Vaginal or Clitoral Orgasm ?

A lot of women are confused about the difference between a vaginal and a clitoral orgasm.  This brief article will describe each type of female orgasm and provide some information about how to stimulate each type.

What is an orgasm?

Stimulation of sensitive areas of a woman's body, including the clitoris and area around it, the cervix, and the opening of the vagina cause sensations of "fullness" and tension in the muscles of the body.  Stimulating non-genital sensitive areas help add to this sensation for many women -- nipples, lips, fingers and toes can be especially sensitive.

 An orgasm is the point at which all that tension which has been building is released in a series of involuntary and pleasant muscle contractions.  These contractions may be felt in the vagina, the uterus, or even the rectum.  Sometimes women experience an orgasm as a whole body sensation -- this is related to the release of muscular tension throughout the body.  Some women experience "passive orgasms" without the pelvic contractions. 

What is a vaginal orgasm?

The outer third of a woman's vagina contains more nerve endings than any other part of the vaginal canal, and is thus more sensitive. For some women, the sensations created by intercourse are sufficient to produce an orgasm.  It's important to note that a minority of women experience orgasm this way. 

 Sigmund Freud (a man) made the claim that a "mature" woman could experience orgasm in this way. This theory was tied to Freud's ideas about penis envy and he believed that only immature women, or those suffering from covetousness of the male penis, would actually want their clitorises stimulated during sex or masturbation.  As you can see, this theory makes the man's penis the central element in a woman's sexual satisfaction.  And it's plain wrong.

What is a clitoral orgasm?

The clitoris is the most sensitive part of a woman's genitalia.  All the nerve endings men have in their penises are packed into a much smaller area. And not just the glans of the clitoris, which is found under the clitoris hood, but the entire shaft of the clitoris is packed with nerve endings.

The only real difference between vaginal and clitoral orgasms is where the woman is stimulated rather than the way the orgasm feels.  A clitoral orgasm is caused by stimulating the clitoris directly, or by stimulating the area around the clitoris.  (The clitoris is so sensitive that sometimes, touching the glans directly is uncomfortable.)

The clitoris can be stimulated with fingers, with the tongue, through body pressure or with a vibrator.  Sometimes, direct stimulation of the clitoris stops feeling good.  When a woman reaches that point, try stimulating other sensitive areas: the nipples, the lips and fingertips, or the labia, cervix or outer third of the vagina.

During sex, especially woman-on-top positions, the clitoris can be stimulated by rubbing against the man's pubic bone.  Sometimes couples must experiment with different sexual positions to find one that's satisfying to both people.