Orgasm rates for single women less predictable than men's, vary by sexual orientation

A new study of American singles found that during sex with a familiar partner, men have the highest orgasm rates. On average, men experience orgasm 85.1 percent of the time, with their sexual orientation making little difference. For women, however, orgasm occurrence is less predictable. On average, women experience orgasm 62.9 percent of the time during sex with a familiar partner - and this pattern varies with women’s sexual orientation, with lesbian women experiencing orgasm more often than heterosexual or bisexual women.

The Indiana University study, titled "Variation in Orgasm Occurrence by Sexual Orientation in a Sample of U.S. Singles" and published online this week in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, uses a large-scale nationally representative sample to examine how self-identified sexual orientation can affect how often lovers have orgasms.

"These findings may contribute to promotion of more informed sexual health, by reminding us to pay attention to individual variation in research and clinical practice - variation in sexual experiences, variation in sexual identities and variation in sexual outcomes," said lead author Justin R. Garcia, assistant professor of gender studies and research scientist at The Kinsey Institute. An evolutionary biologist, Garcia is also co-author of "Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior."

The new study analyzed data from the 2011 wave of the Singles in America study, a now annual survey on the attitudes and behaviors of U.S. singles using nationally representative samples of single men and women ages 21 and older. The Singles in America sample was augmented to provide a better representation of gay men and lesbian women participants. In the current study, respondents were limited to men and women who had sex with a familiar partner during the previous year. It ultimately involved a final sample of 2,850 individuals.

Findings:

Women reported experiencing orgasm 62.9 percent of the time. Lesbian women reported an orgasm rate of 74.7 percent. Heterosexual women reported an orgasm rate of 61.6 percent. Bisexual women reported an orgasm rate of 58 percent. Men reported experiencing orgasm 85.1 percent of the time, with sexual orientation making no statistically significant difference (gay men 84.7 percent; heterosexual men 85.5 percent; bisexual men 77.6 percent). "Moreover, to the extent that lack of orgasm is seen as a common and unwanted problem, learning more about orgasm in same-sex relationships may inform treatment for men and women in both same-sex and mixed-sex relationships," the authors wrote in the article. What do scientists and clinicians know about orgasms?

Pioneering sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, and later, Masters & Johnson, noted differences in sexual outcomes among heterosexuals, gay men and lesbian women as early as the 1940s and 1950s. Yet little comparative research has been conducted since, leaving gaps in our understanding of sexual outcomes among sexual minorities. Understanding orgasm has implications for research and clinical and therapeutic knowledge involving sexual health and well-being.