Orgasm

In a clinical context, orgasm is usually defined strictly by the muscular contractions involved during sexual activity, along with the characteristic patterns of change in heart rate, blood pressure, and often respiration rate and depth. and at least 26 definitions of orgasm are listed in the 2001 journal Clinical Psychology Review. There is some debate about whether certain types of sexual sensations should be accurately classified as orgasms, including female orgasms caused by G-spot stimulation alone, and the demonstration of extended or continuous orgasms lasting several minutes or even an hour. The question centers around the clinical definition of orgasm, but this way of viewing orgasm is merely physiological, while there are also psychological, endocrinological, and neurological definitions of orgasm. In these and similar cases, the sensations experienced are subjective and do not necessarily involve the involuntary contractions characteristic of orgasm. In both sexes, they are extremely pleasurable and often felt throughout the body, causing a mental state that is often described as transcendental, and with vasocongestion and associated pleasure comparable to that of a full-contractionary orgasm. For example, modern findings support the distinction between ejaculation and male orgasm. For this reason, there are views on both sides as to whether these can be accurately defined as orgasms. == Achievement ==

Orgasms can be achieved during a variety of activities, including vaginal, anal, oral, manual, and non-penetrative sex, or masturbation. They may also be achieved by the use of a sex toy or an erotic electrostimulation. Achieving orgasm by stimulation of the nipples or other erogenous zones is rarer. Multiple orgasms, i.e. orgasms that occur within a short period of one another, In addition to physical stimulation, orgasm can be achieved from psychological arousal alone, such as during dreaming (nocturnal emission for males or females), or by forced orgasm. Orgasm by psychological stimulation alone was first reported among people who had spinal cord injuries. although indirect clitoral stimulation (for example, via vaginal penetration) may also be sufficient. The Mayo Clinic states, "Orgasms vary in intensity, and women vary in the frequency of their orgasms and the amount of stimulation necessary to trigger an orgasm." Clitoral orgasms are easier to achieve because the glans of the clitoris, or clitoris as a whole, has more than 8,000 sensory nerve endings, which is as many (or more in some cases) nerve endings as are present in the human penis or glans penis. As the clitoris is homologous to the penis, it is equivalent in its capacity to receive sexual stimulation. One misconception, particularly in older research publications, is that the vagina is completely insensitive. In reality, there are areas in the anterior vaginal wall and between the top junction of the labia minora and the urethra that are especially sensitive. With regard to specific density of nerve endings, while the area commonly described as the G-spot may produce an orgasm, The greatest concentration of vaginal nerve endings are at the lower third (near the entrance) of the vagina. Sex educator Rebecca Chalker states that only one part of the clitoris, the urethral sponge, is in contact with the penis, fingers, or a dildo in the vagina. Hite and Chalker state that the tip of the clitoris and the inner lips, which are also very sensitive, are not receiving direct stimulation during penetrative intercourse. Because of this, some couples may engage in the woman on top position or the coital alignment technique to maximize clitoral stimulation. For some women, the clitoris is very sensitive after climax, making additional stimulation initially painful. Masters and Johnson argue that all women are potentially multiply orgasmic, but that multiply orgasmic men are rare, and stated that "the female is capable of rapid return to orgasm immediately following an orgasmic experience, if re-stimulated before tensions have dropped below plateau phase response levels". some sources state that both men and women experience a refractory period because women may also experience a period after orgasm in which further sexual stimulation does not produce excitement. After the initial orgasm, subsequent orgasms for women may be stronger or more pleasurable as the stimulation accumulates. In 1999, Whipple and Komisaruk proposed cervix stimulation as being able to cause a fourth type of female orgasm. The first major national surveys of sexual behavior in the U.S. were the Kinsey Reports. Masters and Johnson's research on the topic came at the time of the second-wave feminist movement and inspired feminists such as Anne Koedt, author of The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, to speak about the "false distinction" made between clitoral and vaginal orgasms and women's biology not being properly analyzed. Clitoral and vaginal relationships Accounts that the vagina is capable of producing orgasms continue to be subject to debate because, in addition to the vagina's low concentration of nerve endings, reports of the G-spot's location are inconsistent—it appears to be nonexistent in some women and may be an extension of another structure, such as the Skene's gland or the clitoris, which is a part of the Skene's gland. In a January 2012 The Journal of Sexual Medicine review examining years of research into the existence of the G-spot, scholars state that "[r]eports in the public media would lead one to believe the G-spot is a well-characterized entity capable of providing extreme sexual stimulation, yet this is far from the truth". but O'Connell suggests that the clitoris's interconnected relationship with the vagina is the physiological explanation for the conjectured G-spot. Having used MRI technology which enabled her to note a direct relationship between the legs or roots of the clitoris and the erectile tissue of the "clitoral bulbs" and corpora, and the distal urethra and vagina, she stated that the vaginal wall is the clitoris; lifting the skin off the vagina on the side walls reveals the bulbs of the clitoris—triangular, crescental masses of erectile tissue. In their 2009 published study, the "coronal planes during perineal contraction and finger penetration demonstrated a close relationship between the root of the clitoris and the anterior vaginal wall". Buisson and Foldès suggest "the special sensitivity of the lower anterior vaginal wall could be explained by pressure and movement of clitoris's root during a vaginal penetration and subsequent perineal contraction". In the first large-scale empirical study worldwide to link specific practices with orgasm, reported in the Journal of Sex Research in 2006, demographic and sexual history variables were comparatively weakly associated with orgasm. Data was analyzed from the Australian Study of Health and Relationships, a national telephone survey of sexual behavior and attitudes and sexual health knowledge carried out in 2001–02, with a representative sample of 19,307 Australians aged 16 to 59. Practices included "vaginal intercourse alone (12%), vaginal + manual stimulation of the man's and/or woman's genitals (49%), and vaginal intercourse + manual + oral (32%)" and the "[e]ncounters may also have included other practices. Men had an orgasm in 95 percent of encounters and women in 69 percent. Generally, the more practices engaged in, the higher a woman's chance of having an orgasm. Women were more likely to reach orgasm in encounters including cunnilingus". Other studies suggest that women exposed to lower levels of prenatal androgens are more likely to experience orgasm during vaginal intercourse than other women. Research has also examined orgasm function after gender-affirming hormone therapy. A 2023 study of 130 transgender women and 33 transgender men who had received gender-affirming hormone therapy for at least one year assessed self-reported orgasm function during masturbation, including time to orgasm, orgasm duration, orgasm location, orgasm satisfaction, and the post-orgasm refractory period. The study reported that transgender women had increases in time to orgasm, orgasm duration, and orgasm satisfaction after beginning hormone therapy, and that some participants reported a shift from short, single-peak orgasms to longer, multiple-peak orgasms. Exercise-induced Kinsey, in his 1953 book Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, states that exercise could bring about sexual pleasure, including orgasm. A review in 1990 on the sexual response as exercise states that the field was poorly researched and that aerobic or isotonic exercise that resembles sexual activity or sexual positions can induce sexual pleasure, including orgasm. Starting in at least 2007, the term "coregasm" was used in popular media to refer to exercise-induced orgasm, or in academic parlance "exercise-induced sexual pleasure", and an extensive discussion of the "yogasm" occurred in a 2011 Daily Beast posting. A paper published in 2012 presents results of an online survey of women who had experienced an orgasm or other sexual pleasure during exercise. The paper was widely discussed in popular media when it was published. The authors of the paper said that research on the relationship between exercise and sexual response was still lacking. Emotional and cognitive factors in female orgasm Various studies have linked emotional and cognitive aspects to female orgasm and sexual satisfaction. Negative thoughts about failure have been associated with difficulty achieving orgasm, whereas positive emotions during sexual activity are significantly and positively associated with orgasm. A study examining the relationship between body awareness and female orgasm found a positive association between awareness of bodily sensations and emotions and both the frequency of orgasms and satisfaction with them. Specifically, the facet of Noticing predicted orgasm frequency, Body Trusting predicted orgasm satisfaction, and Attention Regulation predicted both. Cognitive-behavioral factors that impair the ability to achieve orgasm include "spectatoring" (observing oneself from an external perspective), cognitive distraction, maladaptive sexual beliefs, performance anxiety, deficits in attention and interoceptive awareness, and behavioral avoidance. Feelings of stress, as well as poor emotional connection with a partner, are negatively associated with female orgasm. Dry orgasms can also occur as a result of retrograde ejaculation, or hypogonadism. Men may also ejaculate without reaching orgasm, which is known as anorgasmic ejaculation. Two-stage model The traditional view of male orgasm is that there are two stages: emission accompanying orgasm, almost instantly followed by a refractory period. The refractory period is the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for a man to have additional orgasms. In 1966, Masters and Johnson published pivotal research about the phases of sexual stimulation. Their work included women and men and—unlike Kinsey in 1948 and 1953—tried to determine the physiological stages before and after orgasm. Masters and Johnson state that in the first stage, "accessory organs contract and the male can feel the ejaculation coming; two to three seconds later the ejaculation occurs, which the man cannot constrain, delay, or in any way control" and in the second stage, "the male feels pleasurable contractions during ejaculation, reporting greater pleasure tied to a greater volume of ejaculate". They report "for the man the resolution phase includes a superimposed refractory period" and "many males below the age of 30, but relatively few thereafter, have the ability to ejaculate frequently and are subject to only very short refractory periods during the resolution phase". Masters and Johnson equate male orgasm and ejaculation and maintain the necessity for a refractory period between orgasms. some men have reported having multiple consecutive orgasms, particularly without ejaculation. A scientific study to successfully document natural, fully ejaculatory, multiple orgasms in an adult man was conducted at Rutgers University in 1995. During the study, six fully ejaculatory orgasms were experienced in 36 minutes, with no apparent refractory period. In both sexes, pleasure can be derived from the nerve endings around the anus and the anus itself, such as during anal sex. Men can achieve orgasms through prostate stimulation alone. and can be sexually stimulated through anal sex, perineum massage or a vibrator. Much of the available information about prostate-induced orgasms comes from anecdotal reports by individuals, and the exact mechanisms by which such orgasms are produced are unclear; some sources suggest this occurs via stimulation of nerves in the prostatic plexus surrounding the organ, others suggest it is via nerves within the prostate itself, and others say changes in the brain (neuroplasticity) are required to derive pleasure from prostate stimulation. Regardless, prostate-induced orgasms are often reported to be intensely pleasurable. Prostate stimulation can produce a deeper orgasm, described by some men as more widespread and intense, longer-lasting, and allowing for greater feelings of ecstasy than orgasm elicited by penile stimulation only. For women, penile–anal penetration may also indirectly stimulate the clitoris by the shared sensory nerves, especially the pudendal nerve, which gives off the inferior anal nerves and divides into the perineal nerve and the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Although the anus has many nerve endings, their purpose is not specifically for inducing orgasm, and so a woman achieving orgasm solely by anal stimulation is rare. Direct stimulation of the clitoris, a G-spot area, or both, while engaging in anal sex can help some women enjoy the activity and reach orgasm during it. but sexologists and sex educators generally believe that orgasms derived from anal penetration are the result of the relationship between the nerves of the anus, rectum, clitoris or G-spot area in women, and the anus's proximity to the prostate and relationship between the anal and rectal nerves in men, rather than orgasms originating from the anus itself. Before Komisaruk et al.'s fMRI research on nipple stimulation in 2011, reports of women achieving orgasm from nipple stimulation relied solely on anecdotal evidence. Komisaruk's study was the first to map the female genitals onto the sensory portion of the brain; it indicates that sensation from the nipples travels to the same part of the brain as sensations from the vagina, clitoris and cervix, and that these reported orgasms are genital orgasms caused by nipple stimulation and may be directly linked to the genital sensory cortex ("the genital area of the brain"). An orgasm is believed to occur in part because of oxytocin, which is produced in the body during sexual excitement and arousal, and labor. It has also been shown that oxytocin is produced when a man or woman's nipples are stimulated and become erect. Komisaruk also relays that preliminary data suggests that nipple nerves may directly link up with the relevant parts of the brain without uterine mediation, acknowledging the men in his study who showed the same pattern of nipple stimulation activating genital brain regions. == Physiological aspects ==

Masters and Johnson were some of the first researchers to study the sexual response cycle in the early 1960s, based on the observation of 382 women and 312 men. They describe a cycle that begins with excitement as blood rushes into the genitals, then reaches a plateau during which they are fully aroused, which leads to orgasm, and finally resolution, in which the blood leaves the genitals. In the late 1980s and after, Rosemary Basson proposed a more cyclical alternative to what had largely been viewed as a linear progression. In her model, desire feeds arousal and orgasm and is in turn fueled by the rest of the orgasmic cycle. Rather than orgasm being the peak of the sexual experience, she suggests that it is just one point in the circle and that people could feel sexually satisfied at any stage, reducing the focus on climax as an end goal of all sexual activity. Females A woman's orgasm may, in some cases, last a little longer than a man's. Women's orgasms have been estimated to last on average approximately 20 seconds and to consist of a series of muscular contractions in the pelvic area that includes the vagina, the uterus, and the anus. For some women, on some occasions, these contractions begin soon after the woman reports that the orgasm has started and continue at intervals of about one second with initially increasing and then reducing intensity. In some instances, the series of regular contractions is followed by a few additional contractions or shudders at irregular intervals. Women's orgasms are preceded by the erection of the clitoris and moistening of the opening of the vagina. Some women exhibit a sex flush, a reddening of the skin over much of the body due to increased blood flow to the skin. As a woman nears orgasm, the clitoral glans retracts under the clitoral hood, and the labia minora (inner lips) become darker. As orgasm becomes imminent, the outer third of the vagina tightens and narrows, while overall the vagina lengthens and dilates and also becomes congested from engorged soft tissue. Elsewhere in the body, myofibroblasts of the nipple-areolar complex contract, causing erection of the nipples and contraction of the areolar diameter, reaching their maximum at the start of orgasm. A woman experiences full orgasm when her uterus, vagina, anus, and pelvic muscles undergo a series of rhythmic contractions. Most women find these contractions very pleasurable. Researchers from the University Medical Center of Groningen in the Netherlands correlated the sensation of orgasm with muscular contractions occurring at a frequency of 8–13 Hz centered in the pelvis and measured in the anus. They argue that the presence of this particular frequency of contractions can distinguish between voluntary contraction of these muscles and spontaneous involuntary contractions, and appears to more accurately correlate with orgasm as opposed to other metrics like heart rate that only measure excitation. They assert that they have identified "[t]he first objective and quantitative measure that has a strong correspondence with the subjective experience that orgasm ultimately is" and state that the measure of contractions that occur at a frequency of 8–13 Hz is specific to orgasm. They found that using this metric they could distinguish between rest, voluntary muscular contractions, and even unsuccessful orgasm attempts. Since ancient times in Western Europe, 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". Women considered to have the condition would sometimes undergo "pelvic massage": stimulation of the genitals by the doctor until the woman experienced "hysterical paroxysm" (i.e., orgasm). Paroxysm was regarded as a medical treatment and not a sexual release. While stroking the clitoris, the parts of the female brain responsible for processing fear, anxiety, and behavioral control start to diminish in activity. This reaches a peak at orgasm when the female brain's emotion centers are effectively closed down to produce an almost trance-like state. Holstege is quoted as saying, at the 2005 meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Development, "At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings." A subsequent report by Rudie Kortekaas, et al. states, "Gender commonalities were most evident during orgasm... From these results, we conclude that during the sexual act, differential brain responses across genders are principally related to the stimulatory (plateau) phase and not to the orgasmic phase itself." Male and female brains demonstrate similar changes during orgasm, with brain activity scans showing a temporary decrease in the metabolic activity of large parts of the cerebral cortex with normal or increased metabolic activity in the limbic areas of the brain. who recorded EEG changes resembling petit mal or the clonic phase of a grand mal seizure. Further studies in this direction were carried out by Sem-Jacobsen (1968), Heath (1972), Cohen et al. (1976), and others. Sarrel et al. reported a similar observation in 1977. These reports continue to be cited. Unlike them, Craber et al. (1985) failed to find any distinctive EEG changes in four men during masturbation and ejaculation; the authors concluded that the case for the existence of EEG changes specifically related to sexual arousal and orgasm remained unproven. Thus, experts disagree as to whether the experiment conducted by Mosovich and Tallaferro casts a new light on the nature of orgasm. In some recent studies, authors tend to adopt the opposite point of view that there are no remarkable EEG changes during ejaculation in humans. == Health aspects of orgasm ==

Potential health benefits Numerous studies indicate a link between frequent sexual activity, particularly orgasm, and improved health. These associations have been observed in both women and men. Research has found that sexual activity involving orgasm is associated with better sleep quality, and orgasm in women has been linked to greater relationship satisfaction. A 1997 study in the BMJ based upon 918 men aged 45–59 found that after a ten-year follow-up, men who had fewer orgasms were twice as likely to die of any cause as those having two or more orgasms per week. A follow-up in 2001 which focused more specifically on cardiovascular health found that having sex three or more times per week was associated with a 50 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack or stroke. There is some research suggesting that greater resting heart rate variability is associated with orgasms through penile-vaginal intercourse without additional simultaneous clitoral stimulation; Postorgasmic illness syndrome A small percentage of men have a disease called postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), which causes severe muscle pain throughout the body and other symptoms immediately following ejaculation. The symptoms last for up to a week. Some doctors speculate that the frequency of POIS "in the population may be greater than has been reported in the academic literature", and that many people with POIS are undiagnosed. Dysfunction and satisfaction The inability to have an orgasm, or regular difficulty reaching orgasm after ample sexual stimulation, is called anorgasmia or inorgasmia. If a male experiences erection and ejaculation but no orgasm, he is said to have sexual anhedonia (a condition in which an individual cannot feel pleasure from an orgasm) or ejaculatory anhedonia. Anorgasmia is significantly more common in women than in men, which has been attributed to the lack of sex education about women's bodies, especially in sex-negative cultures, such as clitoral stimulation usually being key for women to orgasm. 10% of women have never had an orgasm, and 40–50 percent have either complained about sexual dissatisfaction or experienced difficulty becoming sexually aroused at some point in their lives. A 1994 study by Laumann et al. found that 75 percent of men and 29 percent of women always had orgasms with their spouse, while 40 percent of men and 80 percent of women thought their spouse always orgasmed during sex. These rates were different in non-marital straight relationships (cohabitational, long-term and short-term heterosexual relationships), with rates increasing to 81 percent for men and 43 percent for women orgasming during sex with their short-term partners, and 69 percent for men and 83 percent for women thinking their short-term partners always orgasmed. Kinsey's 1953 Sexual Behavior in the Human Female shows that over the previous five years of sexual activity, 78 percent of women had orgasms in 60–100 percent of sexual encounters with other women, compared with 55 percent for heterosexual sex. Kinsey attributed this difference to female partners knowing more about women's sexuality and how to optimize women's sexual satisfaction than male partners do. If orgasm is desired, anorgasmia may be attributed to an inability to relax. It may be associated with performance pressure and an unwillingness to pursue pleasure, as separate from the other person's satisfaction; often, women worry so much about the pleasure of their partner that they become anxious, which manifests as impatience with the delay of orgasm for them. This delay can lead to frustration of not reaching orgasmic sexual satisfaction. as a problem derives from the early 20th century when mutual orgasm was overly emphasized as an objective and a sign of true sexual satisfaction in intimate relationships. Menopause may involve loss of hormones supporting sexuality and genital functionality. Vaginal and clitoral atrophy and dryness affect up to 50–60 percent of postmenopausal women. Testosterone levels in men fall as they age. Sexual dysfunction overall becomes more likely with poor physical and emotional health. "Negative experiences in sexual relationships and overall well-being" are associated with sexual dysfunction. == Theoretical biological and evolutionary functions in females ==

Shifts in research The function or functions of the human female orgasm have been debated among researchers. Researchers have several hypotheses about the possible role of the female orgasm in the reproductive process. Research includes the sire-choice hypothesis, which proposes that female orgasm has been shaped by natural selection to function in the selection of high-quality sires (male parents) for offspring. One 1995 study indicated that female orgasm is more frequent during intercourse with a male partner with low fluctuating asymmetry. A 2012 study found a correlation between females having orgasms and the perceived masculinity and overall attractiveness of male partners. The pair bond hypothesis is a topic assessing female orgasms: a 2012 study of women who had been in both a short-term hookup and a long-term relationship reported that 67% of the women in their last sexual encounter in a long-term relationship (with a bond) had an orgasm, compared to 11% in those involved in a short-term hookup (with no bond). They posited a role of female orgasm in sperm competition. The observation that women tend to reach orgasm more easily when they are ovulating also has led to the suggestion that it is tied to increasing fertility. Evolutionary biologist Robin Baker argues in Sperm Wars that occurrence and timing of orgasms are all a part of the female body's unconscious strategy to collect and retain sperm from more evolutionary fit men. This theory suggests that an orgasm during intercourse functions as a bypass button to a woman's natural cervical filter against sperm and pathogens, and that an orgasm before functions to strengthen the filter. This suggestion that women's cycles impact orgasm is heightened by research showing that women are more likely to orgasm with partners with compatible major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, but only during their fertile period of ovulation. 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. They quote primate sexuality specialist Alan Dixson in saying that the monogamy-maintenance explanation for female orgasm "seems far-fetched" because "females of other primate species, and particularly those with multimale-multifemale [promiscuous] mating systems such as macaques and chimpanzees, exhibit orgasmic responses in the absence of such bonding or the formation of stable family units." On the other hand, Dixson states that "Gibbons, which are primarily monogamous, do not exhibit obvious signs of female orgasm." Consistent with this view, Puts, Dawood, and Welling in "Why women have orgasms: An evolutionary analysis", review evidence from species of nonhuman primates in which multiple possible behavioral correlates of orgasm have been reported and note that "the majority of nonhuman primate species… in which female orgasm appears to exist have been reported to exhibit multi-male social structures, though it should be noted that multimale sociality is common in anthropoid primates generally." Though Dixson classifies humans as mildly polygynous in his survey of primate sexuality, he appears to have doubts, when he writes, "One might argue that ... the female's orgasm is rewarding, increases her willingness to copulate with a variety of males rather than one partner, and thus promotes sperm competition." Ryan and Jethá use this as evidence for their theory that partible paternity and promiscuity was common for early modern humans. "Lloyd is by no means against evolutionary psychology. Quite the opposite; in her methods and in her writing, she advocates and demonstrates a commitment to the careful application of evolutionary theory to the study of human behavior," stated Meredith L. Chivers. She added that Lloyd "meticulously considers the theoretical and empirical bases for each account and ultimately concludes that there is little evidence to support an adaptionist account of female orgasm" and that Lloyd instead "views female orgasm as an ontogenetic leftover; women have orgasms because the urogenital neurophysiology for orgasm is so strongly selected for in males that this developmental blueprint gets expressed in females without affecting fitness, just as males have nipples that serve no fitness-related function". Elisabeth Lloyd has cited this as evidence for the notion that female orgasm is not adaptive. According to Puts, Dawood and Welling, "Much of the variation among women in orgasm frequencies likely results from the facultative nature of orgasm—not all sexual stimulation is equal." Because sexual experiences cannot be assumed equal across female, one cannot dismiss an adaptive basis of female orgasm on those bases. 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." Induced ovulation Some spontaneously ovulating species can occasionally undergo mating-induced preovulatory LH surges. These species require mating to stimulate the vagina and cervix, resulting in ovulation in the females. Research suggests that the female orgasm evolved from copulation-induced ovulation. Fringe theories Brody Costa et al. suggest that women's vaginal orgasm consistency is associated with being told in childhood or adolescence that the vagina is the important zone for inducing female orgasms. Other proposed factors include how well women focus mentally on vaginal sensations during penile-vaginal intercourse, the greater duration of intercourse, and their preference for above-average penis length. Costa theorizes that vaginal orgasm is more prevalent among women with a prominent tubercle of the upper lip. His research indicates that "[a] prominent and sharply raised lip tubercle has been associated with greater odds (odds ratio = 12.3) of ever having a vaginal orgasm, and also with greater past month vaginal orgasm consistency (an effect driven by the women who never had a vaginal orgasm), than less prominent lip tubercle categories." Lip tubercle was not associated with social desirability responding, or with orgasm triggered by masturbation during penile-vaginal sex, solitary or partner clitoral or vaginal masturbation, vibrator use, or cunnilingus. According to Wilhelm Reich, the lack of women's capacity to have a vaginal orgasm is due to a lack of orgastic potency, which he believed to be the result of culture's suppression of genital sexuality. == Involuntariness ==

Medical research shows that the genital reflex is also regulated by the spinal cord and not necessarily under conscious control. An involuntary orgasm may occur as the result of sexual assault or rape, which may result in feelings of shame caused by internalization of victim-blaming attitudes. The incidence of those who experience unsolicited sexual contact and experience orgasm is very low, though possibly under-reported due to shame or embarrassment of the victim. Such orgasms may happen to either sex. An unwanted orgasm may arise from a persistent genital arousal disorder. In consensual BDSM play, forced orgasm may be practiced to exercise orgasm control. == Tantric sex ==

Tantric sex, which is not the same as Buddhist tantra (Vajrayana), is the ancient Indian spiritual tradition of sexual practices. It attributes a different value to orgasm than traditional cultural approaches to sexuality. Some practitioners of tantric sex aim to eliminate orgasm from sexual intercourse by remaining for a long time in the pre-orgasmic and non-emission state. Advocates of this, such as Rajneesh, claim that it eventually causes orgasmic feelings to spread out to all of one's conscious experience. Advocates of tantric and neo-tantric sex who claim that Western culture focuses too much on the goal of climactic orgasm, which reduces the ability to have intense pleasure during other moments of the sexual experience, suggest that eliminating this enables a richer, fuller, and more intense connection. == Literature ==

and Juno'', by Annibale Carracci Orgasm has been widely described in literature over the centuries. In antiquity, Latin literature addressed the subject as much as Greek literature: Book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses retells a discussion between Jove and Juno, in which the former states: "The sense of pleasure in the male is far / More dull and dead than what you females share." Juno rejects this thought; they agree to ask the opinion of Tiresias ("who had known Venus/Love in both ways," having lived seven years as a female). Tiresias offends Juno by agreeing with Jove, and she strikes him blind on the spot (Jove lessens the blow by giving Tiresias the gift of foresight, and long life). Earlier, in the Ars Amatoria, Ovid states that he abhors sexual intercourse that fails to complete both partners. The theme of orgasm survived during Romanticism and is incorporated in many homoerotic works. In FRAGMENT: Supposed to be an Epithalamium of Francis Ravaillac and Charlotte Cordé, Percy Bysshe Shelley, "a translator of extraordinary range and versatility", wrote the phrase "No life can equal such a death." That phrase has been seen as a metaphor for orgasm, and it was preceded by the rhythmic urgency of the previous lines "Suck on, suck on, I glow, I glow!", which has been seen as alluding to fellatio. Edward Ellerker Williams, the last love of Shelley's life, was remembered by the poet in "The Boat on the Serchio", which has been considered as possibly "the grandest portrayal of orgasm in literature". it is the representation of the man who forgets himself and the world during orgasm. Jorge Luis Borges, in the same vision, wrote in one of the several footnotes of "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" that one of the churches of Tlön claims Platonically that "All men, in the vertiginous moment of coitus, are the same man. All men who repeat a line from Shakespeare are William Shakespeare." Shakespeare himself was knowledgeable of this idea, as lines "I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes" and "I will die bravely, like a smug bridegroom", said respectively by Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and by King Lear in the play of that ilk, are interpreted as allusions to orgasm: "to die in a woman's lap" = "to experience a sexual orgasm". Freud, in his psychoanalytic projects, such as The Ego and the Id (1923), speculates that sexual satisfaction by orgasm makes Eros ("life instinct") exhausted and leaves the field open to Thanatos ("death instinct"). In other words, with orgasm Eros fulfills its mission and gives way to Thanatos. Other modern authors have chosen to represent the orgasm without metaphors. In the novel ''Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928), by D. H. Lawrence, features an explicit narrative of a sexual act between a couple: "As he began to move, in the sudden helpless orgasm there awoke in her strange thrills rippling inside her..." Robert Macfarlane, in a review of the Jilly Cooper novel Pandora, discussed how it has an increased ratio of sex per page than her earlier novels, such as Riders, and that the sex is usually simple and happy, where "mutuality of orgasm is a given". He also pointed out that in Pandora'' there is a far greater range of sexual activities described than in other Cooper novels, that are not just vaginal penetration by a penis. == Other animals ==

The mechanics of male orgasm are similar in most male mammals. Females of all mammal and some non-mammal species, such as alligators, have clitorises. There has been ongoing research about the sexuality of dolphins, one of many species which engage in sexual intercourse for reasons other than reproduction. The duration of orgasm varies considerably among different mammal species. == See also ==