Genes Influence Female G-Spot Variations
Sara Westen
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Sci/Tech
Dr. Petra Boynton, a sexual psychologist at the University College London, said that an entire industry has grown up around the idea of a G-spot, and it has been unhelpful to label women unable to find theirs as "dysfunctional."
Dr. Boynton said: "We're all different. Some women will have certain areas within the vagina which will be very sensitive, and some won't - but they won't necessarily be in the area called the G-spot."
"If a woman spends all her time worrying whether she is normal, or has a G-spot or not, she will focus on just one area, and ignore everything else . . . It's telling people that there is a single, best way to have sex, which isn't the right thing to do," Boynton added.
In a previous study, Professor Tim Spector and colleagues carried out DNA tests on more than 4,000 women aged 19-83, half of whom were identical and half of whom were non-identical twins. The women were also asked to fill out confidential questionnaires about their sexual lives.
In this study, a third of the women said they never or seldom achieved orgasm, while more than a tenth said they always had an orgasm during intercourse.
More of the women were able to orgasm during masturbation, with 34% always reaching orgasm, BBC News reported. However, in comparison, studies have shown that men fail to orgasm only 2% of the time during intercourse.
Professor Spector, director of the Twin Research Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London said: "We found that between 34 and 45% of the variation in ability to orgasm can be explained by underlying genetic variation. There is a biological underlying influence that can't be attributed purely to upbringing, religion or race. The fact that it is heritable suggests that evolution has a role."
The researchers told the Royal Society journal that the variability might even be beneficial and have evolved to help women find the best male to mate with.
One theory is that the orgasm promotes fertility. Past research shows women are slightly more likely to orgasm during periods of fertility and that sperm uptake is increased during orgasm.
However, Professor Spector said that pinpointing the genes involved in orgasm would take years because there could be hundreds. He noted that it is possible their influence is physical, causing variations in the G-spot, or psychological, such as genes involved in alerting arousal.
However, knowing which genes are important could potentially pave the way to drugs to help women achieve orgasm.
Dr. Boynton said: "We're all different. Some women will have certain areas within the vagina which will be very sensitive, and some won't - but they won't necessarily be in the area called the G-spot."
"If a woman spends all her time worrying whether she is normal, or has a G-spot or not, she will focus on just one area, and ignore everything else . . . It's telling people that there is a single, best way to have sex, which isn't the right thing to do," Boynton added.
In a previous study, Professor Tim Spector and colleagues carried out DNA tests on more than 4,000 women aged 19-83, half of whom were identical and half of whom were non-identical twins. The women were also asked to fill out confidential questionnaires about their sexual lives.
In this study, a third of the women said they never or seldom achieved orgasm, while more than a tenth said they always had an orgasm during intercourse.
More of the women were able to orgasm during masturbation, with 34% always reaching orgasm, BBC News reported. However, in comparison, studies have shown that men fail to orgasm only 2% of the time during intercourse.
Professor Spector, director of the Twin Research Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London said: "We found that between 34 and 45% of the variation in ability to orgasm can be explained by underlying genetic variation. There is a biological underlying influence that can't be attributed purely to upbringing, religion or race. The fact that it is heritable suggests that evolution has a role."
The researchers told the Royal Society journal that the variability might even be beneficial and have evolved to help women find the best male to mate with.
One theory is that the orgasm promotes fertility. Past research shows women are slightly more likely to orgasm during periods of fertility and that sperm uptake is increased during orgasm.
However, Professor Spector said that pinpointing the genes involved in orgasm would take years because there could be hundreds. He noted that it is possible their influence is physical, causing variations in the G-spot, or psychological, such as genes involved in alerting arousal.
However, knowing which genes are important could potentially pave the way to drugs to help women achieve orgasm.
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