WIKIMEDIA, FINDLEY PALMERSome female mammals ovulate spontaneously, like humans, while other species do not ovulate until stimulated. And in some species, this stimulation comes in the form of hormone surges during and after sex. Mihaela Pavličev of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio and Günter Wagner of Yale University now propose that the female orgasm may have evolved as the ovulation-triggering event in these species, and it thus may serve no biological function in species like humans that release eggs without stimulation. The researchers published their ideas this week (July 31) in the Journal of Experimental Zoology.
“I’m pretty excited that it’s being published because people are going to start talking about female orgasms and getting a fresh look at how much we don’t know about female orgasms,” Indiana University philosopher Elisabeth Lloyd told The New York Times.
There is little evidence for the old idea that the female orgasm helps increase the changes of conception. Other hypotheses include that the female orgasm is a side effect of the required male orgasm, or that orgasms evolved in the relatively recent past to foster loyalty between lovers. Pavličev and Wagner’s work now adds another possibility to the list.
Although women do not need sex to stimulate ovulation, they do undergo the hormonal surges seen in mammals with induced ovulation; women undergo these ...
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