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The Journalof SexResearchVol.18,No.2,pp.146-159May,1982
TheRole ofOrgasminMale andFemale SexualEnjoyment
CAROLINE K.WATERMAN ANDEMILJ. CHIAUZZIAbstractSeveral researchershavesuggestedthatorgasmplaysa minimalroleinfemalesubjectivesexual satisfaction.Nodataexiston this issueformalesandthe data for femalesarebasedonveryglobalindicesof sexualsatisfaction.Thepurposesof thisstudyweretoinvestigate(a)therela-tionshipsbetweenorgasm consistencyand sexualenjoymentin bothmales andfemales, (b)therelationshipbetweenan individual'sorgasmconsistencyandtheirpartner'ssexualenjoyment,and(c)therelativepleasureexperiencedbymalesand femalesduringvarious sexualactivi-ties whenthese activities occurredwithand withoutorgasm.Forty-twocouples attendingalargenortheasternstateuniversity participatedonavoluntarybasis. Sexualenjoymentwas assessedbythe SexualInter-actionInventory(SII)which measuresavarietyofaspectsofsexualsatisfaction.TheSII wasalsousedtogetsubjects' ratingsofsexualactivitieswithand withoutorgasm. Orgasmconsistencywassignifi-cantlyrelatedto sexualsatisfactioninfemalesbutnotin males.Partner'sorgasmconsistencywasnotcorrelatedwithmale orfemalesexualenjoyment.Formostactivities,forboth malesandfemales,pleasureratingsweresignificantlyhigherwhentheactivityoccurredwithoutorgasm.This isconsistentwiththe claimof numeroussextherapiststhatgoalorientation detractsfromsexualpleasure.Theresultsof thisstudysuggestthat,regardingtherelationshipbetweenorgasmand sexualenjoyment,thesexesaremore alike than different.Thequestionofwhetherorgasmis animportantfactorinfemalesex-ualenjoymenthas beeninvestigated bynumerousresearchers,someofwhomhave concurred with Wallin's(1960)conclusionthat"orgasmisneitheranecessarynor sufficientconditionforthereliefofwomen'ssexualdesire"(p.194).The factthatthisissuehasnot been investi-gatedinmales is consistent withMcKenna and Kessler's(1977)point
CarolineK.Waterman,PhD,isanAssistantProfessorintheDepartmentofPsychologyat the StateUniversityofNew YorkatAlbany.EmilChiauzzi,BA,is aPsychologyInternat TheHutchingsPsychiatricCenter,Syracuse,New York.Requestsforreprintsshould besenttoCarolineK.Waterman,PhD,DepartmentofPsychology,StateUniversityofNewYorkatAlbany,Albany,NY12222.146
 
ORGASMANDSEXUALENJOYMENT
that sex-rolestereotypesaffectthewayscientists doresearch.It ispossiblethat researchers areassumingthatorgasmisanecesaryand/orsufficient conditionformale sexual satisfaction.Wallin'scontention that "intercourse canbeasatisfyingandenjoy-ableexperience despiteausual lackoforgasm" (p.197)is basedon hisfindingthata substantial numberofwives who hadorgasms onlysometimesor never hadorgasms reportedthattheyusuallyexperi-enced"completerelief fromsexualdesire"(p.193)whentheyhadintercourse.Since Wallin'sstudywas donein1960,itmaybethathisresultsarenotapplicabletowomentoday.However,more recentfindingsare con-sistentwith Wallin's conclusion.Forexample,Bardwick(1971)inter-viewedmanywomenwho described their sexlifeas"satisfactory"although theyneverexperienced orgasm.Bardwick maintains thatsexforfemales"mayneverdevelopas astrongmotive" and that there hasbeenan"overestimationof theimportanceofsexinwomen'slives"(p.59).Also consistent with Wallin's dataisFisher's(1973)findingthatmanywives with loworgasmconsistencyrated sex as"highlygratifying."Inaddition Clifford(1978)found that a numberofwomenreported"feelinggood"whenintercourse didnotculminateinorgasm.On the otherhand,shealso found asignificantrelationshipbetween"orgasmrate" and"frequencyofsatisfaction"duringboth inter-course and oral sex.Theapparentcontradiction betweenthisfindingandthose discussedpreviously maybe dueto thefactthat,inClifford'ssample,the mostfrequentsourceof dissatisfactioninwomen with loworgasmrateswas fearofdispleasingtheirpartners.Mostofthe studies cited abovehave focusedon thehighsexualsatisfactionratingsofwomenwho are lowinorgasmconsistency.Hoon andHoon(1978)foundthat some womenwho werehighinorgasmconsistency reporteddissatisfactionwith their sexualrespon-sivity.Asinthepreviouslycitedstudies,theyalso foundwomenwho"delightintheirsexuality...with orwithoutorgasmsolongastheyaregivingandreceivingattention andpleasure" (p.113).Takentogether,theresultsofpreviousresearchsuggestthat theregularitywith which awomanexperiencesorgasmis apoorpredictorof hersubjectivesexualsatisfaction. Sinceno dataexist onthis issueformales,there isnowayofknowingwhetherthefindingson femalesreflect anaspectof femalesexualityor anaspectofhumansexuality.It iswidelyassumedby professionalsandnonprofessionalsthat
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C. K. WATERMAN AND E. J.CHIAUZZI
orgasms playa moreimportantrole in male than in female sexualenjoyment.However,physiologically,male andfemale sexual re-sponseshave been foundtobemore alike than different(Masters&Johnson,1966;Robbins&Jensen, 1978).Also Vance andWagner(1976)foundthatneitherpsychologists,medicalstudents,norobste-trician-gynecologistswere abletodistinguishthegenderof apersonfrom thatperson'swrittendescriptionof whathisor her"orgasmfeelslike"(p. 89).Theyconcludethatthepsychologicalexperienceoforgasmfor males andfemales is"essentiallythe same"(p.93).Sincethe sexesappeartobemorealike thandifferentregardingphysiologicalandsubjectiveaspectsoforgasm,itisreasonabletospeculatethatorgasmwillplaya similar roleinmale and female sex-ualenjoyment.Whether the sexes arealikeordifferentregardingtherelationshipbetweenorgasm consistencyand sexualenjoyment, pastresearch on thistopicisclearlylimitedbythe lack of malesubjects.Asecond limitation of the research on thistopic pertainsto thewayinwhichsexualsatisfaction ismeasured.Wallin(1960)hadsubjectsrate their "extent of relieffromsexual desire"on a4-pointscale;Fisher(1973)askedsubjectstorate their"gratificationfromsex"on a5-pointscale;Clifforddividedsubjectsinto two levels of"frequencyofsatisfaction,"and the Hoons useda7-pointscaleofsatisfactionwithone's "sexualresponsivity."Each of these measurescomprises onlyoneglobalindexofsexual satisfaction andmaybe insensitive to subtledifferencesinenjoyment.InlightofMastersandJohnson's(1966)findingthat arousalto theplateau phasewithoutorgasmresultsinpelviccongestionand sometimesinpain,it ispossiblethattherelationshipbetweenorgasm consistencyandsubjectivesatisfactionis somewhatstrongerthan is indicatedbystudiesusing relativelyin-sensitivemeasuringdevices.Athird limitation ofthepaststudiesis thatthey onlyshowed thatmanywomen who do notregularlyexperienceorgasmare as satisfiedwiththeir sex lives aswomen who attainorgasmconsistently. Theydonot address thequestionofwhether sexualactivities wouldbeexperi-enced as morepleasurableifthe activities culminatedinorgasmthaniftheydidnot involveorgasm.Thepurposeofthepresentstudywas toinvestigatethe role oforgasminmale,as well asfemale,sexualenjoyment.Inthisstudy,themeasureofsexualenjoymentwas morecomplexthan thoseemployedinpreviousresearch. Thepresent studywas alsodesignedtocompare
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