You may feel a little bit shallow for picking good looks over other qualities in a prospective partner, but doing so may benefit your sexual health and wellbeing. This is according to a new study, published in the journal Evolution & Human Behaviour, which found that women have more orgasms when they’re in bed with attractive partners, or when they sleep with men they rate as more masculine and dominant. It is believe that climaxing at the same time or just after men is the best time to get pregnant, which women who thought their partners were most attractive were more likely to achieve.
Up until recently, the female orgasm was thought to be a bit useless – biologically speaking, of course – yet, more and more studies are supporting the theory that there is an evolutionary function to female orgasms; keeping sperm after sex and promoting conception. This new study, however, may have shown another evolutionary element to the female orgasm; selecting the best genes for reproduction. According to the researchers, ‘Men’s masculinity and attractiveness predict their female partners’ reported orgasm frequency and timing. Although our results require replication, they are consistent with the hypothesis that female orgasm is a copulatory mate choice mechanism, perhaps for selecting high-quality genes for offspring.’
For the study, the researchers interviewed 110 couples from an American university, asking them to detail their experiences with orgasms and whether they climaxed before, after or at the same time as their partner. The researchers asked the women in the study to rate their own attractiveness on a scale of 10 and how dominant or masculine their boyfriend or husband is, while the men were asked to rate their own attractiveness, dominance and masculinity and their partner’s femininity.
The researchers wrote, ‘We found that objective measures of the quality of women’s mates – men’s attractiveness and masculinity – significantly predicted the women’s orgasms. Earlier-timed orgasms suggest more intense sexual arousal and indeed are associated with greater sexual pleasure. Women reported more frequent orgasm during or after male ejaculation when mated to attractive men-those with high scores on a principal component characterised by high observer-rated and self-rated attractiveness. Putative measures of men’s genetic quality did not predict their mates’ orgasms from self-masturbation or from non-coital partnered sexual behaviour. Overall, these results appear to support a role for female orgasm in sire choice.’
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