Female Copulatory Vocalization: Why Moaning is Such a Turn On

Have you ever been curious to listen to your roommate down the hall having sex? Have you been looking for the right porn to watch, but couldn’t quite vibe with any of them? I am going to guess that you weren’t listening for the masculine sound of grunting, you were most likely listening for the moans and cries of ecstasy that come with sex. In evolutionary terms, this is called female copulatory vocalization (FCV). We are going to learn a little bit more about why these moans happen during sex, and the ecstasy and increased pleasure that they can have on all parties involved.

They say you can hear a woman’s cries of ecstasy from up to three hundred meters away. In the midst of passionate stimulation, you can feel an energy building that is deeply rooted in the core. The energy is difficult to contain.

Your breathing increases, blood starts pumping through your body, and that energy continues to grow.

It finally rises to the surface, as you exclaim the sounds of a woman lost in euphoria. The name for this is Female Copulatory Vocalization. Is this just another conundrum facing female sexuality that scientists can’t figure out? As you surrender to the pleasure that your body is giving you and approach orgasm, the moans, groans, and squeals you deliver are foreign even to yourself.

This is the ultimate release of pleasure into your sexual space.

Have you ever woken up from your euphoric state and asked yourself "Was that me?" "Did I really make that noise?". You are not alone there. Did your body take over your ability to control your voice, so much so that you were left with nothing but your primitive instinct to just cry out?

A complete and total loss of inhibition.

It almost has the power to take all of your insecurities away, even if just for a moment, and replace them with sensuality, and lust. So, why is the sound of a female having an orgasm so impossible to ignore? During ovulation, female vocalizations only become more difficult to resist. The sounds align with your urges, and that natural yearn to be ravished becomes even stronger. A touch from a partner, from yourself, even from your toy, overtakes you. You can feel a desire for a stronger grip, a need to continue feeling this feeling.

In Psychology Today, leading sex researcher and author Christopher Ryan tells us a little bit more about why this exists:

“Women aren’t the only female primates who make a lot of noise in the throes of passion. British primatologist Stuart Semple found that, “In a wide variety of species, females vocalize just before, during or immediately after they mate. These vocalizations,” Semple says, “are particularly common among the primates and evidence is now accumulating that by calling, a female incites males in her group….” Precisely. There’s a good reason the sound of a woman enjoying a sexual encounter entices a heterosexual man. Her “copulation call” is a potential invitation to come hither, thus provoking sperm competition.”

According to Ryan, our primate cousins use this evolutionary adaptation to call a potential mate and provoke sperm competition (which is an entirely other conversation in evolutionary sexuality studies).

So the next time you catch yourself moaning in ecstasy, or wonder what came over you, remember that there is some evolutionary basis to the moans and cries that are coming from within you, and all you have to do is let them out.