Sexual Repertoire, Duration of Partnered Sex, Sexual Pleasure, and Orgasm: Findings from a US Nationally Representative Survey of Adults
Debby Herbenick, Tsung‐chieh Fu, Callie Patterson
Abstract
In a confidential U.S. nationally representative survey of 2,525 adults (1300 women, 1225 men), we examined participants' event-level sexual behaviors, predictors of pleasure and orgasm, and perceived actual and ideal duration of sex, by gender and age. Event-level kissing, cuddling, vaginal intercourse, and oral sex were prevalent. Sexual choking was more prevalent among adults under 40. While women and men reported a similar actual duration of sex, men reported a longer ideal duration. Participants with same-sex partners reported a longer ideal duration than those with other-sex partners. Finally, findings show that gendered sexual inequities related to pleasure and orgasm persist.
Topics & Concepts
OrgasmPsychologyPleasureSexual intercourseDevelopmental psychologyDemographyAnal sexHuman sexualityHeterosexualitySexual behaviorClinical psychologyMen who have sex with menMedicineSexual dysfunctionHomosexualityPopulationPsychiatryGender studiesNeuroscienceHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV)SociologySyphilisPsychoanalysisFamily medicineSexual function and dysfunction studiesSexuality, Behavior, and TechnologyAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health