Women Open Up About How They Really Feel About Anal Sex

Anal sex is a great way to keep things interesting in the bedroom, but it's safe to say that it's not for everyone. While some really love it, others find themselves completely put off by it. For the most part, men seem to be the most into it, but how do women really feel about it? Here, 15 women on Reddit spill the beans.

Lots of lube. ”I love it IF: 1) there is a lot of lube available and, 2) the penetrating party moves slowly and lets me get used to it, and 3) I can get some clitoral stimulation at the same time,” says Reddit user JessHWV.

Fingering. ”I have had really great anal experiences, and I've had really painful bad ones. I'm sort of neutral towards the whole thing. If a guy is really into it then I can get down with that, but I'm rarely begging for someone to put their d*** up my a**. I usually really enjoy anal fingering though. That generally feels awesome,” says Reddit user lemonylips.

Pain. ”I enjoy it, I like it because it feels different to vaginal sex it's also because my butt is tiny, I'm a little bit of pain-slut and anal can be painful. I first tried it when a girl I was dating said in the middle of some pretty rough strap-on sex "do you want it in your but" I went f***it and said "YES!" and then BAM! It was in my butt and it was really really sore at first but you loosen up after a few seconds. You can go slowly as well which reduces the pain and lets you get used to something being in your butt,” says Reddit user 1_1_2_3_5_8_13_21_34.

Unique feeling. ”I love it. My first experience with anal was with an ex, and he kind of...didn't want to tell me what was gonna happen next? So yes, literally surprise buttsex. That was terrible. However! My boyfriend now is awesome at it. He eases into it and I dunno, it's a unique feeling that I enjoy,” says Reddit user neenqueen.

Curious. ”I've tried it multiple times out of sheer curiosity. Every time, it felt like I was doing a big, backwards poop. Not sure if I found the sensation pleasurable, or just a bit strange. Probably the latter,” says Reddit user becky87.

Naughty. ”I enjoy it. I like that it feels different, sort of "naughty" if you will. I think a lot of the enjoyment is psychological for me. I'm doing something cliche that my partner enjoys, which is a huge turn on, and it's also a different kind of domination/control he has over me in the moment,” says Reddit user msbubbles326.

Thrill. ”Absolutely love it, gives me more of thrill. First time hurt like hell, depends on the partner and the patience/preparedness of both people. Started off by wanting something new to try. Also it is a good way to get off during that time of the month without making a bloody mess (literally),” says Reddit user TerrifyinglyAwesome.

Hassle. ”I like it a lot but I'm not desperate for it because it is just a hassle. You've got to do some prep and be prepared for things to get a little dirty because sometimes they do. It's great once in awhile, but will never be something I do often,” says an anonymous Reddit user.

Curious. ”I tried it with my ex out of curiosity, but it really wasn't my thing. There were a couple of times where it was somewhat pleasurable, but the pain kinda won out. Also, anal by itself was never too enjoyable; I needed to build up to it with vaginal sex first,” says Reddit user la_salope_domestique.

Different orgasm. ”I enjoy it. I'm a sensory junkie (I'm also a bit of a masochist) and I appreciate how it generates a totally different feeling during sex. And a way different orgasm, too,” says Reddit user mistyknits.

Pleasure. ”Yes, can be very pleasurable , also can be very painful. It's called LISTENING and angulation. Gay friends give great tips. Also gay friends are great for blow job tips. Can be very pleasurable unless your with a thoughtless idiot. Hilarious gay friend always toasts drinks "Up the bum no babies" ALWAYS makes me laugh,” says Reddit user 07nightsky.

Done right. ”I only tried it twice but I liked it (the second time). I think that when done right, it can be great. I have a friend who can only orgasm this way,” says Reddit user frenchybop.

Kinky. ”I feel like it's worth a try. I didn't feel the urge to try until I was pregnant, and I actually enjoyed it because my husband was very easy about it. I can't say I love anal but every few months I feel a little kinky and like getting pounded in the a**. In all honesty, it's more for my husband than myself but I enjoy pleasing him. I can cum if I rub my clit but I've never had an orgasm from penetration alone,” says Reddit user mrspoke.

Practice. ”I've tried anal several times. It hurt a lot the first few, and then after that I just realized I didn't like the sensation. Some women like it, some don't - and more than that, it takes practice to find out,” says an anonymous Reddit user.

Preparation. ”I personally love it. It took a few times before the weird uncomfortable feeling turned to pleasure. And of course there was some pain in the beginning. But if you don't prepare yourself properly it can really ruin the experience to where you never want to try again. I would recommend wearing a butt plug before your first time. Also having an orgasm beforehand loosens up the muscles and seems to make it easier,” says Reddit user countrygirl1107.

Penis Size Envy Could Be Killing Your Man’s Sex Moves, According to Study

Ladies, listen up: have you ever heard of penis size envy? A new study has found that it could be the very thing that’s killing your man’s sex moves in the bedroom. So, want to know what it is and how it might be affecting your — and his — orgasms? Then read on below as we highlight how penis size envy is impacting your relationship in between the sheets.

What are your thoughts on the study's findings? Sound off in the comments section! 

Penis size envy. Published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, a new study has discovered that how men feel about their penises actually influences their pleasure in the bedroom. Namely, the findings suggest that penis size envy could be killing a man’s sex life. Yes, seriously.

The study. For the study, researchers surveyed over 4,000 men to ascertain if how they felt about their penises impacted their sex lives. So, what’d the researchers find? That how men feel about their members does, indeed, impact their orgasms with a partner. Uh-oh.

Unhappy. Researchers found that 27 percent of the men were unhappy with how their members looked flaccid. Meanwhile, 19 percent of participants were not satisfied with how their penises looked erect, The Advocate reports.

Happy. That brings us to how many men were actually happy with their penises overall. The number? A measly 14 percent. Ouch.

Sex. Let’s get to the sex portion of the study, shall we? According to The Advocate, the guys’ dissatisfaction with their members had impacted their sex lives— and not in a good way.

Sex. Nearly 50 percent of the participants who were satisfied with their penises got it on at least once a week. This was in comparison to 39 percent of guys who were dissatisfied. Clearly, dudes who are not as happy about their peckers are having way less sex.

Concluded. Overall, researchers concluded that being embarrassed or ashamed of one’s penis leads to anxiety in between the sheets, according to The Advocate. And this… well, this leads to sex avoidance. Makes sense, right?

Men. While the study’s findings are great and all, we wanted to hear from men first-hand about their experiences with their penis. So, we turned to Reddit for some answers. Take a look at the next upcoming slides that highlight seven dudes answering the almighty question: are you satisfied with the size of your penis?

User “moseph999.” "I don't think any guy really is ever satisfied because there's nobody going around saying "hey, nice dick" so the best thing to do is just roll with it since it's all you got and ya can't really change it without a risky surgery."

User “palaverofbirds.” "Yes. I'm not at the extremes of the bell curve, and for that I'm thankful."

User “Dennis__Reynolds.” "I'm a grower not a shower. Kinda wish I was a shower. But once I'm up I'm Nice. Source: South Park"

User “jimmyg100.” "Yeah, it's in the average, nothing wrong with that.

Just remember it's not always about size. Hell, most of the girly parts that enjoy sex are right at the front of the vagina. If you know how to find the clit and the g-spot you've got nothing to worry about. And if you don't know where they are, open a book and find out because they're kinda important."

User “Socially_sexual.” "Hard to say. Gf says it's perfect and big, I think it's painfully average and not thick to my liking. Also curved upward. So I guess no, I'm not satisfied? I'm sure if it was bigger and hurt my SO during sex often I wouldn't be satisfied either. If I had to choose I'd still take another inch in length and girth though."

User “effingeenyus.” "Yes, definitely. If it were like a half inch bigger I'd probably try to get into porn, but as it stands I'm quite pleased. It never disappoints and rarely causes pain.

The only problem is that the body it's attached to, the personality housed inside that body, and the bank account that personality has access to conspire to eliminate any desire for anyone out there but me to appreciate the adequacy of my swinging meat."

User “SterlingVaper.” "Yes. I'm a little above average (nothing to write home about), but ever since I started having sex I haven't felt the least bit insecure. At first it bothered me that I was a grower not a shower, but once I realized that guys didn't really care (if they're going to make fun of you they'll find a reason) and girls have never been disappointed when they first see it (which seems like it would have been crushing in my teenage years).

At this point I'm just grateful for what I have, and apparently it's pretty which is nice."

Wake Up The Right Way With This Alarm Clock Sex Toy

Unless you’re a morning person, chances are you hate getting woken up every morning by the screeching sound of your alarm clock. It’s not the most pleasant way to wake up, but its necessary to start your day and get where you need to be on time. But recently, a company released an alarm clock that wakes you up—with an orgasm. Their product is called the Little Rooster, and it’s meant to be worn inside your underwear. Instead of a loud sound, you’re woken up with gentle vibrations that are guaranteed to bring you pleasure.

What do you think?

What are your thoughts on this? Share them with us in the comments below!

Alarm clock. The Little Rooster is an alarm clock designed to wake you up with a vibrating sensation as opposed to a loud sound. However, it’s meant to be worn in your underwear, which means that depending on the setting, you could be waking up with an orgasm.

Vibrations. According to the company’s website, there are 27 different levels you can choose from which vary from light vibrations to heavy ones. The vibrations begin at the time you’ve set the alarm for, but instead of placing it on the nightstand next to you, you wear it in your underwear.

Aroused. “Like waking sexy? Love Little Rooster. Wake slowly. Sensually. Pleasurably. Feeling confident. Happy. Aroused. Little Rooster. Wake Sexy,” reads the website. For about $90, the alarm clock could be yours. However, the alarm isn’t meant to be worn in bed. Other women who have purchased it say they’ve used it while out on a date or running errands.

Dates. “It made me feel so naughty, sitting in a crowded cafe with a man I'd just met, him not knowing why I couldn't focus on his words,” said one user. "I actually once set mine to go off twenty minutes into a Tinder date,” said another.

Women. According to the creator of the Little Rooster, 40-year-old Tony Maggs, the product is created for women who hate waking up in the morning. It’s a much better wake up call than a regular alarm clock and it allows for her to ease into the day.

Pleasure. ”Most alarm clocks work by irritating you until you wake up and, as a result, you wake in a bad mood. I figured that an alarm that woke you with pleasure would turn the act of waking up into an enjoyable experience and make mornings happier—and it does!” Maggs told Vice.

Orders. Maggs says they’ve received orders from women all over the world who are eager to try the product out for themselves. While most use it for pleasure, one woman told Maggs that she uses it because she’s deaf, and it helps her wake up.

Snooze. ”I’m always amazed at how creative people are. The woman who uses Little Rooster so she can have a snooze on the train in to work and get off at the right stop, for example. That's just brilliant!” says Maggs, as reported by Vice.

Product. While this product is meant for women, the company says they’re working on a similar product meant for men. If you are thinking of purchasing the product however, you should make sure you do your research before hand. There are similar alarms out there that fall short of the expectations the Little Rooster sets.

Electrocuted. One woman went viral after she posted a video of herself reviewing the Clit-O-Clock, a similar alarm clock that is also meant to be worn in your underwear. However, the woman says instead of being awoken with an orgasm, she was electrocuted.

Intoxicated. Granted, it may have been her fault. Loretta Jenkins says that she came home one night while intoxicated, and woke up in the middle of the night because she realized she had peed herself. Because she had the alarm clock in her underwear, she was electrocuted.

Viral. The woman’s video went viral after she uploaded it to YouTube, labeling it a PSA for the Clit-O-Clock. No word on whether or not the company reached out to her, but it’s safe to say Jenkins probably won’t be using the product again regardless.

Other products. The Wake-Up Vibe is another alarm which wakes you up in a similar way. It’s shaped slightly differently, but it’s purpose is essentially the same. The Wake-Up vibe casts $70, and comes in multiple different colors.

Addictive. ”Keep the vibe in your panties during the night. It is shaped to the curves of the female body and exceptionally thin. Toss and turn and it wills tay in place,” reads the website. “Start the day with good vibrations. Your favorite vibrating pattern will wake you up. Be careful of being late, its addictive.”

You. Would you ever try any of these products? Why or why not? Do you think an alarm clock that wakes you up with an orgasm is a good idea? Or is it a recipe for disaster? Let us know what you think in the comments section below! We want to hear from you!

Woman Constantly Begs Boyfriend for Sex Due to Rare Genital Condition

A young woman who appeared on the BBC Three show “Living Differently” has explained how a rare genital condition leaves her begging her boyfriend for sex on an almost daily basis. 23-year-old Amanda Laughlin suffers from Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, a condition in which she feels like she always wants to have an orgasm, and it causes shooting pains in her legs and pelvis. Amanda explained to viewers that the disorder has left her housebound and unable to work, and it took years to get an accurate diagnosis.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!

Woman has disorder that leaves her desperate for sex. A 23-year-old woman recently revealed on the BBC Three show “Living Differently” that as a result of being sexually aroused all of the time, she begs her partner for sex daily in a bid to ease her symptoms. Amanda Laughlin has a rare condition called Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD), which leaves her with the sensation that she is about to have an orgasm all the time.

Family thought woman was just loose. Amanda has suffered from the condition since the age of 13, and her mother Victoria explains that the family initially believed that her daughter “was just a whore.” Apart from acute persistent arousal, the condition, which is rare but affects women regardless of age, also causes sharp pains in the legs and pelvic muscles.

Woman is always aroused. According to Amanda, it isn’t any “fun to be aroused all the time.” “It’s non-stop,” she explains.

Disorder makes relationships challenging. Amanda met her fiance JoJo a year ago and says that he is a great support. She says that with her condition it is “very hard to keep” relationships.

Sex helps temporarily. Amanda says that JoJo has never judged her or made her feel bad about the fact that the condition has left her housebound and unable to work. She admits that the disorder affects their sex life dramatically, as her symptoms are only eased temporarily by having sex.

She sometimes begs for sex. Amanda explains that sometimes she cries and begs JoJo to have sex with her “just to relieve some of the pressure” that she feels in her genital area. She says that she believes that her whole life would be different without the disorder. For one, she says, she would be happier.

Took years to get the right diagnosis. It took many years before Amanda was given the right diagnosis. At first, doctors said that there was nothing wrong before telling her that she had a sex addiction.

Finally diagnosed with persistent genital arousal disorder. It was only when Amanda’s symptoms became so severe that they triggered a panic attack that medical experts began to explore it more. Then finally in 2013, they told her that she was suffering from persistent genital arousal disorder.

She masturbated a lot as a teen. “No one ever believed me,” says Amanda, “I kept saying, ‘I need to have sex, I have to orgasm.'” She says that between the ages of 15 and 18 years old, she masturbated a lot more than other teenagers would.

She also had a lot of sex. Amanda’s mother Victoria says that she noticed that something was wrong with her daughter once she became sexually active. Victoria says Amanda would have a lot of sex, which led the family to believe that she was simply a “whore.”

Her mother feels guilty that she doubted her. Victoria says she feels guilty now because she doubted Amanda when she tried to explain to her that she believed something was wrong. She says that she thought that her daughter was just a hypochondriac and believed doctors when they said nothing was wrong.

“I believed doctors over my daughter. “I doubted her completely,” says Victoria. “I believed the doctors over my daughter,” she adds.

Disorder could be result of multiple factors. According to Dr. Priyank Gupta, there may be a way to begin to ease Amanda’s symptoms. She explains that because persistent genital arousal disorder is a rare diagnosis, little is known about what causes it but it is believed to the result of multiple factors.

She takes 30 different pain meds. Dr. Gupta, an assistant professor of neurology at Michigan University, says that while there may not be a quick cure, they are going to try a few different therapies that she hopes will help Amanda to function better. Presently Amanda uses “heat pads and ice packs” to relieve her symptoms, as well as “ice inserts” and 30 different pain medications!

She would happily never have another orgasm. Desperate Amanda says that she would happily go the rest of her life without another orgasm. She says that on some days she feels so awful she doesn’t want anyone to look at her. PGAD is most commonly found in women, who often find it too embarrassing to seek medical help. The equivalent condition in men is called “priapism,” which causes an erection that can last several hours or more.

The Politics of Faking Orgasm: Saving Time, Saving Face

At first glance, faking an orgasm appears to be patently counter-productive. You deprive yourself of great pleasure for an empty show of it. You introduce a lie into an act based largely on trust, distance into an occasion for closeness, a cover-up into an experience of uncovering. More pragmatically, in providing inaccurate feedback about your sexual satisfaction, you are rewarding the very behaviors in your partner that have failed to produce actual sexual satisfaction.
Counter productive, I did mention.
Yet, many people fake orgasms, women mostly—some 50% or more of them at one point or another—but also men.
By definition, fake orgasms don’t feel like real ones. But research indicates that they also don’t sound like real ones. For example, the British researchers Gayle Brewer and Colin Hendrie (2010) found that while actual orgasms were most commonly achieved through masturbation or oral-genital foreplay, “copulatory vocalizations” most often occurred “before and simultaneously with male ejaculation.” These data, according to the authors, indicate that, “there is at least an element of these responses that are under conscious control, providing women with an opportunity to manipulate male behavior to their advantage.”
Indeed, people don’t fake orgasms when they’re by themselves. Faking is reserved for partnered sex, suggesting that partnered sex is in some fundamental way a performance, an elaborate conceit rather than raw truth, scripted rather than spontaneous. In this sense, a fake orgasm is a manufactured special effect, a tool of the trade.
To the extent that sex is a performance, it is largely culturally produced, a dance we learn from and within our culture. Our sex script—the goals and expectations we have for sex and the gestures used to pursue them—both reflect and affirm our cultural affiliation.
At the same time, sex is also an evolved construction with biological underpinnings. It is our mechanism of reproduction. As such, prevalent sexual behaviors, including faking, may reflect a deep evolutionary design. Indeed, evolutionary psychologists have proposed that faking orgasm may be a mate retention strategy. Since they use their partner’s orgasm to gauge their own sexual prowess, and since female orgasm may function to increase the odds of fertilization, men are more likely to stay and have sex with a woman who orgasms. Thus a woman may fake orgasm in order to secure her mate’s loyalty and prevent him from straying.
Distant evolutionary motives notwithstanding, most researchers in this area have focused on figuring out the more immediate processes, and the psychological calculus, leading sexual partners to fake their orgasms.
For example, research has linked the tendency to fake orgasm to cognitive factors such as distractibility.
Personality too may play a role. For example, Machiavellianism, a personality type characterized by distrust, manipulation, and a willingness to exploit others, has been linked to a greater propensity to fake orgasm for the purpose of deceiving or manipulating a partner.
The bulk of the research, however, has concerned itself with asking people directly about their own reasons for faking. Erin Cooper and her colleagues (2014) surveyed a group of 481 heterosexual undergraduate females (average age = 20.3 years) about their reasons for faking orgasm. They found four main reasons for faking orgasm during intercourse:
Altruistic Deceit: faking orgasm out of concern for a partner’s feelings.
- Fear and Insecurity: faking orgasm to avoid negative emotions associated with the sexual experience.
- Elevated Arousal: a woman’s attempt to increase her own arousal through faking orgasm.
- Sexual Adjournment: faking orgasm to end sex.
In 2015, Mark McCoy of Oakland University and his colleagues employed a two-step approach in their attempt to discover the reasons for faking orgasm. First, 48 sexually active women (mean age = 29.2 years) were asked to nominate possible reasons a woman might fake an orgasm during heterosexual sex. The women came up with 303 reasons. That list was whittled down by the researchers to a final list of 95 potential reasons for faking. Among them:
- I am mad at my partner.
- Pretending to have an orgasm can get me more in the mood.
- I don't want to ruin the moment.
- I want to appear sexier for my partner.
- The things I do when pretending are considered sexier.
- I want to maintain a healthy sexual relationship with my partner.
- I don't want my partner to know that I don't feel emotionally connected enough to him to have an orgasm.
- I want to stop having sex with my partner.
- I don't want my partner to know that the sex is not pleasurable.
- I don't want my partner to think that I am having sex with another man.
- I want my partner to feel good about his sexual performance.
- I want to relax my partner.
- I don't want my partner to have sex with another woman (i.e., cheat on me).
- I want my partner to feel masculine.
- I don't want to disappoint my partner.
In the second step, the researchers asked 286 heterosexual women (mean age = 32.7 years) currently in a sexual relationship for at least 3 months to report on the frequency with which they have used any of the proposed reasons for faking. Using a statistical procedure called Principal Component Analysis, a technique that identifies strong patterns in a large data set, they found that faking was motivated by three general reasons:
- Improve Partner's Experience: faking to increase the quality of the sexual experience for the partner. These women endorsed items such as:
- Pretending to have an orgasm can get me more in the mood.
- I don't want to ruin the moment.
- I want to appear sexier for my partner.
- The things I do when pretending are considered sexier
- Deception and Manipulation: faking to deceive the partner or manipulate his perceptions for other gains. These women endorsed items such as:
- I am mad at my partner
- I don't want my partner to think that I am having sex with another man.
- Hiding Sexual Disinterest: faking to spare the partner's feelings about the woman's lack of sexual excitement. This category included items such as --
- I don't want my partner to know that I don't feel emotionally connected enough to him to have an orgasm.
- I want to stop having sex with my partner.
- I don't want my partner to know that the sex is not pleasurable.
Qualitative research relying on in-depth interviews with smaller samples has by and large supported the conclusions of larger quantitative surveys. For example, Breanne Fahs of Arizona State University (2014), through in-depth interviews with 20 women, found that the main reasons for faking were to avoid hurting their partner’s ego or make him feel like a failure, to get sex over with, and to avoid appearing abnormal for being unable to orgasm.
A more recent (2016) qualitative study by Emily Thomas and a team of Canadian researchers found that women often fake orgasm to end unpleasant sex. “On one level” Thomas said, “faking an orgasm may be a useful strategy as it affords some control over ending a sexual encounter. “
For women, the converging evidence appears to show, fake orgasms constitute an attempt at an elaborate maneuver: avoiding a bad deal without alienating the trading partner; saving time (hers) while saving face (his), and keeping the peace (in the relationship).
A recent Canadian study has shown that men fake orgasms for largely similar reasons. In the study, Lea Seguin and Robin Milhausen (2016) surveyed a sample of 230 men (18–29 years old) who have pretended orgasm with their current relationship partner at least once. “On average, participants reported feigning orgasm in approximately one-fourth of sexual encounters in their current sexual relationship, most commonly during vaginal sex.” Reasons for feigning orgasm included, “poor sexual experience or to poor partner choice,” as well as, ”to support a partner's emotional well-being” and, “because one was intoxicated, having undesired sex, or out of a desire to improve the quality of the sexual encounter.”
In sum, in one broad, abstract sense, we fake orgasms to honor cultural convention, to remain within the good graces of our group by loyally performing its prescribed rituals. We fake orgasms for the same reason we fake smiles—these are the social tricks we perform to get along. Culture, after all, is the Universal God. All of us are cultural products and adherents. Thus, culture controls us even in our most private moments and shapes our most personal gestures. Our need to be is subordinate to our need to belong.
On the more pragmatic, immediate level, we fake orgasm in partnered sex for the same reasons we distort the truth in other contexts: to escape unpleasantness; to protect our self-esteem and the esteem of people we care about; to obtain some reward or achieve a desired end.
To the extent that it constitutes distortion of truth, faking an orgasm is a type of avoidance. Avoidance, psychological research tells us is a double-edged sword. Much like alcohol, it tends to solve problems in the short run but create problems over time. The more you use it, the more you come to depend on it, and the less likely you are to either benefit from it or be able to quit it. After a while, avoidance no longer works for you. You work for it. And a habit of faking orgasms may turn out to be awfully hard work. Deception, after all, does tend to corrode the soul.
A story has the Israeli writer David Grossman staying at a remote Galilee B&B while researching a novel. The B&B owner offers him a room with a Jacuzzi, but Grossman refuses, saying his stay was, for tax purposes, a work assignment. A room was a necessary work expense, but a Jacuzzi would constitute a personal expense. On the last day of his stay, after a week of hiking the hilly terrain, the weary Grossman finally requests the room with the Jacuzzi.  The next day, setting out to leave, he asks the owner for two separate receipts, one for the regular room and one for the room with the Jacuzzi. “Why not get one receipt for the whole week?” inquires the perplexed owner. “I assure you that nobody will know and nobody would mind.”
“I will know,” replies Grossman, “and I mind.”
Somewhere in there is one good argument for insisting on a real orgasm rather than settling for a fake one.
On that note, consider the Jacuzzi….

The Little Explored Secret of Women's Orgasms While They Exe

Earlier today, Indiana University released information about a new study (the first of its kind, really) that I've co-authored with a colleague, Dr. Dennis Fortenberry, about an experience some women have with having orgasms while they engage in physical exercises such as sit-ups, biking/spinning, pull-ups, chin-ups and other exercises (some popular magazines term this type of orgasm a "coregasm" as in many cases the exercises seem to be related to core muscular activity/strength). The study is recently published in the scientific journal Sexual and Relationship Therapy.
You can read our release below and find more detail about women's exercise-induced orgasms (coregasms) in my newest book, Sex Made Easy: Your Awkward Questions Answered for Better, Smarter, Amazing Sex.
If you have questions about the study, or what we found, send me an email at DrDebby@MySexProfessor.com and I'll answer them here this week on my Psychology Today blog. Looking forward to hearing from you! [Update: I've answered your questions here.]
UPDATE: Since this study, we've since conducted several additional studies about exercise-induced orgasm and arousal. You can read more about these in my forthcoming book, The Coregasm Workout, which is devoted to what we do (and don't yet) understand about exercise arousal and exercise orgasms.
**
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Findings from a first-of-its-kind study by Indiana University researchers confirm anecdotal evidence that exercise—absent sex or fantasies—can lead to female orgasm.
While the findings are new, reports of this phenomenon, sometimes called "coregasm" because of its association with exercises for core abdominal muscles, have circulated in the media for years, said Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. In addition to being a researcher, Herbenick is a widely read advice columnist and book author.
"The most common exercises associated with exercise-induced orgasm were abdominal exercises, climbing poles or ropes, biking/spinning and weight lifting," Herbenick said. "These data are interesting because they suggest that orgasm is not necessarily a sexual event, and they may also teach us more about the bodily processes underlying women's experiences of orgasm."
The findings are published in a special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy, a leading peer-reviewed journal in the area of sex therapy and sexual health. Co-author is J. Dennis Fortenberry, M.D., professor at the IU School of Medicine and Center for Sexual Health Promotion affiliate.
The results are based on surveys administered online to 124 women who reported experiencing exercise-induced orgasms (EIO) and 246 women who experienced exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP). The women ranged in age from 18 to 63. Most were in a relationship or married, and about 69 percent identified themselves as heterosexual.
Here are some key findings:
About 40 percent of women who had experienced EIO and EISP had done so on more than 10 occasions.
Most of the women in the EIO group reported feeling some degree of self-consciousness when exercising in public places, with about 20 percent reporting they could not control their experience.
Most women reporting EIO said they were not fantasizing sexually or thinking about anyone they were attracted to during their experiences.
Diverse types of physical exercise were associated with EIO and EISP. Of the EIO group, 51.4 percent reported experiencing an orgasm in connection with abdominal exercises within the previous 90 days. Others reported experiencing orgasm in connection to such exercises as weight lifting (26.5 percent), yoga (20 percent), bicycling (15.8), running (13.2 percent) and walking/hiking (9.6 percent).
In open-ended responses, ab exercises were particularly associated with the "captain's chair," which consists of a rack with padded arm rests and back support that allows the legs to hang free. The goal is to repeatedly lift the knees toward the chest or toward a 90-degree angle with the body.
Herbenick said that the mechanisms behind exercise-induced orgasm and exercise-induced sexual pleasure remain unclear and, in future research, they hope to learn more about triggers for both. She also said that study findings may help women who experience EIO/EISP feel more normal about their experiences or put them into context.
Herbenick cautioned that it is not yet known whether such exercises can improve women's sexual experiences.
"It may be that exercise—which is already known to have significant benefits to health and well-being—has the potential to enhance women's sexual lives as well."
The study did not determine how common it is for women to experience exercise-induced orgasm or exercise-induced sexual pleasure. But the authors note that it took only five weeks to recruit the 370 women who experienced the phenomenon, suggesting it is not rare.
"Magazines and blogs have long highlighted cases of what they sometimes call 'coregasms,'" Herbenick said. "But aside from early reports by Kinsey and colleagues, this is an area of women's sexual health research that has been largely ignored over the past six decades."
Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH is a research scientist at Indiana University, a sexual health educator at The Kinsey Institute, and author of Because It Feels Good: A Woman's Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction, Read My Lips: A Complete Guide to the Vagina and Vulva, The I Love You More Book, The Good in Bed Guide to Anal Pleasuring, Great in Bed and Sex Made Easy. Follow her on Twitter @DebbyHerbenick