Women experience an orgasm when with a familiar partner less often than men do, according to a new study from the Kinsey Institute.
The study, authored by Justin Garcia, assistant professor of gender studies and researcher at the Kinsey Institute, reports that women experience an orgasm with a familiar partner 62.9 percent of the time, while men report experiencing one 85.1 percent of the time.
The study also found that frequency of orgasm is affected by sexual orientation, with lesbian women being more likely to report an orgasm than either heterosexual or bisexual women.
Sexual orientation also affected the orgasm rate in men, with heterosexual men experiencing the most orgasms, followed by gay men and then bisexual men.
The study analyzes data from the 2011 wave of the Singles in America study, according to the release.
“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,” Garcia said in the release.
Researchers said the range in experience may be attributed to a number of factors, including duration of the sexual encounter and ?communication.
However, orgasm should not be equated to sexual satisfaction, as the two can exist independently, Garcia said in the release.
Anna Hyzy
