There's no denying the disparity existing between men and women when it comes to orgasms. Scientists call the phenomenon 'orgasm gap'. And while women's orgasms are not a myth, the lingering issue continues to be the uncertainty over how a woman's orgasms occur.
In simple terms, the orgasm gap refers to the fact that in most cases of heterosexual sexual encounters, men have more orgasms than women - or are at least more likely to orgasm, than women are.
PhD candidates Gonzalo Quintana Zunino and Conall Mac Cionnaith, sexual behavior researchers in the lab of Dr. James Pfaus at Concordia University, Canada, decided to explore the 'controversy' of clitoral versus vaginal orgasms, in an article they wrote for The Conversation.
Based on this idea, the two conducted a literary review, via taking into account the current evidence and perspectives on how this occurs in women, considering the topic has led to scientific, political and cultural debate for over a century.
The two explained the idea of women's orgasms as a phenomenon that occurs from "complex interaction of several physiological and psychological systems all at once."
But men's ability to orgasm more easily than women, shouldn't be regarded as the norm. While this is partly due to what happens in the bedroom, and indeed everybody has different preferences when it comes to sex, every woman knows when she orgasms and when she does not.
"We don't always orgasm every time we have sex, and that can be just fine, because we may have sex for many different reasons. However, studies repeatedly show that women reach climax less often than men do during sexual encounters together," they wrote.
The duo mentioned that "A national survey conducted in the United States showed that women reported one orgasm for every three from men. Heterosexual males said they achieved orgasm usually or always during sexual intimacy, 95 percent of the time."
The two blame most of this on how sexual education in school always kept the idea of enjoying sex out of the syllabuses. Sex-ed is mostly about how to have safe sex and how to avoid pregnancy or STDs.
"How about pleasure or how to have fun and to explore what we like, how to communicate to our partners and many other crucial aspects of intimate life?" the duo ask. "The key to the ultimate goal of enjoying ourselves is to know what you and your partner want and how to satisfy each other."
The two believe that sex-ed should be more than just about reproduction. "Maybe the first thing we should learn about sex is that it is one of the favorite pastimes of adults. Preventing it from happening will only increase the likelihood of future generations engaging in it more, only with less knowledge about how to get the most out of it."
Speaking about the existing orgasm gap, the two said: "Our first reaction to the orgasm gap may be to point fingers and find someone to blame: cultural attitudes, religion, society, the educational system, your ex."
And to overcome the said gap, communication is the key, they believe. "Understanding what a partner wants, how, when, where, or for how long, requires openness, trust and, most importantly, communication."
They further add: "We could all be more open and humble, and acknowledge that with a good attitude and a good teacher, everyone gets better at it."
