How do heterosexual men and women rate their orgasms in a relational context?

ABSTRACT

The orgasm experience refers to the psychological self-evaluation of the orgasm. No previous research has compared the characteristics of the orgasm experience between men and women creating a ranking of the adjectives that better represent it. The main objective of this study was to analyze gender differences in the global orgasm experience, its dimensions, and its descriptive words to examine how do heterosexual people rate their orgasms. A sample of 1619 heterosexual adults (793 men, 826 women) completed a background questionnaire and the Orgasm Rating Scale. Results showed that there were significant gender differences in the global orgasm experience and three of its dimensions. Furthermore, fourteen of the 25 descriptive words showed differences between genders. In the ranking, the top five adjectives that better described the orgasm experience were the same in both genders. In conclusion, although differences across gender in the orgasm experience were observed, heterosexual men and women share similar adjectives to rate their orgasms.