What porn is doing to women's orgasms

For a change, a new study about pornography has look at the impact on women's sexual esteem and ability to orgasm.

While many studies have found that high porn consumption has negative effects on men, such as increased apathy, some erectile dysfunction, and the holding of 'unrealistic' sexual expectations, there have been few research projects that examine porn's effect on women.

Researchers led by Léa J. Séguin at the University of Quebec in Montreal, investigated how porn could be affecting women's sexual functioning.

It was published in the Journal of Sex Research.

Séguin and her team studied the ratio of male to female orgasms in pornography on Pornhub.

Social representations, which appear in a variety of media, can influence the way sexual experiences are perceived and understood.

Looking at 50 of Pornhub's most viewed videos, the researchers found that men orgasmed 78 per cent of time, and women only 18.3 per cent.

They also recorded how these orgasms were reached, and found that of the 18.3 per cent of female climaxes, only a quarter occurred after clitoral stimulation - the most common way for a woman to orgasm.

The message this sends, according to Séguin, is that the male orgasm is paramount.

Similarly, it appears to suggest that the methods of sex most likely to produce a male orgasm (penetrative sex).

The study concluded that:

As a result, representations of male and female orgasm in mainstream pornography may serve to perpetuate unrealistic beliefs and expectations in relation to female orgasm and male sexual performance

Another study conducted in 2016 found that a woman's ability to orgasm was determined more by self esteem and a feeling of connectedness to her partner, than any external factor, or measure of sexual history.

Published in Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology the study found that the percentage of women claiming to always orgasm from sex fell 10 per cent between 1999-2015.

The study relied on 8,000 women in Finland, largely due to the fact that Finland regularly records sexual satisfaction and activities in public surveys, since 1971.

It found that the things getting in the way of a female orgasm, were tiredness, difficult concentrating, and stress.

It also found that women in relationships were more likely to orgasm than single women, by around 10 per cent.

The study suggested that this may be down to factors such as feeling more confident in the bedroom with a partner, the partner's technique, and the sexual communication that can come from a relationship.

HT Big Think

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