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The Female Orgasm: It's Purpose, Complexity, and Beauty

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The Female Orgasm: It's Purpose, Complexity, and Beauty

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The mindset on female sexuality and sexual pleasures has been run and dictated by men, from the perspective of how it pleases them most. We must understand how the female body works and how female sexual pleasure is achieved. The reality of the situation is that women should be the ones who are talking about their bodies and making the decisions when it comes to their bodies. We need to stop allowing men to prioritize themselves above all others, forcing a narrative that only helps the heterosexual male agenda. Enough is enough, people need a realistic education, not a politicized education.

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The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm and it's False Patriarchal Narrative

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The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm and it's False Patriarchal Narrative

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REVISITING "THE MYTH OF THE VAGINAL ORGASM": THE FEMALE ORGASM IN AMERICAN SEXUAL THOUGHT AND SECOND WAVE FEMINISM BY JANE GERHARD

This article speaks on the article "The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm". It speaks on how Anne Koedt paved the way for conversation and progress when it came to the male-dominated lie that the female orgasm not only was superior but that it existed at all. It spoke on the Freudian view and how twisted it was, being built on a patriarchal view. It equated vaginal orgasms, which are a not real, and said it was achieved through maturity and health. He spoke on the clitoral orgasm being unimportant and immature.

As time has gone on, we have learned that the "teachings" he brought about were pseudoscience to help push the view that women need men to function. The reality of the fact is that female sexual pleasure does not require a man, or a male appendage whatsoever. Koedt made the argument by saying:

“The establishment of clitoral orgasm as fact would threaten the heterosexual institution”(Gerhard 457).

The female clitoral stimulation was not only a scary thought, but it was invalidating men, and when we live in a patriarchy that is built on praising men for everything, it was earth-shattering.

Citation: Gerhard, Jane. “Revisiting ‘The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm’: The Female Orgasm in American Sexual Thought and Second Wave Feminism.” Feminist Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 449–476. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3178545.

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THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ORGASM BY JANE GALLOP

This article goes into depth on how society has used the fake orgasm and what its purpose is. It talks about the "twentieth-century orgasm", which is just another way of saying faking an orgasm. Annamarie Jagose, the author of Orgasmology, talks about how some believe the fake orgasm dates back to ancient times. Still, she challenges that thought by claiming it is a result of twentieth-century sexual culture. She talks about how it is a resourceful thing and it is an "inventive bodily technique," contrary to the perspective of it being a sign of failure or a deceptive nature.

Citation: Gallop, Jane. “The Twentieth-Century Orgasm.” Feminist Formations, vol. 28, no. 2, Summer 2016, pp. 139–143. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2016.0032.

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TYPES OF FEMALE ORGASM BY JOSEPHINE SINGER

This article is a fascinating dive into the types of orgasmic behaviour the female anatomy can experience. There has been this perspective that the orgasm is a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter kind of deal. In reality, the female orgasm comes in many shapes and sizes depending on the state they are in leading up to and during the climax.

The female orgasm is broken up into three different categories: vulval orgasms, uterine orgasms, and blended orgasms. The vulval orgasm involves rhythmic contractions that take place on the orgasmic platform. It is more often than not stimulated by clitoral stimulation or masturbation. Then there are uterine orgasms, which do not involve any vulval contractions; it is an emotional release that comes from penetration and contact being made with the cervix. Finally, there is the blended orgasm, which is a combination of both the contractions from the vulval orgasm and the emotional aspects of the uterine orgasm. It is usually considered to be the most sexually fulfilling orgasm for a woman.

Singer talks about how the emotional and physiological aspects of the orgasm are often not spoken about enough. It is crucial to understand the differences between the orgasms and understand that it can be fulfilling with only one of the types. Everybody and everyone's preferred stimulation may vary. Singer said:

“No one would dream of saying that a person could not be happy unless he were heard to laugh, nor feel sorrow unless their tears could be seen” (Singer 266).

It clarifies that it may not be the maximum level of stimuli, but it can still be satisfactory. ​Often women think they are or are semi-fulfilled in their sexual lives, but do not understand that there is potentially more exploration that they can take with their partners or themselves.

Citation: Singer, Josephine, and Irving Singer. “Types of Female Orgasm.” The Journal of Sex Research, vol. 8, no. 4, Nov. 1972, pp. 255–267. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3811759.

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The Bias in the Science of the Evolution of the Female Orgasm

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The Bias in the Science of the Evolution of the Female Orgasm

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THE CASE OF THE FEMALE ORGASM: BIAS IN THE SCIENCE OF EVOLUTION (REVIEW) BY LETITIA MEYNELL

This article talks about how the science behind the female orgasm has been convoluted and manipulated by men for the male-dominated agenda. She talks about how many scientists make wrongful assumptions about how the female orgasm has evolved in the evolutionary process. Many scientists assume that the female orgasm is a side effect of how the male orgasm has developed. She explains how, from a non-biased perspective, you can see how science is incredibly male-leaning. Instead of ignoring the facts, we can look at the reality of the importance of the female orgasm in both female health and reproductive purposes.

Citation: Meynell, Letitia. "The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution (Review)." Hypatia, vol. 22, no. 3, Summer 2007, pp. 218–222. Indiana University Press. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/218012.

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The History and Purpose of the Female Orgasm

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The History and Purpose of the Female Orgasm

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IN THE BEDROOM, AN EVOLUTIONARY MYSTERY: BIOLOGISTS OFFER A NEW CLUE TO THE PURPOSE OF FEMALE ORGASM BY CARL ZIMMER

This article is a good example of the narrative being pushed by the male agenda. Zimmer talks about how they believe that the female orgasm has developed over time and how there is no understanding of why women have orgasms. He writes:

"For biologists, few phenomena are as mysterious as the female orgasm" (Zimmer).

He talks about how it is thought that they were created to help with ovulation in ancient mammals and have slowly built into what it is now. He says that they study these behaviors by studying mammals like rabbits and ferrets. The issue with this is that we are researching this because men are so disturbed at the idea that women experience orgasms from the perspective of female pleasure and general well-being. It is a conversation due to the patriarchal standpoint that men have to be the center of everything all the time, and it is quite honestly a gross perspective that has been adapted and developed through years of bigotry.

Citation: Zimmer, Carl. "In the Bedroom, an Evolutionary Mystery: Biologists Offer a New Clue to the Purpose of Female Orgasm." The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2016, p. D3. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times.

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The Complexity of The Sexuality of Women

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The Complexity of The Sexuality of Women

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I'LL HAVE WHAT SHE'S HAVING BY ELAINE BLAIR

This article talks about how female sexuality is so much more complex and detailed compared to what many scientists think. As science progresses and research further, we learn that women's desires are not solely about reproduction. The female sexuality is also driven by many things, like bonding experiences, social encounters, and just general fun. Women's sexuality has begun to be recognized for its fluidity and ability to change depending on the atmosphere.

In the past, it was always seen that women were not nearly as sexually driven as men, but on the contrary, many women have very strong sex drives and just lack the relief of their desires. The culture, emotions, and biology that come along with female sexuality are complex, and science is just on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to female pleasure.

Citation: Blair, Elaine. "I'll Have What She's Having." The New York Times, 16 June 2013, p. A1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times.

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The Lies of Hysteria and Misogyny Towards The Vibrator

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The Lies of Hysteria and Misogyny Towards The Vibrator

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BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE VIBRATOR. THE TECHNOLOGY OF ORGASM "HYSTERIA", THE VIBRATOR, AND WOMEN'S SEXUAL SATISFACTION. BY SARAH BOXER

This article talks about the history of the vibrator and how it began as being designed as a medical device. The vibrator was used in the late 1800s and early 1900s by doctors to treat a disorder known as "hysteria". Hysteria was believed to be a disease within the womb and the female nervous system. Women were diagnosed with it for a list of unrelated symptoms, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, fainting, emotional outbursts, and many more. They believed that when a women was brought to an orgasm, it cured these symptoms, but it was not seen as a sexual thing. Boxer said:

"When vibrators became available for home use, they quickly lost their medical respectability" (Boxer 413).

Women slowly started purchasing them for at-home use, and people started to recognize their sexual usage, and the medical world stepped away from it. The doctors saw it as a pelvic massage that was relieving symptoms, like popping a cramp. In reality, women were being brought into an orgasmic state, resulting in them feeling calmer, relaxed, and euphoric, which they thought was curing. As women began to use them, they began to get a negative connotation and were seen as gross or dirty. It once again comes back to the misogyny around female stimulation and pleasure.

Citation: Boxer, Sarah. "Batteries Not Included: A Social History of the Vibrator." The New York Times, 21 Mar. 1999, p. 413. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times.

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For this board, I used JSTOR, Project MUSE, and ProQuest (New York Times) as my databases for research.

1. JSTOR search page:

JSTOR. Search Results for "Vaginal Orgasm." JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=Vaginal+Orgasm&so=rel. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.

2. Project MUSE search page:

Project MUSE. Search Results for "Female Orgasm." Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/search?action=search&query=content:female%20orgasm:and&limit=subscription:n&min=1&max=20. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

3. ProQuest (New York Times) search page:

ProQuest. Search Results for "Female Orgasm" – The New York Times. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/results/2CAFA2A0E684BA2PQ/1?accountid=11824. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.