Judging from the biological facts, orgasm is the normal termination of the female cycle of sexual stimulation. The orgastic capacity, however, is an achievement gained in the course of psychobiological maturation; it is often interfered with by disturbances of psychosexual development. Recent findings contest the older assumption that there exists a 'purely vaginal' orgasm; rather, the two erogenous zones of clitoris and vagina merge into a functional unit. This would suggest that active as well as passive instinctual needs are satisfied in the orgasm. The sexual role of passivity and receptivity imposed on the female members of society is based on an ideal of femininity that is no longer easily compatible with the high demands made on them by modern competitive society.