News-Letter

Only having to flip a switch to achieve carnal gratification would make things too easy and kill romance. (courtesy of http://ucsub.colorado.edu/) [Click to enlarge]

It is universally known that the male orgasm plays a key reproductive role, important for the continuation of the human race. However, the scientific and evolutionary role of the female orgasm is still the subject of much debate.

The differentiation of gender is determined during fetal development in and around the fourth week post conception.

The Y chromosome contains the gene SRY (Sex-determining region of the Y chromosome) that makes a fetus male. This gene simply prompts male gonadal development.

Both XX and XY fetuses also have another gene, DAX -- 1. This gene is suppressed in male fetal development by SRY, but in XX fetuses it will prompt the development of ovaries and other internal female reproductive organs.

After six weeks post conception, there is the beginning of a clear differentiation of gonads.

During this week of development, the male fetus develops the Wolffian ducts that suppresses the female Mullerian ducts and causes them to regress.

The Mullerian ducts form the uterus, oviducts and the inner part of the vagina.

Simultaneously, the external genitalia begin to develop from a region known as the cloaca, which forms in both sexes a urethral fold, genital swelling and genital tubercule.

The difference is that the genital tubercule in males will elongate to form the penis. In females, it shrinks to form the clitoris.

As a result, the same tissue that composes the penis also composes the clitoris.

In total, there are about 8000 nerve endings in the clitoris. This makes the clitoris one of the primary sources of sexual pleasure in females.

Today, there are two principal types of orgasms: orgasms from clitoral stimulation, and orgasms from G Spot stimulation.

The clitoris is an obvious example because of the sensitivity of the area due to its densely packed nerves. The G spot is reportedly said to be located deep within the vagina, on the top.

However, according to two notable sexologists, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, their findings do not fully support full sexual stimulation within the vagina.

The findings of their studies emphasized the importance of sexual pleasure around the clitoris.

Still, the G Spot continued to be an area of discussion for sexologists and society alike.

The spot is named after the German sexologist Ernst Grafenberg who discovered it in the 1950s.

He proposed that women have a sensitive spot in the vagina three to five centimeters from the opening that is said to be sexually pleasing for women when stimulated.

However, only a small percentage of women claim to orgasm from the G Spot only.

Their studies branched orgasms out into two different types: the uterine (which was dubbed later by Josephine and Irving Singer) and the vulval.

The uterine orgasm is marked by rapid, gasping breathing as climax is approached.

In the vulval, stimulation of the clitoris is the main method to obtain orgasm.

For centuries, patriarchal societies were determined to keep female sexuality under wraps. Frigidity was a huge "disorder" for women that men were determined to break through.

However, the double standards set up for women during these suppressive times made it difficult for women to be open about their ideas of sexuality. Many straitlaced men were convinced that only their gender was capable of sexual pleasure.

Today, much research has been focused upon discovering a practical function for female orgasms.

Many debates give various theories on the evolutionary and re-productive purpose of the clitoris.

In the 1980s and well into the 1990s, notable scientist Stephen Jay Gould published an essay in Natural History that sparked an intense debate about the evolutionary role of female orgasm.

Gould took a conservative viewpoint on the role of orgasm, stating that the strong vaginal muscle contractions aided in guiding semen nearer to the cervix. He postulated that there indeed was a role for female orgasms in humans.

However, his opponent, John Alcock, argued that female orgasm is also recreational based on research of primates from other scientists. Although both theories are correct in some degree, there is still no concrete explanation for the female orgasm.

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