Straight Women Are Having Fewer Orgasms Than Everyone Else

Mind the (orgasm) gap.
Straight women report only having an orgasms 65 percent of the time when sexually intimate with their male partners.
Straight women report only having an orgasms 65 percent of the time when sexually intimate with their male partners.
Joseph Mcdermott via Getty Images

A new study has shown that straight women are less likely than any other demographic group to orgasm during sex ― and the reasons why are pretty bleak.

The study, conducted by Chapman University, Indiana University and the Kinsey Institute, shows that the culprit for this orgasm disparity seems to be the lack of agency that straight women take over their own well-deserved pleasure ― and the lack of awareness that straight men have about pleasing their women partners.

More than 52,000 adults of varying sexual identities were surveyed for the study. Heterosexual men reported that they usually or always orgasm 95 percent of the time that they’re sexually intimate. Gay men reported having an orgasm 89 percent of the time, with bisexual men following up close behind at 88 percent. As for women, lesbians reported that they orgasm 86 percent of the time. But when a male partner was introduced into the dynamic, those numbers dropped notably. Bisexual women reported having an orgasm 66 percent of the time. As for heterosexual women, they reported that they usually or always orgasm at a rate of 65 percent.

Women who have their partners engage in foreplay (of the oral variety, for example) were found to have more orgasms, as were heterosexual women who are explicit about asking for what they want from their partner. The authors of the study report:

Women who orgasmed more frequently were more likely to: receive more oral sex, have longer duration of last sex, be more satised with their relationship, ask for what they want in bed, praise their partner for something they did in bed, call/email to tease about doing something sexual, wear sexy lingerie, try new sexual positions, anal stimulation, act out fantasies, incorporate sexy talk, and express love during sex.

The authors of the study recommended that women practice the above activities for more fulfilling sex and more orgasms.

The study also examined the disparity between the amount of orgasms that lesbian women have vs. heterosexual women. The authors concluded that lesbian women likely have a better idea of the workings of female anatomy and a better understanding of clitoral stimulation. The authors also posited that lesbians are better about “turn taking” ― i.e. trading off with their partners to please one another ― than heterosexual men.

The fact that lesbian women reported orgasming at such high rates helped the study’s authors conclude that heterosexual women could (and, in our opinion, should) be having more orgasms.

“The fact that lesbian women orgasmed more often than heterosexual women indicates that many heterosexual women could experience higher rates of orgasms,” the authors write.

“The findings...indicate that the orgasms gap can be reduced by addressing sociocultural factors and by encouraging a wider variety of activities when men and women are sexually intimate.”

This is a small but vital reminder for women to learn what they enjoy ― and for their male partners to listen, and then deliver.

h/t Entity

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