For people with a clitoris or a vagina, this is how to achieve an orgasm on your own terms. But we forget that on the screens, especially the small ones pornography , an orgasm is often performative. They can visibly ejaculate. Sex and relationship expert Dr. When asked to describe orgasm, the responses vary wildly. Some people lose control and others simply exhale deeply. During an orgasm, genital muscles will contract, heart rate will increase, and your genitals fill with blood. While your body is working hard to make you feel good, your brain is also releasing a huge dose of oxytocin and dopamine which contribute to feelings of closeness, empathy, and happiness. When I first began writing this piece, I reached out to people I knew personally to describe their orgasm. In my personal experience, my body responds with a euphoria so strong that tears well up in my eyes and I bury my head into my partners chest.

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The orgasm is widely regarded as the peak of sexual excitement. It is a powerful feeling of physical pleasure and sensation, which includes a discharge of accumulated erotic tension. Overall though, not a great deal is known about the orgasm, and over the past century, theories about the orgasm and its nature have shifted dramatically. For instance, healthcare experts have only relatively recently come round to the idea of the female orgasm, with many doctors as recently as the s claiming that it was normal for women not to experience them. In this article, we will explain what an orgasm is in men and women, why it happens, and explain some common misconceptions. Orgasms can be defined in different ways using different criteria. Medical professionals have used physiological changes to the body as a basis for a definition, whereas psychologists and mental health professionals have used emotional and cognitive changes.
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Unlike some animals, human females can have sex any time of the month, and they do not have to orgasm to ovulate or get pregnant. Male-dominated scientific norms mean that much about the female orgasm remains misunderstood, and many harmful myths persist. A female orgasm can be highly pleasurable and occur during masturbation or sexual activity with one or more partners. Scientists are unsure whether it has additional benefits. In this article, we look at why female orgasms occur and what happens during an orgasm. We also debunk some common misconceptions. The benefits of the male orgasm are clear. Men must ejaculate to deposit sperm in the vagina, possibly leading to pregnancy. The male orgasm, therefore, serves a clear evolutionary purpose.
The reason for the female orgasm has long eluded scientists. Men need them for reproduction; women don't. So why do female orgasms exist? Scientists studying this issue are divided, said David Puts, a biological anthropologist at Penn State University. Some scientists think female orgasms are totally purposeless. But evidence suggests that they may have once helped and perhaps still help us survive and reproduce.