Why is there such a significant male/female orgasm gap? Why should it be that men are virtually guaranteed their climax as the culmination (and usually the finish) of penetrative intercourse, where women languish around only a 60% likelihood?
One reason could be that ejaculation and climax in men are almost entirely one and the same thing. So evolution has made it that there is strong selective pressure for men to orgasm, given its connection to reproductive success. For women, on the other hand, though some studies have shown that the female orgasm can assist in aiding reproductive capability (see below), it is by no means a reproductive necessity. This may be why a successful climax for women can be so variable for them to achieve.
Female Orgasm Is Not A Reproductive Necessity For Women
It could also strongly reflect that different types of physical stimulation are needed between men and women for them to reach orgasm. Mercifully, women have been given bodies that are capable of many different experiences of orgasm. Truth is, some have been able to reach orgasm through such methods as stimulation of the breasts or other parts of the body, alone. Others can do so through the use of erotic material – at times, apparently, without the need for any physical touch at all.
Researchers have even found a nerve pathway to the genitals that runs outside the spinal column (which also can explain arousal and climax in para- and quadri-pelgics). This is called the vagus nerve, allowing a woman to experience orgasm through sensations transmitted directly to the brain. “There are many nerve pathways that are responsible for the experience of orgasm in women,” says Dr Beverly Whipple, co-author of “The Science of Orgasm”.
This nerve connects to the clitoris in women – that amazing organ uniquely devoted to sexual pleasure. It has 8,000 nerve endings, double that of the penis. Some have related clitoral stimulation strongly to what happens with the male. It begins with the rubbing of erectile tissue to the point which then results in a powerful release – and then after the climax, it is usually uncomfortable to continue the stimulation.
The Clitoral Orgasm Is The Most Common And Readily Achieved
Of the many types of female climax, the clitoral orgasm is undoubtedly the most common and readily achieved. Some will do this manually, others try using a vibrator to provide increased clitoral stimulation, or a dildo crafted to provide better stimulation of the vaginal area and interior.
The process or pathway to female orgasm was broken down into four stages by sex researchers, Masters and Johnson back in the 1960s.
The first step begins in the mind with the Excitement Phase. In this state of desire or arousal, the woman is granting herself the wish for sex. If it then begins, alone or with a partner, she finds herself focusing mainly on sexual stimuli. Blood begins to engorge the clitoris (a much bigger organ than previously thought) as well as the vaginal lips and pubic mound. The nipples and areola will likely swell, to, and a full-body sexual blush can occur. Her heart rate and blood pressure will increase, As with men, in the brain, testosterone and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, are involved in powering this excitement phase.
The second stage is known as the Plateau Phase. This is reached aa the tension builds towards orgasm but can then go into a “holding pattern” – which is very pleasurable and can then lead on to a climax (but not always). In this stage the outer part (around a third) of the vagina becomes particularly engorged with blood, leading to what sex researchers have termed the “orgasmic platform.” Deep within the vagina, it begins to ‘balloon’. At this point, concentration on sexual stimuli should push aside all other sensations (though there are times when the mind can then wander and take the person sliding back down to phase one, or even beneath). In the Plateau Phase the heart and breathing rate, and blood pressure, should all continue to increase.
If they do go on rising, the result should be the third stage, or Orgasm Phase. At this point rhythmic contractions are triggered in unison throughout the vagina, uterus and pelvic floor muscles. These have a frequency of 0.8 seconds each and continue through 5 to 8 contractions The build up of sexual tension caused by lovemaking or self-stimulation peaks and then releases, and muscles throughout the body may contract. Serotonin floods the brain and an intense feeling emanates from the vulvic area and spreads throughout the entire body.
It is in this phase where there could be a reproductive advantage to female orgasm. When a woman climaxes, the hormones that are released make the cervix contract, causing it to repeatedly dip in and out of the vagina (that’s what those muscular contractions felt after an orgasm largely are). It’s those muscular contractions, or the “cervical dip”, that causes the cervix to keep dunking into the semen pool in the depths of the ballooned vagina to help the sperm on their way to the ovaries.
The final stage is called the Resolution Phase. The body heads back towards its normal resting state, with blood flowing away from the engorged sexual organs and the heart rate, breathing and blood pressure return to pre Excitement Phase levels.
Multiple Orgasms Are Much More Possible For Women
One significant difference between the male and female experiences of intercourse is that some women are able to reach more than one orgasm during a single sex session. Instead of passing from phase three to four, orgasm to resolution, the woman may repeatedly reach orgasm several times over. Also, unlike men, it appears that women tend to experience increasing pleasure with each successive climactic peak. Also, where men hit a refractory period, where they are usually incapable of further sexual activity for a while, some women will experience little to no refractory period, and can become aroused again and again immediately following each orgasm.
For many, though, there can problems preventing the sequence of four stages culminating in orgasm and resolution. Some may be physical, some psychological. Some can be short-term and others much more chronic. If your problems are physical, or if the stresses you face in life and relationships are becoming entrenched, best get professional help. Directed masturbation, sex education, and behavioral therapy are some of the means a woman might want to explore if she is experiencing orgasmic difficulties. Women may also want to try using a vibrator to provide increased clitoral stimulation, or a dildo crafted to provide better stimulation of the vaginal area and interior. Orgasm for women may not be a reproductive necessity but it is everyone’s right to maximise their sexual pleasure and satisfaction.