Exploring the female orgasm: coming to the point
Her body curls and clenches with tingles of pleasure, a feeling some UA women have yet to understand or experience.
Regardless, if a woman is exploring with the different types of orgasms, masturbating, or learning how to get off without faking it, experts agree being comfortable is essential for achieving an orgasm.
Though some women may feel like a victim of orgasmic dysfunction, or the inability to climax during sex, experts said this diagnosis is rare for young women. Instead of needing medical treatment, college-aged women can usually find orgasmic relief from different methods of arousal and self-discovery.
For this reason, the unpredictability of achieving the ever-elusive female orgasm is evidence that, although two people are involved in the same activity, they do not necessarily share the same experience. Several health professionals and students have some good ideas about why.
"Guys have physical stimulation down to a science. They're able to cum without an emotional connection," said Rose Anderson, a junior majoring in English. "Whereas a girl, it is more emotional because she has to be stimulated in a specific way that turns her on, whether it's talking, emotions or foreplay."
The female orgasm, which is the sexual peak of intercourse, is a series of quick muscular contractions causing an overwhelming sensation of pleasure because of increased blood flow to the clitoris and vagina, said Dr. Ilana Addis, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
For some women, Addis said achieving an orgasm is not as simple as it is for men because many women are aroused from the emotional aspect of sex.
"I usually tell men if they want to start being intimate, take out the trash," said Lee Ann Hamilton, a health educator at Campus Health Service and co-author of the UA SexTalk newsletter.
Unlike men, women are not as easily aroused by visual and physical stimuli, Hamilton said. For women, seeing someone naked or being touched in a sensitive area doesn't quite do the trick. Instead, communication and intimacy have a big impact on how aroused the woman gets.
Hilary Rees, a pre-nursing sophomore, said although she is not in a relationship, she likes when a man is romantic before and during sex.
"I also love touching before sex, not necessarily cuddling, but feeling each other's bodies and getting a sense of who we are with our hands," Rees said.
No two vaginas are exactly the same
What feels pleasurable for some women will not feel good for others. The only way to find out what works is with practice and communication.
Taking a hands-on approach can be helpful. Try showing your partner where and how to move his or her hands, fingers, penis or sex toy, as well as how fast or slow to move and for how long, Hamilton said.
Granted, emotions have a big influence on how pleasurable sex is for many women, but Anderson said emotions aren't an issue for her when having an orgasm.
"Personally for me, it's about rough