What is an orgasm? The highly pleasurable peak of intense sexual excitement and release of sexual tension, characterized by involuntary contractions of the muscles of the genitals, and accompanied by a dramatic increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. Orgasm is usually observed with the ejaculation of semen in males and by vaginal contractions in females. Why is the female orgasm so fickle? Males are very likely to experience an orgasm after sexual arousal; however, ladies find that the “Big O” is much more capricious or unpredictable. The answer may lie in evolutionary science which asks the question, what is the function of the female orgasm anyway? Researcher Elisabeth Lloyd, author of The Case of the Female Orgasm, observes that male orgasm is required for reproduction since it is usually associated with ejaculation and the transfer of sperm through seminal fluid. By contrast, female orgasm may be the equivalent of male nipples – an evolutionary holdover which is hard