Why do female orgasms exist? The reason may be more complicated than you think

Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally" (Credit: MGM Studios)

A new study suggests that orgasms help women choose better partners -- but it's a subject that is hotly debated

TRACY CLARK-FLORY

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkflory on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s a question that few women would think to ask: Why does the female orgasm exist? More likely is, “Where is my female orgasm?” — or, for the easily orgasmic, “More, please?” But it’s a query that has nonetheless plagued sex researchers for decades, and a new study has proposed an answer: that the female orgasm helps women choose better partners. More specifically — and perhaps unflatteringly to women — researchers found that “how often a woman experienced orgasm as a result of sexual intercourse was related to their partner’s family income.” They also found that “his self-confidence” and “how attractive he was” also factored in.

The orgasmic explanation proposed by the study, which is a “preliminary investigation” and by no means definitive, isn’t new. There has long existed a schism in expert thinking around the raison d’être of lady-gasms. In one camp, you have what I like to call the reproductive successers. In the other, the “byproduct” believers. (I hope I’m not the only one picturing a snapping “West Side Story” scene here. Only with super-raunchy gang signs.) And even the former group breaks down into several warring factions (and none of them attempt to address why lesbians have orgasms — and more of them). Given this latest study, which in recent days has revived debate among sex researchers, I figured I would break down the arguments into a language the Internet understands — that of the listicle, of course. (+)>>>