It's in Her Genes
The UK Royal Society's Biology Letters published a twins study that found a genetic link to women's ability to achieve an orgasm.
Abstract:
Orgasmic dysfunction in females is commonly reported in the general population with little consensus on its aetiology. We performed a classical twin study to explore whether there were observable genetic influences on female orgasmic dysfunction. Adult females from the TwinsUK register were sent a confidential survey including questions on sexual problems. Complete responses to the questions on orgasmic dysfunction were obtained from 4037 women consisting of 683 monozygotic and 714 dizygotic pairs of female twins aged between 19 and 83 years. One in three women (32%) reported never or infrequently achieving orgasm during intercourse, with a corresponding figure of 21% during masturbation. A significant genetic influence was seen with an estimated heritability for difficulty reaching orgasm during intercourse of 34% (95% confidence interval 27–40%) and 45% (95% confidence interval 38–52%) for orgasm during masturbation. These results show that the wide variation in orgasmic dysfunction in females has a genetic basis and cannot be attributed solely to cultural influences. These results should stimulate further research into the biological and perhaps evolutionary processes governing female sexual function.
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Comments
I heard this on the radio this morning - with a local twist. Medtronic (local medical technology firm well-known for pacemakers and the like) was experimenting with a device which relieved back pain by applying electrical currents to nerves along the spine. They were experimenting with other sorts of pain, and found that in a percentage of women, some of the muscles are more ... interconnected than others, and a number of women "burned out" their batteries far in advance of expectation due to the unintended benefits the device provided. Some husbands reported problems with their wives being unable to walk - not because of pain, but because of wobbly knees...
Just chalk it up to further proof that just about anything can be fixed by a suitable application of duct tape, explosives, or electrical current.
Posted by: John Dominik | June 8, 2005 08:21 AM