The Science Behind Valuing Women’s Orgasms

Originating in Brazil, August 8th is celebrated as International Female Orgasm Day. The purpose of this day is to recognize that women’s orgams—and their overall sexual pleasure—are just as important as men’s when it comes to sex. In this blog, we’re going to highlight some research that speaks to this goal, including how the orgasm gap persists across the lifespan and what it really means to prioritize women’s orgasms. 

The Persistent Nature of the Orgasm Gap

Odds are, you’re probably familiar with the concept of the orgasm gap, which refers to the greater frequency and consistency of orgasms heterosexual men report having compared to heterosexual women during partnered sex. The gap is sizable, with men orgasming far more often than women during. [1]

One study, published in 2024 by researchers affiliated with The Kinsey Institute, assessed how persistent the orgasm gap is over the lifespan. [1] More specifically, the researchers were interested in whether there were any differences in how wide this gap was with respect to age. Data from the Singles in America study was used to answer this question, representing 24,752 participants across eight timepoints from 2015 to 2023. 

Findings showed that the orgasm gap exists across all age groups, such that “men’s orgasm rates ranged from 70% to 85%, while women’s ranged from 46% to 58%.” [1, p. 4] Thus, regardless of age, men consistently report higher orgasm rates than women.

When Are Women’s Orgasms Valued (And When Are They Not?) 

As described by Wetzel and colleagues, “devaluing” is an “attitudinal shift: placing less importance, or value, on a particular outcome or goal domain.” [2, p. 2]. Devaluing orgasms means that they are no longer considered to be the “endpoint” of a sexual interaction, and less importance is placed on the occurrence of orgasms altogether. When it comes to women’s orgasms, there may be a few reasons why they are devalued. Devaluing one’s own orgasms can be a self-protective measure in the event of infrequent orgasms, but it also may be due broader sociocultural devaluation of women’s pleasure writ large. [2] 

Over the course of three experimental studies, Wetzel’s research team used hypothetical scenarios to assess when women’s orgasms were devalued. Women devalued their own orgasms “when they imagined they had a history of infrequent orgasms and were not orgasming with their current partner.” This finding supports the idea that devaluing orgasms may be a self-protective factor for women experiencing low orgasm rates.

Among men, women’s hypothetically low orgasm rates seemed to be a relationship threat, and men devalued women’s orgasms similarly to women in these scenarios. [2] Thus, devaluing orgasm might act as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy for women: decreased orgasm frequency may result in deprioritizing women’s orgasms during partnered sex, subsequently decreasing orgasm frequency over time. 

Impacts of Narratives about Women’s Orgasms

In a previous blog, we discussed whether orgasm should be the goal of sex. While valuing women’s orgasms is important to closing the orgasm gap, it does reaffirm the orgasmic imperative that sex is only “successful” if orgasm is reached. In her critical feminist review, Sara Chadwick interrogates this contradiction: she considers how narratives surrounding women’s orgasm can work to promote women’s sexual pleasure, yet they can also be limiting when it comes to women’s sexual liberation overall. [3]

One example of this contradiction Chadwick outlines stems from the idea that orgasms always reflect pleasurable sex. It’s true that orgasms oftentimes result from pleasurable sexual experiences, and making women’s orgasms a “goal” of sex may make it so men are more invested in their partner’s pleasure. In fact, some men may feel a sense of achievement when they are successful in helping their partner orgasm, thus valuing women’s pleasure. [3]

Yet, orgasms are not always the result of pleasurable sex. We know that orgasm can occur during sex that is unwanted, and additional research tells us that pressure to help someone else achieve orgasm may lead to coercive tactics. [3, 4] In this case, a focus on orgasm as an inherent sexual “goal” can be contradictory to women’s sexual pleasure such that it recreates heterosexual scripts that limit opportunities for women’s pleasure beyond orgasm itself. 

Given the research covered above, International Female Orgasm Day is an important reminder that orgasm inequity exists between heterosexual men and women. However, closing this gap requires more than just a focus on increasing the number of orgasms that women have. Rather, a focus on sexual pleasure itself is necessary for sexual parity. 

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References

[1] Gesselman, A. N., Bennett-Brown, M., Dubé, S., Kaufman, E. M., Campbell, J. T., & Garcia, J. R. (2024). The lifelong orgasm gap: Exploring age’s impact on orgasm rates. Sexual Medicine, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/sexmed/qfae042

[2] Wetzel, G. M., Svensson, H., Cole, S., & Sanchez, D. T. (2026). Devaluing women’s orgasm: An experimental investigation of whether, when, and to what effect women and men reduce the importance of women’s orgasm. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672261417538

[3] Chadwick, S. B. (2024). The prioritization of women’s orgasms during heterosex: A critical feminist review of the implications for women’s sexual liberation. The Journal of Sex Research, 61(9), 1278–1297. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024.2399153

[4] Chadwick, S. B., & van Anders, S. M. (2022). Orgasm coercion: Overlaps between pressuring someone to orgasm and sexual coercion. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51(1), 633–651. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02156-9