Explore: Orgasmo

Orgasm (from Greek ὀργασμός, orgasmos; "excitement, swelling"), sexual climax, or simply climax, is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region. Orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or autonomic nervous system and are experienced by both males and females; the body's response includes muscular spasms (in multiple areas), a general euphoric sensation, and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations. The period after orgasm (known as the resolution phase) is typically a relaxing experience after the release of the neurohormones oxytocin and prolactin, as well as endorphins (or "endogenous morphine"). Human orgasms usually result from physical sexual stimulation of the penis in males (typically accompanied by ejaculation) and of the clitoris (and vagina) in females. Sexual stimulation can be by masturbation or with a sexual partner (penetrative sex, non-penetrative sex, or other sexual activity). Physical stimulation is not a requisite, as it is possible to reach orgasm through psychological means. Getting to orgasm may be difficult without a suitable psychological state. During sleep, a sex dream can trigger an orgasm and the release of sexual fluids (nocturnal emission). The health effects surrounding the human orgasm are diverse. There are many physiological responses during sexual activity, including a relaxed state, as well as changes in the central nervous system, such as a temporary decrease in the metabolic activity of large parts of the cerebral cortex while there is no change or increased metabolic activity in the limbic (i.e., "bordering") areas of the brain. There are sexual dysfunctions involving orgasm, such as anorgasmia. The importance of reaching orgasm for sex to be satisfying varies between individuals, and theories about the biological and evolutionary functions of orgasm differ.

Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American retired actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in the adaptation of two Tennessee Williams plays into the film Baby Doll in 1956. Her role in the film as a coquettish but sexually naïve Southern bride earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Baker had other early film roles in Giant (1956) and the romantic comedy But Not for Me (1959). In 1961, she appeared in the controversial independent film Something Wild, directed by her then-husband Jack Garfein, playing a traumatized rape victim. She went on to star in several critically acclaimed Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, such as The Big Country (1958), How the West Was Won (1962), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). In the mid-1960s, as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, Baker became a sex symbol after appearing as a hedonistic widow in The Carpetbaggers (1964). The film's producer, Joseph E. Levine, cast her in Sylvia before giving her the role of Jean Harlow in the biopic Harlow (1965). Despite significant prepublicity, Harlow was a critical failure, and Baker relocated to Italy in 1966 amid a legal dispute over her contract with Paramount and Levine's overseeing of her career. In Europe, she spent the next 10 years starring in hard-edged giallo and horror films, including Romolo Guerrieri's The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968), a series of four films with Umberto Lenzi beginning with Orgasmo (1969) and ending with Knife of Ice (1972), and Corrado Farina's Baba Yaga (1973). She re-emerged for American audiences as a character actress in the Andy Warhol–produced dark comedy Bad (1977). Baker appeared in supporting roles in several acclaimed dramas in the 1980s, including the true-crime drama Star 80 (1983) as the mother of murder victim Dorothy Stratten, and the racial drama Native Son (1986), based on the novel by Richard Wright. In 1987, she had a supporting part in Ironweed (1987). Through the 1990s, Baker had guest roles in several television series, such as Murder, She Wrote; L.A. Law, and Roswell. She also had supporting parts in several big-budget films, such as Kindergarten Cop (1990) and the David Fincher–directed thriller The Game (1997). She formally retired from acting in 2003. In addition to acting, Baker is also the author of two autobiographies and two novels.