The article will cover the following points:

• The nature of human orgasms
• Fundamental mechanisms of human orgasms
• From 17th century to today
• The three-dimensional model
• Determinants of the female orgasms

The Nature of Human Orgasms

The nature of human orgasms is a topic that is characterized by controversies and multiple discussions.  Mah and Binik in their review in 2001[1] offer an extensive list of researchers that are dichotomized between the biological and the psychological perspectives while emphasizing on: The psychological approach to orgasms and the assumption of gender differences in orgasms (emphasizing on the female orgasm). Now we will go through some of the definitions they offer but keep in mind that there are many more. Further we will elaborate on both the biological and psychological mechanisms and finally talk a bit about the female orgasms.

To offer you some insight, one definition following the biological approach that covers the somatic experience of an orgasm of both males and females would be: 

‘’Explosive discharge of neuromuscular tension at the peak of sexual response’’ (Kinsey et al., 1948, 1953)[2,3]

Whereas a definition that places the psychological approach at its central axon, again taking into account both the experience by males and females would be:

‘’Altered state of consciousness’’ (Davidson and Davidson, 1980)[4]

Finally there is an integrative perspective called the biopsychological perspective and one definition following this stream of research would be:

‘’Psychic phenomenon, a sensation (cerebral neuronal discharge) elicited by the accumulative effect on certain brain structures of appropriate stimuli originated in the peripheral erogenous zones’’ (Alzate, 1985a)[5]

Let’s begin with the basics:

Fundamental Mechanisms of Human Orgasm [1]

1. Biological perspective:  

Researchers have examined the experience of human orgasms both of males and females and described whole-body and genitopelvic changes. Whole body changes are characterized by tachycardia, elevated blood pressure for example and others have added muscle spasms, hyperventilation, and sweating. 

Masters and Johnson observed genitopelvic and anal muscle contractions and their insight offers us with the idea that the subjective experience of orgasm is not entirely driven by the presence or absence of these contractions but it is more related to other qualities like strength or frequency of the muscular contractions.

They concluded that an orgasm involves a loss of control over voluntary muscles resulting in contractions and spasms which are particularly evident in the hands and feet.  Muscles in the pelvic area contract rhythmically at a rate of once every 0.8 seconds. For women contractions also occur in the anus, uterus and the external part of the vagina

At a hormonal level,  the hormone oxytocin (so-called hug hormone) is released and initiates the  rhythmic muscle contractions. The more oxytocin is released, the higher the intensity of the orgasm.

After that, dopamine (reward-system and desire hormone) is released and results in relaxing pleasure.

MRI studies revealed that 30 different parts of the brain are activated during orgasm. 

For men orgasms usually occur along with ejaculation, which occurs in two stages: 

1.     Emission - Semen builds up in the urethral bulb indicating that ejaculation has begun. Once the seminal fluid is collected in the bulb a phenomenon called ejaculatory inevitability occurs. It is a point of no return as the rest of the process is reflexive and cannot be controlled voluntarily.

2.     Expulsion - the prostate gland, urethra and muscles at the base of the penis contract at the same rhythm of women (0.8 seconds) leading the semen to exit the urethra and the penis.

However, only viewing the male orgasm as limited to ejaculation is quite reductionist.  Luckily, nowadays streams of research exist supporting that male orgasm experiences are not solely characterized by ejaculation. Still, there might be a difference in feelings while experiencing an ejaculatory orgasm compared to a non- ejaculatory orgasm. 

Multiple orgasms were examined by researchers and were found both in males and females, meaning that both sexes have the capacity to biologically produce them, of course with differences existing between sexes. Men tend to require a refractory period, however, this is not true for everyone. 

2. Psychological Perspective

The biological perspective explains the bodily reactions to such a bodily phenomenon like orgasm but fails to see it as a sexual experience. The part of subjectivity and awareness is important for an orgasm to be seen as a sexual experience besides the involvement of physiological processes.  Here we can see a paradox appearing: even researchers who support the psychological approach consisting in subjectivity and personal awareness of the individual, still fail to dive into the male orgasm exploration that much. 

This is understandable however as stereotypes such as “if you did not ejaculate, there was no pleasure in the sexual activity” are deeply rooted into today’s world and thus it may take a while to overcome them completely. 

Moreover, while understanding the biological nature of an orgasm is somewhat simple, asking people to describe how an orgasm feels is more challenging: it perhaps can't be explained in words!

One thing we know is that during orgasm we are very self-focused and lose awareness of surroundings. This leads to satisfaction due to the intense  psychological and physical tension release. It also helps create a sense of bonding with the partner and with our general well-being. Still, it is important to stress that orgasms should not become the goal of sexual interactions because we lose focus of all the rest of the pleasure and positive sensations.

From 17th Century to Today

Now an important remark to make is about why the female orgasms have been more extensively studied [6]. To do so, we must travel back in time, in the 17th century where a Dutch biologist named Edouard Van Beneden felt puzzled about the existence of the clitoris. The casual line of thought back then was that the orgasm’s purpose was to concieve. For this reason, the biologist failed to comprehend the existence of the clitoris on the female body and claimed it of no utility thereafter. Other researchers at the time associated the clitoris, and orgasm with hysteria in women and even proposed its excision as a treatment. Further, they thought that excision would cure epilepsy and homosexuality in women. 

Remember Kinsay’s definition that we already mentioned before? [2,3,6] He was the one to first study sexuality in women in 1953, quite recently this means, where he claimed the role of clitoridian orgasm in female sexual pleasure. He moreover examined female masturbation based on his findings, a topic that was silenced until then. 

You can understand now why the topic on female orgasms is relevant today. Of course science has moved forwards since those dark times and has even found connections between vaginal orgasms and good health in women, along with a better quality in sex life [7].

The Three- Dimensional Model [1]

This model proposes three core constructs on human orgasm experience, the sensory, the affective and the evaluative constructs.

The sensory dimension includes the perceptions of physiological events e.g., muscle tension, thermal sensations. 

The evaluative dimension is non- physical and explains the individual evaluations of the human experience including neutral, positive and negative appraisals. These are for example intensity and pleasure and/or pain respectively. 

Finally, the affective dimension that is again non-physical involves the positive and negative emotions that are experienced during or directly after an orgasm e.g., love, affection, intimacy.

Each dimension encompasses different components in order to explain in more detail any orgasmic experience. You can see the model below: 

This model is very promising because of how difficult it is to standardise the definition of the human orgasm. 

In 2016, a study by Kontula and Miettinen [8] gave us more insight into the determinants of female orgasm. Many of you may now think, why don’t we go into more detail about the male orgasm then? The answer is very clear, because we have been studying it for many more decades than the female one, so, contribution to what determines female orgasms can be proven very useful for individuals that were struggling in the past or for feminine identities living in the present. 

Determinants of Female Orgasms [8]

Kontula and Miettinen (2016) discovered negative correlations between female orgasms and

• feelings of anxiety
• distress
• age of their first intercourse
• masturbation frequency and
• painful intercourse

At the same time found positive correlations between female orgasm and:

• Concentration
• Self- determination
• Relationship and sexual partner history
• Personal importance of orgasm - the more you value it the more likely it will be
• Having an active role during intercourse
• Sexual desire and arousal
• Mutual pleasure and initiation

This shows the importance of sexual education and how essential it is to encourage communication between partners. 

However, it is still unclear why there is a trend of increased orgasm difficulties, especially for women. Recent research has shown how orgasm likelihood has seemed to decrease in the last years  seems like  Lately, tips for women and their pleasure are everywhere therefore we should question further the conceptualization of orgasms in the modern world we live in and approach them as a complex phenomenon i.e., a response to socially contextual and mental stimuli and thus try to incorporate our approaches when we are talking about this experience instead of monopolizing the physical attributes of orgasms. 

Additional resources:

• The Never- Ending Orgasm (Full Documentary) by Only Human

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwDbxyppfEg&ab_channel=OnlyHumanesources:

• All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks (it is a must read) 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17607.All_About_Love

• Big Mouth (TV Series) 🡪 You can find it on Netflix

References 

[1] Mah, K., & Binik, Y. M. (2001). The nature of human orgasm: a critical review of major trends. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(6), 823–856. doi:10.1016/s0272-7358(00)00069-6 

[2] Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., & Martin, C. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders

[3] Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., Martin, C., & Gebhard, P. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

[4] Davidson, J. M., & Davidson, R. J. (1980). The psychobiology of consciousness. New York: Plenum Press

[5] Alzate, H. (1985a). Vaginal eroticism and female orgasm: a current appraisal. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 11, 271–284.

[6] Colson, M.-H. (2010). Female orgasm: Myths, facts and controversies. Sexologies, 19(1), 8–14. doi:10.1016/j 

[7] Brody S, Costa RM. Satisfaction (sexual, life, relationship, and mental health) is associated directly with penile-vaginal intercourse, but inversely with other sexual behavior frequencies. J Sex Med. 2009 Jul;6(7):1947-54. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01303.x. Epub 2009 Apr 28. PMID: 19453891..sexol.2009.11.004

[8] Kontula, O., & Miettinen, A. (2016). Determinants of female sexual orgasms. Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology, 6(1), 31624. doi:10.3402/snp.v6.31624 

[9]Michelle Clarke, Retrieved from: https://atlasbiomed.com/blog/whats-going-on-with-hormones-and-neurotransmitters-during-sex/