Orgasm Facts
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Americans like to talk about orgasms a lot. Most Americans like to have orgasms a lot. But how much do we generally know about orgasms and their patterns? You might be surprised (or even relieved!) by what you will learn by reading on…
In 1966, researchers , studied the physiology of orgasms in depth and created the first and most well known model of the sexual response cycle (1).
Did you know there are *three* basic patterns of orgasms that people with vaginas have (2)?
The first pattern is what you typically see in books or movies- it includes arousal, orgasm, and either cycles back to arousal or ends and recovery begins.
The second pattern is more like a series of mini-orgasms rather than one big one.
The third pattern is very “male” in that there is no cycling back to arousal and instead the body goes into a long refractory period during which arousal is not possible.
Because this these other two types of AFAB orgasm are not known about, I was nearly FORTY when I learned that my orgasm pattern is actually TOTALLY NORMAL and that I wasn’t dysfunctional for my inability to have multiple orgasms.
William H. Masters and Virginia Johnson
Masters and Johnson's work was groundbreaking and revolutionary and is still very relevant today - however, they never studied things like desire or emotional factors. They also only studied sex through a heteronormative and phallocentric lens, assuming orgasm was the "point" of sex (1).
Rosemary Basson
So in 1999, Rosemary Basson came up with a revised model...
Basson's revised model of the sexual response cycle attempted to account for these oversights by studying emotions and desire and by de-centering the orgasm from the overall sexual experience (3).
More orgasm facts:
Studies have shown that only between 15-47% of vagina owners can have multiple orgasms (4).
Orgasms are not required for enjoyable sex!
More research is needed for trans, enby, and intersex folx!
Orgasms have been shown to (5):
improve mood and emotional closeness
regulate menstruation
boost immune system
help with pain
improve brain function
And never forget CONSENT!
Now you know. And now you can be as smug as Meg Ryan is after she, er, proves her point.
Sources:
Risa Lieblum, Sandra. “CME: Redefining Female Sexual Response.” Contemporary OBGyn, 1 Nov. 2000, www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/cme-redefining-female-sexual-response.
Brown, Ginny. “5 Awesome Things About Being Mini-Orgasmic.” Everyday Feminism, 10 Mar. 2016, everydayfeminism.com/2016/03/being-mini-orgasmic/.
Flannery, Jo. “What Basson's Sexual Response Cycle Teaches Us About Sexuality.” Lifeworks Psychotherapy, 3 Nov. 2017, www.lifeworkspsychotherapy.com/bassons-sexual-response-cycle-teaches-us-sexuality/.
Weiss, Suzannah. “Not All People With Vaginas Have Multiple Orgasms & This Sex Myth Is More Problematic Than You Think.” Bustle, Bustle, 14 Sept. 2017, www.bustle.com/p/not-all-people-with-vaginas-have-multiple-orgasms-this-sex-myth-is-more-problematic-than-you-think-2305091.
Thorpe, JR. “A Brief History Of The Female Orgasm, From Medieval To Modern Times.” Bustle, Bustle, 2 Mar. 2015, www.bustle.com/articles/66678-a-brief-history-of-the-female-orgasm-from-medieval-to-modern-times.
