Study Reveals Partner Gender’s Role in Women’s Orgasm Expectations and Pursuit

A new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science has shed light on the factors that influence women’s orgasm rates across different sexual orientations. The research suggests that a partner’s gender plays a significant role in how women approach sex and their likelihood of achieving orgasm.

The study builds upon previous research that established the existence of an “orgasm gap,” where cisgender women are less likely to reach orgasm during partnered sex compared to cisgender men. The current study delves deeper into this phenomenon, investigating how a partner’s gender shapes women’s expectations and, ultimately, their pursuit of orgasm.

The researchers found that women reported significantly higher expectations for clitoral stimulation and orgasm when anticipating a female partner compared to a male partner. This suggests that women expect different sexual acts based on their partner’s gender. Additionally, partner gender had a significant indirect effect on women’s orgasm pursuit, meaning that it influenced women’s likelihood of actively pursuing orgasm through the mediating factors of clitoral stimulation and expectations for orgasm.

In simpler terms, when women anticipated having sex with a female partner, they reported both higher expectations for clitoral stimulation and orgasm, which made them more likely to actively pursue orgasm themselves.

Lead author Kate Dickman, a recent graduate of Rutgers University, emphasizes the practical implications of these findings: “If women, or men partnered with women, want to increase their own or their partners’ orgasm, they should create an environment that encourages orgasm pursuit through diverse sex acts, particularly those involving clitoral stimulation.”

The study’s findings suggest that dominant sexual scripts, which vary based on partner gender, may contribute to the orgasm gap by shaping women’s expectations and behaviors during sex. Co-author Grace Wetzel, of Rutgers University, highlights the broader context of the research, stating that it “contributes to understanding gender disparities and inequities” and “sheds light on why the orgasm gap exists—specifically, how different expectations for sex with men and women can explain these differences.”

However, Wetzel notes that the results should not be interpreted to mean that sex with men is inherently worse than sex with women. Instead, she explains that “the problem is not inherent to men or to being heterosexual, but to the dominant sexual scripts associated with heterosexual sex. Sexual scripts are flexible and can be changed.”

While the study addresses the orgasm gap, Dickman emphasizes that orgasm is just one aspect of sexual satisfaction and that the research should not be misinterpreted as suggesting that orgasm is the sole measure of a fulfilling sexual experience. She concludes, “This study is just one piece of a larger conversation about gender disparities.”

The research provides valuable insights into the factors that influence women’s sexual experiences and highlights the importance of understanding and addressing gender disparities in sexual satisfaction. By recognizing the role of partner gender in shaping expectations and behaviors during sex, individuals and couples can work towards creating more equitable and fulfilling sexual experiences for all involved.