The Female Orgasm

What better place to start a blog about female sexuality than by addressing the biggest white elephant there is? The female orgasm. A hybrid of fact and fiction surround the nature of the female orgasm, and today's post will be one of several attempts to unpack the subject.

Not taking for granted that things can go without being said, I will say this female orgasms are real and women do have them. I'll repeat, Women have orgasms.

Notice I didn't say all women, all the time. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, 43 percent  of American women -- of all ages -- suffer from some sexual dysfunctions.

75 percent of  women report never experiencing an orgasm through intercourse only (without the help of toys, oral and/or digital stimulation), and 10 to 15 percent of women never climax under any circumstance.

Getty Images

These numbers are alarming considering that expression of female sexuality in popular culture has grown exponentially over the past two decades, while the reasons behind the female orgasm remain a mystery.

Many in the scientific community struggle with the fact that unlike the male orgasm, which purpose is rather straightforward, the female orgasm is not as easy to peg. More specifically, the female orgasm, according to some in the scientific community, has no known purpose.

In her book "The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution," Elisabeth Lloyd posits that the female orgasm has no evolutionary or biological function and is merely the "byproduct of the role that male orgasm plays in reproduction and the sharing of early embryonic tissue by the male and female genitalia."

This notion fits well with sexual research that has proven that more women reach orgasm through masturbation than through heterosexual sex. 


The Clitoral vs. G-Spot Orgasm

I personally love this debate because it seems like one more way we can get women to envy each other and duke it out for best orgasm. Ask any woman, and they will tell you if they had to choose either or none, they would probably say either.

But for the sake of controversy, let's break down the differences between a clitoral and G-spot orgasm.

Getty Images

The clitoris, made up of the same material as the male penis, has over 8,000 nerve endings making it a variable landmine of fun once you've figured out that you have orgasmic potential. ( I would argue that every woman does given the right circumstances, but I'm just a feminist not a doctor/scientist.)

These type of orgasms are far more common than G-spot or vaginal orgasms for a plethora of reasons, but what's important is that they are achieved through direct stimulation of the clitoris. This express lane to female orgasm exploded as a reality in the 1960's as Alfred Kinsey and feminists alike worked to combat year's of Freudian logic.

Freud asserted that the female orgasm should be centered in the reproductive tract i.e., the vagina while any orgasm reached through clitoral stimulation was "infantile". Any woman unable to or unwilling to transfer her orgasmic center to her vagina was labeled frigid.


The G-spot, unlike unicorns and the tooth fairy, is not a myth. The Gräfenberg spot is made up of a collection of nerve endings located about 3-5 centimeters along the roof of vagina. Stimulation of this erogenous zone can result in intense arousal, orgasm, and female ejaculation. 

Words of Wisdom

I believe Toys in Babeland's Claire Cavanah said it best in her blog, "Orgasms range in intensity from a sweet ripple of pleasure around the genitals to a roaring, curling wave of energy through the entire body. Every orgasm is a duet of tension and relaxation: a combination of striving and letting go, of making it happen and letting it happen."