Orgasm frequency and sexual orientation

This week we take a look at the orgasm frequency in partnered sex during the past month. The gap between orgasm frequency in heterosexual males and females is well documented and widely talked about. Little is known though, about how can sexual orientation impact orgasm frequency. Luckily for everyone, a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2015 looks to shed some light.The authors analyzed a large US sample of over 50 thousand adults. According to their findings, heterosexual men were most likely to say they usually-always orgasmed when sexually intimate (95%), followed by homosexual men (89%), bisexual men (88%), homosexual women (86%), bisexual women (66%), and heterosexual women (65%). The differences between lesbian and heterosexual women are staggering. Lesbian women were three times more likely than heterosexual women to always experience an orgasm. The researchers found that "women who orgasmed more frequently reported receiving more oral sex, having sex for longer durations, and being more satisfied with their relationships. Of particular importance for women was incorporating oral sex along with other activities during a sexual encounter. Other behaviors that most strongly differentiated women who orgasmed frequently from women who did not were: asking for what they wanted in bed, praising their partner for something they did in bed, calling or emailing to tease about doing something sexual, wearing sexy lingerie, trying new sexual positions, anal stimulation, and talking about or acting out sexual fantasies, engaging in sexy talk, and expressions of love during sex"

As you can see, heterosexual men’s estimates of their partner’s orgasm frequencies were somewhat higher than heterosexual women’s own reported orgasm frequency. Two-thirds (65%) of heterosexual women reported that they usually-always orgasm, whereas 75% of heterosexual men estimated that their partners orgasm usually-always. Part of this difference in perception could be due to women "faking" orgasms. The difference in heterosexual men's perceptions and heterosexual women’s reports was just 10%, suggesting most men have a good awareness of their partners' orgasm frequency.

Source: Frederick DA, John HKS, Garcia JR, Lloyd EA. Differences in Orgasm Frequency Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men and Women in a U.S. National Sample. Arch Sex Behav. 2018 Jan;47(1):273-288. doi: 10.1007/s10508-017-0939-z. Epub 2017 Feb 17. PMID: 28213723.