# Does the female orgasm have an evolutionary purpose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005 "2003-09-21T17:25:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/21 "2003-09-22T09:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > who did that research and how did they get funding for it??? I don’t know and I’m not sure I want to. Imagine advertising for the position though! Wanted Person to diddle barnyard animals to orgasm. Must be highly dextrous and sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/22 "2003-09-22T10:37:14Z")
Well just imagine putting it on your CV aftrewards. yap yap yap. Can make a sheep come in less than two minutes. Extensive experience at tickling [not licking I hope! :eek:] cow clitoris. Know the exact g-spot position of a pig. Yap yap yap - Rune ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/23 "2003-09-22T12:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*When it’s done by amateurs, perhaps. There’s nothing _random_ about the orgasm anyway. > > By the way, Sarah23 and I are not related. \*\* Cute. 🙂 V. informative responses from Blake (and others). Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/24 "2003-09-22T12:27:07Z")
Also, again I see the assumption that men who aren’t making women orgasm during intercourse don’t know what they’re doing. There’s a whole myriad of different factors that come (no pun intended) into play during intercourse, not to mention that every woman is different…just because Joe made Ann, Mary and Sally orgasm in college doesn’t mean he can make the whole world come. And some women spend time learning their bodies and what they like and then teach their partners (in which case she gets the credit, not her man). A man doesn’t have to do any such thing…he sticks it in there–bam–it feels good. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/25 "2003-09-22T12:28:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blake \* > \*\*I don’t know and I’m not sure I want to. Imagine advertising for the position though! > > Wanted > Person to diddle barnyard animals to orgasm. Must be highly dextrous and sensitive. \*\* Eh, just tell the grad student to do it. That’s what they’re for. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/26 "2003-09-22T12:38:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alterego \* > \*\*Your a woman and you have never heard of a g-spot? > > I’m baffled…You should probably go talk to your doctor for guidance on this one… \*\* Of course I’ve heard of it lol. Heather Graham told a g-spot joke to Jay Leno once: “What’s the difference between a golf ball and a g-spot?” “What?” “A man will spend 20 minutes looking for a golf ball.” Anyway, I don’t go around interviewing my female friends about their g-spots, but ironically the subject always seems to come up even though it’s not usually a very open subject matter for me. I don’t know a single female that has one/knows where hers is. One very open friend of mine even shared with me that she’s spent lots of time looking for it…found what she was supposed to be looking for and it only made her pee. Nothing sexual at all about it. Maybe the g-spot is similar to the rectum…some people are totally turned on by anal stimulation, for others it’s not anything remotely sexual. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/27 "2003-09-22T12:54:42Z")
Boy, I’ve known a few ladies who could certainly have orgasms through plain vanilla intercourse. Of course, some do have trouble with it. I suspect that female orgasms might be one of those physiological phenomena that has a variety of potential benefits in different invididuals. While it may not ALWAYS help in fertilization, there is evidence it does sometimes. While it may not be a great motivator for sex in all individuals, it obviously is in most. There may be other health benefits too. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/28 "2003-09-22T14:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Boy, I’ve known a few ladies who could certainly have orgasms through plain vanilla intercourse. Of course, some do have trouble with it. > > I suspect that female orgasms might be one of those physiological phenomena that has a variety of potential benefits in different invididuals. While it may not ALWAYS help in fertilization, there is evidence it does sometimes. While it may not be a great motivator for sex in all individuals, it obviously is in most. There may be other health benefits too. \*\* I never said a woman couldn’t orgasm through regular intercourse–only that it’s not the easiest way to achieve orgasm and if you took your average woman and your average man, and let them only have missionary position sex with no foreplay, no toys, etc., the woman would probably not orgasm very often. ---
**Author:** ![TheLadyLion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d78d45/32.png) [@TheLadyLion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLadyLion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/29 "2003-09-22T14:39:33Z")
At the back of the vagina is an area often referred to as “the seminal pool.” When the male ejaculates, the semen is deposited mostly into the seminal pool. If and when the female has her orgasm, the cervix rhythmically dips into the seminal pool, thus making it easier for the sperm to find their way into the uterus. Of course, non-orgasmic females DO get pregnant. I will never forget a brief conversation I had with a young coworker concerning her sex life with her icky, scummy boyfriend who was 7 years her senior. “Oh, he’s making sure I don’t get pregnant,” she cooed. “He just won’t let me have an orgasm.” I told her to run like hell and never look back. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/30 "2003-09-22T14:46:58Z")
In _Sperm Wars_, Robin Baker proposes that the female orgasm plays a role in sperm competition. He says that a female orgasm prior to insemination tends to inhibit conception; whereas, a female orgasm concurrent with or following insemination tends to promote conception. So a woman with multiple partners can (unconsciously) try to influence which man’s sperm succeeds. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/31 "2003-09-22T17:17:02Z")
Well… we can always dismiss evolutionary aspects and consider that when God created us he intended that both men and women should enjoy sex (contrary to what Christianity and other religions have done over the centuries to suggest that women _shouldn’t_ enjoy it…) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/32 "2003-09-22T17:23:39Z")
In that case, you’re dismissing the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/33 "2003-09-22T18:36:05Z")
When we were … younger … I would accidentally smack a spot in my girlfriend (at the time) that would make her cringe in pain. Years later I actively seek the spot in my wife–same gal (I can feel some sort of protrusion in there–it’s WAY in there and at a difficult angle) cuz it’s her button. I’m sure it’s the same spot, except now it’s an instant O for her. I suppose if we knew why women had orgasm in the first place this mystery might be solved for my wife & me as well. I’ve not found such a gizmo in any other woman (and have since had a moratorium on further research). My take on the Female O is that, when properly done, it’s quite an exertion which disposes said female to remain prone for a longer period of time. As upright walkers we do have drainage issues and this might help to keep the semen nearer the cervix. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/34 "2003-09-22T19:01:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Well… we can always dismiss evolutionary aspects and consider that when God created us he intended that both men and women should enjoy sex We could, but why the hell would we? **Sarah23** asked a fact-based question, and we’re attempting to answer it with the facts as we know them. Which, granted, is somewhat muddled… The whole g-spot thing remains a great Mystery of the Universe. If the evidence suggests that they don’t exist, then I can buy that that. But my girlfriend sure seems to have one, so what is it really? ---
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/35 "2003-09-22T19:02:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\*So a woman with multiple partners can (unconsciously) try to influence which man’s sperm succeeds. \*\* Hmmm, an unconscious woman with multiple partners… Sound like gang rape to me… ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/36 "2003-09-22T22:06:36Z")
From my anatomy class and personal experience, I have found that there is more variety to vaginas than there is to faces. Where the clitoris may be obvious due to its size and position in some women, it is so small in others that it is not visible but can only be found by palpation or oral exploration, it is still located in the same area. In some women the vagina is tilted to a degree and the G-spot so large that the G-spot is impossible to miss via missionary position intercourse. In others, it is almost impossible to find. Great care and diligence must be maintained when searching the dark confines of the vagina for this fabled and mysterious area! Locating this place is always rewarding to the seeker, unless he make the mistake of exploring the vagina of a woman who gets on his nerves, in which case the explorer has much growing up to do. God help the man who arouses insatiable lust and ardor in a woman to whom he is poorly suited! It is partly because of its mysterious nature that the vagina is considered by many to be “the final frontier”. Many men will invest much time, money and emotional resources to its exploration and study. I know that I myself have put aside eating, drinking, sleep and sometimes even my job to investigate the vagina’s inner secrets! I have neglected my house, my yard, my friends and even my dog to pursue the female orgasm! So, it may be surmised that there is so much to know about the vagina and the female orgasm that in spite of standard academic training and extensive personal research, I can only claim that the more I study them, the more I realize just how little I truly know about them. I gotta say though, that in general vaginas & female orgasms are both **Good Things®**. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/37 "2003-09-22T22:17:00Z")
My impression is similar to that of the Lady Lion (and is, I think, based on the same interiour camera angle others mentioned early on, that was on TLC). I also recall (from that program or perhaps from elsewhere) that women orgasm more easily when their partner is symmetrical; and also when they are ovulating. Women do sure seem different in this regard. Some really do orgasm from intercourse, no problem, almost every time. Others require clitoral stimulation. Now, as for the “g spot”–I don’t know what that is, necessarily, but some women clearly get highly stimulated and can orgasm from their cervix being “manhandled”. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/38 "2003-09-22T22:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by RickJay_ > While it may not ALWAYS help in fertilization, there is evidence it does sometimes. Is there? Can we see this evidence? There is evidence that post ejaculatory orgasm may increase sperm counts in utero but no one has suggested that such a small increase could influence fertility. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by acsenray_ > He says that a female orgasm prior to insemination tends to inhibit conception; whereas, a female orgasm concurrent with or following insemination tends to promote conception. So a woman with multiple partners can (unconsciously) try to influence which man’s sperm succeeds. This is what I was talking about above. The trouble is that the hypothesis requires that a woman be _less_ likely to orgasm with a partner she finds desirable, which we know isn’t true for the majority of women. It also requires that the difference in sperm quantities be significant enough to influence fertility at all. All the investigations have shown that the difference is insignificant. In all the hypothesis smacks of ad hoc reasoning which should be dismissed by the judicious use of Occam’s razor. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/39 "2003-09-22T22:38:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by RickJay_ > While it may not ALWAYS help in fertilization, there is evidence it does sometimes. Is there? Can we see this evidence? There is evidence that post ejaculatory orgasm may increase sperm counts in utero but no one has suggested that such a small increase could influence fertility. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by acsenray_ > He says that a female orgasm prior to insemination tends to inhibit conception; whereas, a female orgasm concurrent with or following insemination tends to promote conception. So a woman with multiple partners can (unconsciously) try to influence which man’s sperm succeeds. This is what I was talking about above. The trouble is that the hypothesis requires that a woman be _less_ likely to orgasm with a partner she finds desirable, which we know isn’t true for the majority of women. It also requires that the difference in sperm quantities be significant enough to influence fertility at all. All the investigations have shown that the difference is insignificant. In all the hypothesis smacks of ad hoc reasoning which should be dismissed by the judicious use of Occam’s razor. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by SlackerInc_ > I also recall (from that program or perhaps from elsewhere) that women orgasm more easily when their partner is symmetrical; and also when they are ovulating. All apparently true, which is exactly what should not be happening. Most women orgasm during foreplay or coitus, both of which decrease the sperm counts within the uterus. What we have is a situation where the most geneticaly desirable partners are being selected against. If the hypothesis held water what we should find is exactly the opposite. Women should be prone to rapid and prolonged orgasms with men they did not find at all attractive to minimise the chances of conception as well as minimising the desire for masturbation post coitus. Orgasm should be particularly desirable during rape. With men who are attractive women should find sex incredibly frustrating so that orgasm can not occur and so that the woman is inclined towards masturbation/post play after her partner has ejaculated. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005/40 "2003-09-22T23:01:00Z")
Maybe the orgasming during ovulation is the motivation to have sex during that time of fertility in the first place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-female-orgasm-have-an-evolutionary-purpose/203005.md?page=3)