In Honor of National Orgasm Day, Here's the Difference Between Male and Female Orgasms
As National Orgasm Day approaches this Sunday, nerdy YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE is here to bring up the timeless question: Are all orgasms created equal?
In a new video entitled "Male vs. Female Orgasms — Which Is Better?" the team dives into a number of statistics and studies to explore the differences between how (and how often) men and women get off.
To begin, the AsapSCIENCE team cites research stating the average female orgasm lasts 20 seconds or longer, as compared to the 3- to 10-second male average.
One point for the ladies!
But as per usual with male/female orgasm statistics, things really get interesting when the orgasm gap — aka the idea that men come pretty much every time they get laid and women only come on special occasions and/or never — is brought up.
The statistic AsapSCIENCE uses is from a 2006 Australian study, which found men typically orgasm in 95% of their sexual encounters while women only do so in 69% of theirs. More research to suggest the orgasm gap exists can found in Cosmopolitan's Female Orgasm Survey from 2015, which determined 57% of women have orgasms "most or every time they have sex with a partner," while their partners orgasm 95% of the time.
When it comes to nonheterosexual couples, though, AsapSCIENCE pointed out the orgasm gap isn't really an issue: Gay men tend to orgasm just as much as straight men (i.e. most of the time), and lesbians are orgasming 12% more than their straight female counterparts. One imagines this is because — unlike some straight men — the majority of women probably have a deep understanding of what it takes to get a woman off, and are willing to take the time to do so.
The video suggests the disparity between straight women and lesbians might have something to do with the duration of the sexual encounter, as some research says the average bout of lesbian sex lasts 15 minutes longer than the average heterosexual encounter. It also proposes that a woman's ability to orgasm may just be something that is predicted by genetics.
The elephant in the educational YouTube video, of course, is that it could all just be because some straight men don't really know (and/or care to know) how to get a woman off. In an explainer for Slate in 2013, sex researcher Debby Herbenick hinted that low-key cultural sexism could play a role in the orgasm gap.
"It's partly social; our culture gives more value to behaviors that result in orgasm for men," she said. "But I also think — and many people would agree — that men's genitals are easier to focus stimulation on than women's are."
But it's not all doom and gloom for straight women who want to achieve orgasm during sex!
A new study from SKYN Condoms, shared in a press release sent to Mic, surveyed more than 5,000 18- to 34-year-olds and found "millennial females are achieving orgasm nearly as often as men during sex." Specifically, 89% of women reported they typically orgasm during sex, which isn't wildly far off from the 97% of men who reported the same.
Perhaps in yet another generation or two, the gap will close even more. But until then, a happy National Orgasm Day to all! "Glory be/ Let us pray/ May you come a lot on this special day" — an ancient National Orgasm Day blessing.
You can watch the full AsapSCIENCE video below:
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