Female+Orgasm

Elyssa Untersee **Female Orgasm ** **History **

The female orgasm has been a topic of thought and research since the Victorian era and many views and theories have been discovered and altered. Female orgasm was first thought of as unhealthy and was associated with disease (Lavie-Ajayi & Joffe, 2009). Some later theories stated the supposed purpose of the female orgasm, such that orgasmic contractions of females helped sperm travel faster and the contractions helped females to stay lying down post-intercourse in order to allow sperm to travel up the fallopian tubes (Fox, 1993). The overall Freudian view focused on female orgasm to be strictly vaginal because the “reward” of an orgasm “should be associated with actions designed to further reproduction” (Fox, 1993). Against popular belief, in 1950 Grafenberg did not actually discover “the G-spot” or an orgasm in the intraurethral glands and this hypothetical area should be not recognized with Grafenberg’s name (Puppo, 2011). In 1953, Kinsey and associates focused on the issue of vaginal orgasm versus clitoral orgasm and research was preferential to clitoral orgasm. In 1966, Masters and Johnson verified the clitoral orgasm while also discovering the female “multiple orgasm” (Fox, 1993). It is known that a female orgasm is harder to achieving than a male orgasm, but once achieved, “repeated pleasure” can occur.

**How It Happens ** “Orgasm is a normal psycho-physiological function of human beings” (Puppo, 2011). The triggers of the female orgasm are the vulva (labia majora and vestibule) and the female erectile organs (labia minora, clitoris, and vestibular bulbs with the corpus spongiosum). The vestibule contains glands that secrete during female orgasm (female emission or ejaculation). The labia minora becomes engorged with blood during sexual arousal and is very sensitive. The clitoris is known to be homologous to the male penis (Fox (1993) considers it homologous to the pre-pubescent male penis due to lack of ejaculation for reproduction). The clitoris has great sensitivity and it has been found that clitoral stimulation is a very important part of female orgasm. The vestibular bulbs and corpus spongiosum of the female urethra are erectile organs and contribute to enlargement during stimulation and arousal (Puppo, 2011). Graham (2010) states that the details of an orgasm are still rather mysterious and it is hard to develop a definition for “orgasm” because it is experienced in a variety of ways. There is no obvious marker of a female orgasm, and some women state that it is sometimes difficult to tell if an orgasm has been achieved. The physiological changes that occur during sexual stimulation are found to include decreasing vibratory thresholds of the clitoris and anterior vaginal walls during arousal and orgasm with an increase in sensitivity. It has also been reported that women have had an orgasm without direct genital stimulation, showing the psychological factor (Graham, 2010). Heiman (2007) found that the paraventricular nucleus, central gray area of the midbrain, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus are important activation areas of the brain during sexual arousal. Older research showed that clitoral orgasms were inferior to vaginal orgasms, but now it has been proven that many women require clitoral stimulation to achieve an orgasm (Graham, 2010). Masters and Johnson stated that whether an orgasm is achieved by clitoral stimulation or vaginal penetration, women follow the same response pattern, and therefore, the difference of stimulation location cannot be distinguished (Puppo, 2011). Basson (2005) stated that it is possible to achieve sexual satisfaction without orgasm, but Masters and Johnson claim that sexual satisfaction tends to be a physiological response with four phases—excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution (Puppo, 2011).

**Female Ejaculation ** During sexual arousal and orgasm or females, spasms of various muscles have been found as well as a temporary rise in blood pressure and heart rate. Additionally, recordings of respiratory rates have shown “hyperventilation shortly before and during orgasm” (Shafik et al., 2009). Female ejaculation is a controversial topic and some researchers have found that women release fluid at the point of orgasm (Darling et al., 1990; Kratochvil, 1994), while other studies show that discharge of the vagina or urethra is not associated with orgasms (Shafik et al., 2009). Kratochvil (1994) did an analysis of female fluid samples post-orgasm, and it showed the samples to be urine, paraurethral gland secretions, or a combination of the two. Secretions of pre-orgasm have also been analyzed, and because females’ Bartholin’s glands are homologous to males’ Cowper’s glands, women, similar to men, secrete “pre-cum” (Puppo, 2011). Women that have reported to ejaculate during an orgasm have no other known uncommon or abnormal sexual characteristic, so some researchers believe that if female ejaculation has been proven, then the absence of ejaculation would signify some sort of a problem, which it does not (Shafik et al., 2009). It has been shown that women do not have a “refractory period” due to lack of ejaculation, and this could explain women’s ability to achieve multiple orgasms. Overall, female ejaculation is still a very controversial issue and because it has been reported that some women do ejaculate and some do not (powerful expulsion versus secretion), a more proper term could be “female emission” (Puppo, 2011).

**“Faking It” ** In most studies determining the percentage of women who have pretended orgasm, between one half and two thirds of women reported that they have. In almost all results, a sexual script is developed and displayed, showing that women are “supposed” to orgasm before men, and that the men are “responsible” for the women to orgasm (Muehlenhard & Shippe, 2010). In a specific study by Muehlenhard and Shippe (2010), the most popular reasoning for women faking an orgasm was that they wanted to “avoid negative consequences”, such as hurting their partner’s feelings. Almost four fifths of women reported this as a reason. Other reasons that women pretend to orgasm included that they were unlikely to orgasm or it was taking too long, they just wanted sex to end, to get positive consequences out of an orgasm (most often boosting her partner’s self-esteem), to keep her partner from “leaving or straying”, to avoid conflict of explanation, and to avoid feeling abnormal or inadequate (Muehlenhard & Shippe, 2010). During vaginal penetration only, many women have a hard time achieving an orgasm, and some feel that if they cannot find their “G-spot” then they are abnormal, when they truly are not (Puppo, 2011). Although some women do have “Female Orgasmic Disorder”, which is considered “the persistent or recurrent delay in, or absence of, orgasm following a normal sexual excitement phase” that causes “marked distress or interpersonal difficulty”, women who can achieve an orgasm from clitoral stimulation but not vaginal penetration do not meet these requirements and therefore do not have FOD (Graham, 2010). In the study conducted by Muehlenhard and Shippe (2010), the results show that 50% of women have faked an orgasm. 82% of these women pretended to orgasm during “penile-vaginal intercourse”, with the next likely scenario being during oral sex. Women also reported faking an orgasm during manual stimulation, “dry humping”, and phone sex. The three most reported ways of faking an orgasm included bodily acting, vocal acting, and verbal acting. In this same study, 78% of women say that their partner with whom they pretended to orgasm was their boyfriend or girlfriend. In much lower percentages, their partner could have been a friend or acquaintance, someone that they were dating, or their response about their partner could have been vague or something different (Muehlenhard & Shippe, 2010).

**References ** Basson, R., Brotto, L.A., Laan, E., Redmond, G., Utian, W.H. (2005). Assessment and management of women’s sexual dysfunctions: Problematic desire and arousal. //Journal of sexual medicine, 2//, 291–300. Darling, C. A., Davidson, J. K. Sr., & Conway-Welch, C. (1990). Female ejaculation: Perceived origins, the Grafenberg spot/area, and sexual responsiveness. //Archives of sexual behavior, 19//, 29–47. Fox, R. (1993, September/October). Male masturbation and female orgasm. //Proper study of men,// 21-25. Graham, C.A. (2010). The DSM diagnostic criteria for female orgasmic disorder. //Archives of sexual behavior, 39,// 256-270. Heiman, J. R. (2007). Orgasmic disorders in women. In S. R. Leiblum (Ed.), //Principles and practices of sex therapy// (pp. 84–123). New York: Guilford. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Kratochvil, S. (1994). Orgasmic expulsions in women. //Psychiatric Association in the Czech Medical Society, 90//, 71–77. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Lavie-Ajayi, M., & Joffe, H. (2009). Social representations of female orgasm. //Journal of health psychology, 14//(1), 98-107. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Muehlenhard, C.L., & Shippe, S.K. (2010). Men’s and women’s reports of pretending orgasm. //Journal of sex research, 47//(6), 552-567. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 46.1pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-indent: -46.1pt;">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Prathibaonline //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> [Photograph]. (2011, January 22). Retrieved from http://prathibaonline.com/health/sexualhealth/orgasm/female_orgasm/Can_a_woman_feel_when_a_man_ejaculates_inside_her.html <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Puppo, V. (2011). Embryology and anatomy of the vulva: The female orgasm and women’s sexual health. //European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology, 154,// 3-8. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Shafik, A., Shafik, I.A., Sibai, O.E., & Shafik, A.A. (2009). An electrophysiological study of female ejaculation. //Journal of sex and marital therapy, 35,// 337-346. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">//The science of the female orgasm// [Photograph]. (2009, May 31). Retrieved from []