, or 101 kinds of orgasms you can have. Or you can deal with the messy truth, which is that an orgasm is something that defies simple explanation.
Of all the ways that people categorize orgasm, my least favorite is the fad orgasm. These are the orgasms created for marketing purposes to sell a book, DVD, or sex toy, which may be true for the one 'sexpert' who is telling you about them, but may not ring true for you or anyone else.
Rather than thinking of orgasms like products you can buy in a store, marked economy, medium, or deluxe, I prefer to think of orgasms like snowflakes; no two are alike, they’re free, they melt in your mouth, and not even the weather forecast can predict when they’ll come.
Having said that, if you're not having orgasms or don't know if you are having orgasms, or if you're eager to learn more, it can help to get a sense of how others are breaking it down. Here are some ways people have distinguished types of orgasms.
Clitoral versus Vaginal Orgasms
This distinction was popularized by Sigmund Freud, who linked orgasm to our psychological development. A clitoral orgasm is brought about by clitoral stimulation and a vaginal one through vaginal penetration. Freud argued that clitoral orgasms were characteristic of the young and immature, and vaginal orgasms represented the healthy female sexual response. As such, a woman who could only have orgasms from clitoral stimulation was stuck in her development. This theory has been largely discounted, although there are still a few curious (and not surprisingly male) researchers desperately clinging to the idea. An additional problem with this distinction is that it doesn’t describe how the orgasms feel or what their detailed physiological or psychological effects are, it focuses on the method of achieving orgasm only.
Betty Dodson's Taxonomy of Orgasm
In sharp contrast to the psychoanalytic understanding of orgasm, author, sex activist and educator Betty Dodson has described at least nine different kinds of orgasms based on her own experience and her experience working with people for over forty years on having orgasms (often in the room with them while they're having them).
Dodson’s descriptions of orgasm which she outlines in her excellent book Orgasms for Two are still guided by her own biases, which favors genital stimulation, and while she discounts the experience of some women, these descriptions offer a great starting point to discuss the multitude of ways people can experience orgasm. In contrast to medical and in particular Freudian descriptions of orgasm, Dodson focuses on the experience of orgasm, what it feels like, and not just the mechanics of what makes it happen. Below is a summary of some of her orgasm types, with some of my own comments.
Of all the ways that people categorize orgasm, my least favorite is the fad orgasm. These are the orgasms created for marketing purposes to sell a book, DVD, or sex toy, which may be true for the one 'sexpert' who is telling you about them, but may not ring true for you or anyone else.
Rather than thinking of orgasms like products you can buy in a store, marked economy, medium, or deluxe, I prefer to think of orgasms like snowflakes; no two are alike, they’re free, they melt in your mouth, and not even the weather forecast can predict when they’ll come.
Having said that, if you're not having orgasms or don't know if you are having orgasms, or if you're eager to learn more, it can help to get a sense of how others are breaking it down. Here are some ways people have distinguished types of orgasms.
Clitoral versus Vaginal Orgasms
This distinction was popularized by Sigmund Freud, who linked orgasm to our psychological development. A clitoral orgasm is brought about by clitoral stimulation and a vaginal one through vaginal penetration. Freud argued that clitoral orgasms were characteristic of the young and immature, and vaginal orgasms represented the healthy female sexual response. As such, a woman who could only have orgasms from clitoral stimulation was stuck in her development. This theory has been largely discounted, although there are still a few curious (and not surprisingly male) researchers desperately clinging to the idea. An additional problem with this distinction is that it doesn’t describe how the orgasms feel or what their detailed physiological or psychological effects are, it focuses on the method of achieving orgasm only.
Betty Dodson's Taxonomy of Orgasm
In sharp contrast to the psychoanalytic understanding of orgasm, author, sex activist and educator Betty Dodson has described at least nine different kinds of orgasms based on her own experience and her experience working with people for over forty years on having orgasms (often in the room with them while they're having them).
Dodson’s descriptions of orgasm which she outlines in her excellent book Orgasms for Two are still guided by her own biases, which favors genital stimulation, and while she discounts the experience of some women, these descriptions offer a great starting point to discuss the multitude of ways people can experience orgasm. In contrast to medical and in particular Freudian descriptions of orgasm, Dodson focuses on the experience of orgasm, what it feels like, and not just the mechanics of what makes it happen. Below is a summary of some of her orgasm types, with some of my own comments.
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