Female Orgasm

What happens during climax

After a woman becomes sexually aroused, her heart beats faster while her breathing quickens. Often, she'll tighten various muscles all over her body. Her breasts usually enlarge somewhat, the nipples tend to stand out while the areolas become noticeably enlarged. Some women flush red on their face, neck and chest. The visible part of the clitoris also swells slightly.

Secretions occur inside and at the opening of the vagina. Her labia flatten and open. The vagina lengthens and widens internally, changing what was a potential space into more of an actual space. These vaginal changes are mainly a result of a rush of blood to the pelvic area -- called engorgement -- which provides a generally pleasurable warmth in a female's genital area.

As her arousal increases, so does engorgement as well as most of the changes mentioned above becoming more pronounced. The one area that doesn't follow this pattern is the clitoris. Instead of continually swelling, it actually begins to retract under the clitoral hood and decreases in length by about 50%. This is a sign that orgasm is imminent for most women, as long as optimal stimulation continues.

The orgasm itself begins with strong muscle contractions. These contractions can be finished within four seconds or last up to about 15 seconds. They tend to occur at intervals of 0.8 seconds. Also, the inner two-thirds of the vagina usually open up even more, while the uterus contracts.

During orgasm, skin flushing generally reaches its maximum. Muscles may keep contracting, while blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate continue to rise. Some women make sounds reflecting the pleasure they are experiencing.

Signs confirming orgasm

Rhythmic muscle contractions occur in the outer third of the vagina, the uterus and anus. The first muscle contractions are the most intense, and occur at a rate of about 1 per second. As the orgasm continues, the contractions become less intense and occur at a more random rate.

• A mild orgasm may have 3 -5 contractions, an intense orgasm 10 -15.
• The "sex flush" (redness) becomes even more pronounced and may cover a greater percentage of the body.
• Muscles throughout the body may contract during orgasm, not just those in the pelvic area.
• Some women will emit or spray some fluid from their urethra during orgasm. This is often called female ejaculation.
• A woman's facial expression may indicate that she is in pain when she is having a pleasurable orgasm.
• At the peak of orgasm the entire body may become momentarily rigid.

What does orgasm feel like?

Women who have never experienced orgasm, and women who are not sure if they have, often ask, "What does an orgasm feel like?" This is a hard, if not impossible, question to answer. Imagine trying to explain to someone what it feels like to sneeze or yawn. Not easy to do. How our senses and brain interpret physical stimuli is subjective, that is dependent solely on the individual's perceptions. Subjective reports frequently mention a sensation of tingling in the spine, brain, and genital areas. While some women relay an experience being on the verge of passing out, others report a level of enjoyment only somewhat less than that of "the earth moving". If a woman has experienced some form of nerve damage, she may not be able to tell if she has had an orgasm.

Female sensual receptors

Although it's true that the entire body is in some way involved during climax, the key sensual receptor will always be the clitoris. Without engaging the "clit" directly or indirectly, there can be no prospect of orgasm. It seems difficult, particularly for men to understand that something as diminutive as the clit could be so vitally important. How could this tiny, almost external appendage be infinitely more sensitive than the vagina itself?

Intuition would make you believe that the lining or walls of the vagina are somehow more akin to the tip penis. Following that logic these two matching surfaces would engage one another during intercourse... resulting in ultimate mutual pleasure, physically and emotionally. Yet for some reason mother nature has played a trick. During intercourse primarily the emotional element comes into play, as the female creates a physical union with male.

There is a simple but not necessarily well known explanation for this circumstance. Unlike the glands of the penis, the vagina has relatively few sensual receptors. Ironically, the deeper the penetration, the fewer the receptors. The relatively few nerve receptors which do exist in the vagina are actually located to the upper third; which in many women may be only marginally sensitive at best.

For a woman to achieve climax the clit must be stimulated in some fashion. This can be accomplished in two ways, directly or indirectly. With the indirect method the males pubic bone may push up against the clit while thrusting during intercourse. Or the penis may rub against the vulva, which because of its proximity to the clit, may result in indirect stimulation. Considering these circumstances it should be evident that indirect stimulation of the clit is not very efficient. It's actually a testimonial to the clit's remarkable sensitivity that indirect stimulation is even sufficient to produce climax for about 30 - 40% of women. Depending on the result of any particular survey.

By most accounts the clit is the counterpart of the tip or "glans" of the penis, with three primary differences: a) the urethra does not pass though the clit. b) it's smaller in size. 3) it's significantly more sensitive due to the greater number of nerve receptors (per square inch) than those found on the glans of the penis.

In this case it should be fair to assume that it's not possible for the majority of women to reach climax solely as a result of intercourse in the missionary position (face to face).

What might be the alternative?

Any position which allows the male partner easy and unrestricted access to the clit. For example: with the male laying on his back, and the female straddling his waist (facing him). In this position it's easily possible for the female to engage in thrusting, while allowing the male to directly stimulate her clit with his fingers.

Another alternative... more secure couples may decide to engage in intercourse with the male entering from the rear. With the female positioned in a forward kneeling position, she would have one hand free. This would allow her to stroke her clit to the point of full climax in concert with the thrusting action of her partner. The Application of this technique may make it possible for the couple to coordinate their efforts of reaching that elusive and highly prized "simultaneous" orgasm.