Clitoral orgasms, often reported as more frequent and intense than vaginal orgasms, are primarily generated through stimulation of the clitoris, with high concentrations of nerve endings. This type of orgasm can occur independently of penetration.
Vaginal orgasms involve the engagement of the internal clitoris (also known as the corpus cavernosum of the clitoris) and the surrounding birth canal. These orgasms are typically less frequent, though some individuals experience simultaneous clitoral and vaginal orgasms.
Adjusting pressure, speed, and rhythm during stimulation can influence orgasm experiences, as both clitoral and vaginal orgasms often require a certain level of physical and emotional connection.
Understanding the nuances between these types of orgasms can enhance sexual experiences; awareness aids in exploring individual preferences for clitoral and/or vaginal stimulation.
Recognizing that both types of orgasms carry pleasure and some women experience both, it is essential not to undervalue the complexity and variability of human sexual response. Personal preferences and sexual experiences are diverse and should be respected.
Orgasm corresponds to theclimax of sexual pleasure which induces a state of well-being and satisfaction, lasts a few seconds and is accompanied by involuntary contractions of the muscles that result in a discharge of accumulated sexual tension.
Female sexuality is more complex than male sexuality in that influenced by several factors that do not only affect the genital sphere. L’relational aspect plays a central role: the woman needs to feel desired, secure, and loved in order to reach the pinnacle of pleasure. Subjective experience can vary according to environmental, relational, and social context and can change during the different physiological stages of life (adolescence, adulthood, menopause).
Female sexual pleasure: how it works
Male and female sexual response have some significant differences: for example, the arousal curve in women rises more slowly than in men, leading to the need for longer and more intense foreplay in order to reach orgasm.
The activation of the orgasmic reflex, which can occur either due to physical or psychological causes, occurs when the stimuli reaching the brain centers exceed as intensity a “threshold value” genetically predefined in every human being. From a psychological point of view, a state of relaxation, surrender and emotional involvement facilitate the orgasmic reflex; on the contrary, stressful situations make it more difficult to achieve sexual pleasure.
Female sexuality is highly variable, which is why what may increase pleasure in one woman will not necessarily have the same effect in another. Precisely because of the subjectivity that characterizes the sexual sphere, the experience determined by stimulation may vary from person to person and even in the same woman over time.
Vaginal and clitoral orgasm
Female sexuality over the years has gone through different interpretations according to historical eras: female pleasure was considered dangerous, impure, sinful and a sign of disease. According to Freud’s theories, a woman was considered normal only if she could achieve orgasm during penetrative intercourse. In contrast, orgasm achieved through clitoral stimulation was considered a manifestation of immaturity and unresolved problems.
Since the 1960s, thanks to the work of researchers Masters and Johnson, new scientific findings on sexuality allowed for a more objective study. Research conducted by the American sexologist Shere Hite (The Hite Report) highlighted. the importance of the clitoris for female orgasm. The data reported that only 30 percent of women experienced orgasm during penetrative intercourse, while the remaining 70 percent achieved orgasm only through clitoral stimulation, disproving previous theories.
The nature of the female orgasm has generated different schools of thought over the years. The female orgasm has been distinguished into:
- vaginal, when achieved by penetration;
- clitoral, when achieved through clitoral stimulation.
Some might believe that in vaginal orgasm there is actually an indirect stimulation of the clitoris, but in recent research conducted by AISPA (Italian Association of Applied Psychology Sexology) found that 51 percent of women achieve orgasm during penetrative intercourse without clitoral stimulation, but the remaining 49 percent do not. Rather than considering the latter as suffering from a problem in their orgasmic function, one considers these two groups as expressing the variety that characterizes the physiology of the female sexual response. Thus achieving orgasm with clitoral stimulation but not during penetrative intercourse Does NOT represent a dysfunction, but rather a variant of sexual function.
Multiple and sequential orgasms
Orgasm may know additional definitions based on certain specificities.
Specifically, after orgasm, it occurs in both sexes a period termed refractory during which it is difficult, if not impossible, to trigger a new orgasmic phase. In women the refractory period is shorter than in men and in some cases may be of such short duration that it allows the achievement of further orgasms.
It is important to distinguish between multiple orgasm and sequential orgasm:
- multiple orgasm is characterized by a sequence of orgasms following one another at close intervals during sexual stimulation;
- sequential orgasm, on the other hand, involves the achievement of additional orgasms following the first during the same intercourse.
Orgasm: the health benefits
Several scientific studies have shown that orgasm is good for your health. During the arousal and orgasmic phases, the hormones oxytocin and DEHA (dehydroepiandrosterone) are released, which play a protective role against cancer, endometriosis, menstrual pain, pain, migraine, and psychophysical stress.
In addition, endorphins released enhance natural defenses, protect the body from pathogens, reduce anxiety and depression, generate a state of well-being and promote relaxation and a normal sleep-wake rhythm, generating beneficial effects in cases of insomnia.
The marked breathing and accelerated heart rate that occur with orgasm facilitate a proper oxygenation of the blood Decreasing the risk of heart disease.
Finally, the muscle contractions that occur during this phase work the pelvic muscles resulting in a strengthening of the pelvic floor, protecting women from disorders such as incontinence.