The Case Of The Female Orgasm: Bias In The Scie... May 2026

Lloyd meticulously reviews 21 different evolutionary accounts of the female orgasm. She "knocks down" 20 of them—including the "uterine upsuck" theory—by showing they lack a solid empirical base or ignore known sexological data.

Lloyd favors the theory that the female orgasm is an evolutionary by-product rather than an adaptation. Just as men have nipples because they are a developmental requirement for females, women have the capacity for orgasm because the clitoris and penis develop from the same embryonic tissue. In this view, male orgasm was selected for its reproductive necessity, and female orgasm was "carried along" as a happy accident. The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Scie...

The dogmatic assumption that every biological trait must have an evolutionary purpose—specifically, one that increases reproductive success. Lloyd contends that researchers often invent "just-so stories" to explain why female orgasm helps reproduction, even when the evidence is flimsy or contradictory. Just as men have nipples because they are