Orgasm is the way your body responds to being sexually excited. When orgasms happen, your body gets tense and blood flows to your genital region. Muscles in the genital area contract to release that tension. And it feels good. Some people say orgasms feel like a slow build-up with an intense—or peak—moment of excitement. Others say their entire body tingles. Everybody feels different. Often people experience their first orgasm through masturbation.

Men and women usually have orgasms in different ways and at different times. The simultaneous orgasms you see in the movies seem swell, but it hardly ever happens that way. Most men are able to have orgasms during sexual intercourse, but many women aren't. Most women need direct stimulation of their clitoris to have an orgasm.

Usually men ejaculate (release a whitish fluid from the tip of the penis) when they have an orgasm. Most women don't ejaculate (although a small number say they do, see the G-Spot FAQ). Some women have a difficult time reaching orgasm - it either takes a long time or doesn't happen at all. Some women can have one orgasm after another. Most men need time to rest in between orgasms.