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 argues that evolutionary biologists have historically approached the female orgasm with preconceived notions that have blinded them to the actual empirical data: The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Scie...
A male-centered perspective that assumes female sexuality is a mirror of male sexuality. In men, orgasm is inextricably linked to ejaculation and fertilization; because of this, many scientists have incorrectly assumed it must serve a similar reproductive function in women. Key Arguments and Findings In men, orgasm is inextricably linked to ejaculation
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. Lloyd favors the theory that the female orgasm
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 central theme of Elisabeth Lloyd’s influential book, is that scientific research into female sexuality has been deeply compromised by two main types of prejudice: adaptationism and androcentrism . Core Biases Identified
She highlights that a large percentage of women do not regularly achieve orgasm during vaginal intercourse, a fact that adaptationist theories often fail to account for. If it were a critical reproductive adaptation, one would expect it to be more reliably linked to the act of procreation. Scientific and Social Impact The Case of the Female Orgasm - Harvard University Press