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From a procreative point of view, there’s absolutely no reason why women should orgasm; At least, that is the conclusion of the author of a book making mental and genital waves. The Case for the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution by Elizabeth Lloyd evaluated years of research on female orgasm, and determined that women have orgasms for the same reason men have nipples, as an evolutionary bi-product of shared fetal tissue. 

It’s certainly an intriguing hypothesis subject to critique and even outrage. “Human orgasm evolved because men need it to reproduce, and women got it as a developmental byproduct. How women use that gift is ours to determine,” wrote one reviewer of the book. Not having read it myself, I can only concur with the latter, and report what others have said: Lloyd’s science is sound, and her voice a feminist one.
 
That's critical piece in this from a Sex Whisperer perspective. Too often, when we consider female sexuality, we do so from the view of a male paradigm.
 
For example, years ago, as a graduate student in a rat lab, we used male controls for a study on females. When I brought it to my adviser's attention that this seemed somehow inherently biased, I was gently but firmly informed that male rats were always the control group, regardless of design. I was stupefied and not yet confident enough to push the point, and that is why books like Female Orgasm are encouraging.
 
Such advances in our understanding indicate that the times are changing; that we are reconsidering our faulty narratives, and replacing them with more authentic and open deliberations about human sexuality.  So, maybe women have orgasms because men need them to propagate the species, and our genitals are derived from common fetal tissue. Or, maybe, we have them for esoteric reasons still elusive to modern science. Say, for transcendent and spiritual reasons, or even for pain management during pregnancy.
 
Beyond that, we can debate why we orgasm from our favorite (philosophical of course) position, but ultimately, your Sex Whisperer thinks this may be missing the most important point. Don’t ask why we orgasm, ask how can we make them better.

The Enigmatic Clitoris
Women have amazing apparatus geared specifically for sexual pleasure, and recent (can we say fun!) research is uncovering the mystery behind female sexual arousal. In fact, the science is so striking, I have to point out that, biological accident or not, orgasm is divinely inspired. 

For starters, we know that the clitoris never ages and is always at a women's service. For more on this topic, read: Good Vibrations: The Sex Organ that Never Ages and the History of the Vibrator. However, whether she reaches sexual climax via heterosexual penile-vaginal intercourse may depend on the ‘rule of thumb.’ Basically, women whose clitoris is further than a thumbs length away from the opening of the vagina have a harder time reaching orgasm this way.

Called the C-V distance, this concept was first suggested by a contemporary of Freud’s, Princess Marie Bonaparte, in 1924. Growing fed up with her own lack of orgasmic response, she noted that many women clients reported ‘frigidity,’ but rather than blaming their psychological frame of mind, she suspected that physiology played a part. 

The Los Angeles Times reported on follow up research by Dr. Kim Wallen of Emory University who said that “Clitoris-vagina distances less than 2.5 cm -- that's roughly from the tip of your thumb to your first knuckle -- tend to yield reliable orgasms during sex.” 

Dr. Wallen reviewed the images Bonaparte had gathered of patients and based on an initial review, agreed that there’s a correlation between C-V distance and the ability to have sex, but additional research needs to be done to better understand the relationship between genital topography and getting over the top.

In the meantime, it’s important for women to not get hung up on their C-V measurements, explained Dr. Wallen in a 2008 interview. (Unless of course, those letters are referring to your curriculum vitae, in which case, I suggest you announce your arrival either way, no pun intended)

His research isn’t the only exciting stuff to bring us closer to understanding female sexual arousal and desire. New Advances in Clitoral Anatomy and the G-Spot hint at what sexologists have long suspected. The clitoris is not just a female fun button, but has tissue that extends internally on both sides of the genitalia, and may actually be connected to the area known as the g-spot. This is very intriguing for many reasons, not the least of which is the possibility that orgasm may provide the obvious pleasure, but also modify pain. Why? This brings us back to the idea of orgasmic birth. Objects going in stimulate and woman’s body as much as objects going out, and it just happens that babies in the birth canal press against the area known as the g-spot.
 
Which brings us full circle: We many not yet fully know why women orgasm, and it could be, among other things, simply a form of natural analgesia, or a biological accident with a happy ending. But as long as science and spirituality combine efforts to understand our most transcendent selves, we are on the right path towards understanding the blessings of pleasure.
 
Related reading: Four Levels of Orgasm
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Tinamarie is a top-rated writer of sex, love and relationships. From celebrity relationships, sacred and eco-sexuality, erotica and feminism, to dating and mating advice for couples who want to deepen intimacy, Tinamarie covers what today's Modern Lovers want to know about. You can send her emails, good vibes and inquiries about relationship book reviews to tmbsdre@yahoo.com. She is a regular ShareWIK.com columnist. 
 
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