris is vestigial or
non-adaptive, and that the female orgasm serves no particular evolutionary
function. [7][25]
Proponents of this hypothesis, such as Elisabeth
Lloyd, refer 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. [12][30]
In this
light, the female orgasm is viewed as the equivalent to the male nipple,
something that was so strongly selected for in the one sex that it get
expressed in the other. [30]
The clitoris is homologous to
the penis; that is, they both develop from the same embryonic structure. [11][17][18] According
to Lloyd, as development progresses, sexuality is defined with boys developing
a penis, while,
"females get the nerve pathways for orgasm by initially having the same body plan. [12][36] ...Without a link to fertility or reproduction, orgasm cannot be an adaptation." [36]
IT IS A LEGITIMATE ADAPTATION IN ITS OWN RIGHT
Conversely, researchers such as Geoffrey Miller, Helen Fisher, Meredith Small and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy "have viewed the clitoral orgasm as a legitimate adaptation in its own right, with major implications for female sexual behavior and sexual evolution.” [9*]
Miller, Hrdy, Helen O'Connell and Natalie Angier have criticized the “female orgasm is vestigial” hypothesis as understating and devaluing the psycho-social value of the female orgasm. [7] Hrdy stated that the hypothesis smacks of sexism. [31] O'Connell said, "It boils down to rivalry between the sexes: the idea that one sex is sexual and the other reproductive. The truth is that both are sexual and both are reproductive.” [6]
OR MAYBE IT'S PURELY FOR PLEASURE
Speaking at the
2002 conference for Canadian Society of Women in Philosophy, Nancy Tuana argued
that the clitoris is unnecessary in reproduction, but that this is why it has
been "historically ignored," mainly because of “a fear of pleasure.
It is pleasure separated from reproduction. That's the fear.”
She reasoned that
this fear is the cause of the ignorance that veils female sexuality. [32]
A CURIOUS SIDE NOTE
Around the turn of
the Century and up until the 1920’s, women could be medically
diagnosed with a disorder called female hysteria, the symptoms of
which included faintness, nervousness, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in
abdomen, muscle spasm, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for
food or sex, and "a tendency to cause trouble.” [26]
Women considered suffering from the condition would sometimes undergo "pelvic massage" — stimulation of the genitals by the doctor until the woman experienced "hysterical paroxysm" (orgasm). [26]
Women considered suffering from the condition would sometimes undergo "pelvic massage" — stimulation of the genitals by the doctor until the woman experienced "hysterical paroxysm" (orgasm). [26]
Female Orgasm Secret: Thoughts Of Sexual Pleasure Lead To Better Sex For Women / Medical Daily / July 29, 2014
REFERENCES
[1] Masters, William H. (1966). Human
Sexual Response. Little, Brown. p. 366. ISBN 0-316-54987-8. [2] See pages 133–135 for orgasm information, and page 76 for G-spot and vaginal nerve ending information. Rosenthal, Martha (2012). Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society. Cengage Learning. ISBN 0618755713.
[3] "Orgasm". Health.discovery.com.
[4] 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.
[5] Wayne Weiten, Dana S. Dunn, Elizabeth Yost Hammer (2011). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Cengage Learning. p. 386. ISBN 1-111-18663-4.
[6] 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. Time for rethink on the clitoris - Lay summary – BBC News (11 June 2006).
[7] Geoffrey Miller (2011). The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature. Random House Digital. pp. 238–239. ISBN 0307813746.
[8] Komisaruk, B. R., Wise, N., Frangos, E., Liu, W.-C., Allen, K. and Brody, S. (2011). "Women's Clitoris, Vagina, and Cervix Mapped on the Sensory Cortex: fMRI Evidence". The Journal of Sexual Medicine 8 (10): 2822–2830. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02388.x. Surprise finding in response to nipple stimulation Lay summary – CBSnews.com (5 August 2011).
[9] Cornforth, Tracee (17 July 2009). "The Clitoral Truth. Interview with author and sex educator Rebecca Chalker.". About.com.
[10] Margaret L. Andersen, Howard Francis Taylor (2007). Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. Cengage Learning. p. 338. ISBN 0-495-00742-0.
[11] 'I Want a Better Orgasm!'". WebMD. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13.
[12] Elisabeth Anne Lloyd (2005). The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias In the Science of Evolution. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01706-4.
[13] Harvey, Elizabeth D. (Winter 2002). "Anatomies of Rapture: Clitoral Politics/Medical Blazons". Signs 27 (2): 315–346. doi:10.1086/495689.
[14] pages 270–271page 118 for information about the clitoris. Janell L. Carroll (2009). Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. Cengage Learning. pp. 629 pages. ISBN 978-0-495-60274-3.
[15] "I'm a woman who cannot feel pleasurable sensations during intercourse". Go Ask Alice!. 17 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011.
[16] Schünke, Michael; Schulte, Erik; Ross, Lawrence M.; Lamperti, Edward D.; Schumacher, Udo (2006). Thieme Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System, Volume 1. Thieme Medical Publishers. ISBN 978-3-13-142081-7.
[17] Francoeur, Robert T. (2000). The Complete Dictionary of Sexology. The Continuum Publishing Company. p. 180. ISBN 0-8264-0672-6.
[18] Pappas, Stephanie (9 April 2012). "Does the Vaginal Orgasm Exist? Experts Debate". LiveScience.
[19] Gravina GL, Brandetti F, Martini P, et al. (2008). "Measurement of the Thickness of the Urethrovaginal Space in Women with or without Vaginal Orgasm". J Sex Med 5 (3): 610–8. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00739.x. PMID 18221286.
[20] Sloane, Ethel (2002). Biology of Women. Cengage Learning. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0766811425.
[21] Kilchevsky A, Vardi Y, Lowenstein L, Gruenwald I. (January 2012). "Is the Female G-Spot Truly a Distinct Anatomic Entity?". The Journal of Sexual Medicine 2011 (3): 719–26. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02623.x. PMID 22240236. G-Spot Does Not Exist, 'Without A Doubt,' Say Researchers - Lay summary – The Huffington Post (19 January 2012).
[22] Charles Zastrow (2007). Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People. Cengage Learning. p. 228. ISBN 0495095109.
[23] Janice M. Irvine (2005). Disorders of Desire: Sexuality and Gender in Modern American Sexology. Temple University Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 1-59213-151-4.
[24] "Difference between clitoral and vaginal orgasm". Go Ask Alice!. 28 March 2008.
[25] Stephen Jay Gould (2002). The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Harvard University Press. pp. 1262–1263. ISBN 0674006135. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
[26] Maines, Rachel P. (1998). The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria", the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6646-4.
[27]Baker, R. R.; 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. [28] Adam, David (8 June 2005). "Female orgasm all in the genes". Science. The Guardian.
[29] Ryan, Christopher; Jethá, Cacilda (2012). Sex at Dawn. HarperCollins. p. 263. ISBN 0062207946.
[30] Chivers, Meredith L.; Wiedermana, Michael W. (2007). "A Narrow (But Thorough) Examination of the Evolutionary Significance of Female Orgasm". Journal of Sex Research 44 (1): 104–105. doi:10.1080/00224490709336797.
[31] Christopher Shea (24 April 2005). "Orgasmic science". The Boston Globe.
[32] Cairney, Richard (21 October 2002). "Exploring female sexuality". ExpressNews.
[33] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_nervous_system
[34] Freeman, Shanna. "What happens in the brain during an orgasm?" 07 October 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/sexuality/brain-during-orgasm.htm> 22 September 2014.
[35] http://www.netplaces.com/tantric-sex/understanding-the-orgasm/orgasms-in-women.htm
[36] http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/On-the-origin-of-orgasms-in-women-Not-evolution-2634510.php
[37] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasm
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monogamous_pairing_in_animals
Henderson, Mark (20 June 2005). "Women fall into 'trance' during orgasm". The Times (London).
IMAGE CREDITS
"Female reproductive system lateral nolabel" by Elf Sternberg - From alt.sex FAQ.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Female_reproductive_system_lateral_nolabel.png#mediaviewer/File:Female_reproductive_system_lateral_nolabel.png
"Podkowiński-Szał uniesień-MNK" by Władysław Podkowiński - www.culture.pl. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Podkowi%C5%84ski-Sza%C5%82_uniesie%C5%84-MNK.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Podkowi%C5%84ski-Sza%C5%82_uniesie%C5%84-MNK.jpg
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