Orgasm Attainment

Abstract

Various misconceptions about frigidity continue to prevail in our society—most of them attributable to the influence of Sigmund Freud and other psychoanalysts. As a result, many women tend to be overcon-cerned with the problem of frigidity—in particular, the frequency and manner in which orgasms are experienced (that is, through clitoral or vaginal stimulation). Unfortunately, these worries have also been intensified by unrealistic male demands that their partners attain an orgasm from every or almost every sexual encounter. Some men are unaware of the dynamics involved in sexual expression and feel the need to be reassured about their virility; they therefore tend to gauge their success as lovers primarily in terms of whether or not their partners reach a sexual climax. Women are so aware of this concern that in the present study, although not asked, some subjects volunteered the information that they sometimes fake an orgasm so as not to upset their mates.¹