At the very least, we might expect the evolved regulatory mechanisms to coordinate the orgasms of men and women. But orgasms are not only uncoordinated, they are systematically sooner for men than women. This bias is one of the more unfortunate illustrations of the principle that natural selection shapes us to maximize reproduction, not satisfaction. Imagine the reproductive success of a man who tends to come to orgasm very slowly. He might please his partner, but if the sex act is interrupted or his partner has been satisfied and does not want to continue, his sperm will sometimes not get to where they will do his genes any good. The same forces shape the timing of the female sexual response. A woman who rapidly has a single orgasm may, on occasion, stop intercourse before her partner ejaculates and thus will have fewer offspring than the woman with a more leisurely sexual response.
A closer look reveals that there may be a system to adjust male sexual timing according to the particular circumstances. Premature ejaculation is common mainly in young men, especially when they are in anxiety-provoking situations. According to anthropologists who study hunter-gatherer cultures, the liaisons of young men are often illicit and would be dangerous if discovered by older men. In such circumstances, brevity of the sexual act may be especially adaptive. These ideas are mere speculation now, but they deserve consideration.
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