World of Psychology

Is a Woman Orgasmic? Watch Her Walk

By John M Grohol PsyD
July 29, 2008

Some researchers have way too much time on their hands. Case in point:

A group of Belgian researchers believe that research has already demonstrated a link between vaginal orgasm and better mental health (although I’d argue such a link is nebulous at best). They wondered if one could determine whether a woman experienced vaginal orgasms just by observing everyday body movement. Specifically, walking.

Looking at a group of healthy Belgian women, half of whom have vaginal orgasms and half who do not, trained sexologists discovered that they could pick out the vaginal orgasmic women 81% of the time — far better than chance. They could not, however, pick out women who had clitoral orgasms. (Vaginal orgasms were defined for this study, according to the researchers, by penile-vaginal intercourse, not orgasm from direct clitoral stimulation.)

How did they do it?

Exploratory analyses suggest that greater pelvic and vertebral rotation and stride length might be characteristic of the gait of women who have experienced vaginal orgasm (r = 0.51, P < 0.05).

So the “trained sexologists” were apparently looking for greater hip movement and walking stride, but this is a pretty weak association.

The researchers’ conclusions were also good for a laugh:

The discerning observer may infer women’s experience of vaginal orgasm from a gait that comprises fluidity, energy, sensuality, freedom, and absence of both flaccid and locked muscles. Results are discussed with regard to previous research on gait, the effect of the musculature on sexual function, the special nature of vaginal orgasm, and implications for sexual therapy.

I think the “special nature” of vaginal orgasm is mostly in these folks’ heads. But I suppose if you’re interested in trying to better understand attractiveness, this kind of research can point us in one direction. It seems these sort of observations may also help inform future researchers about sexuality and attractiveness.

We’ve also published quite a few news stories about attractiveness:

The first one seems most relevant, and this study may provide a reason as to why the attractiveness ratings for perceived women increased by about 50 percent when they walked with hip sway. Could it be an unconscious signal of their sexual abilities?

Reference:

Nicholas A., Brody S., de Sutter P., de Carufel F. (2008). A Woman’s History of Vaginal Orgasm is Discernible from Her Walk. J Sex Med.


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9 Comments to
“Is a Woman Orgasmic? Watch Her Walk”

Some researchers are like prison inmates–they have too much time on their hands.

Wendy Aron, author of Hide & Seek: How I Laughed at Depression, Conquered My Fears and Found Happiness

http://www.wendyaron.com

It really makes one wonder if perhaps there isn’t some cultural difference here that I’m not really privy to… Perhaps this is a legitimate research subject in Belgium, but on one hand it just seems so… ludicrous. And sexist. I wonder if the same researchers would be trying to determine whether a man had “higher quality” orgasms or not by the way he walked? I doubt it.

As a very old womanizer, I can tell you from my experience, the way a woman walks in terms of the movement of her pelvic area is a good indicator of her comfort with sex. I never, ever, met a woman who was stiff in her pelvic area that was relaxed with sex and her sexual activity. This may not be anywhere scientific, but the next time you are siting around watching women walk by, check out how they move and then tell the ones you find sexy.

Interesting how Mr. DeLong associates a sexy walk with anticipated actual sexual behavior, and how the Belgian scientists also extrapolate similar behavior with the ability to have a vaginal orgasm.

I wonder if pole dancers and strippers, who strive to appear sexy in their movements for the purpose of earning more cash, necessarily lead unfettered sex lives? Or prostitutes who fake a swaying pelvis to entice clients but then more often than not fake an orgasm?

It was my understanding that only a minority of women achieve vaginal orgasm without at least some clitoral stimulation.

I think the Belgians, and others, may be confusing a woman’s confident stride with their own sexual fantasies.

Sounds a little ridiculous to me, probably just a coincidence.

I think that this is like being a chick sexer; you can only really tell from experience.

I can understand that it sounds a little ridiculous, but not if you look at human gait and applied functional science. If you look at the pelvic floor of a woman, you will see that the muscle fibres are aligned in such a way that they will be stimulated a great deal by rotational movements. I believe this is why the study found a correlation in that good hip extension, stride length and pelvis/ spine rotation was linked with vaginal orgasm.
Neurodevelepmentally, children learn to stop peeing themselves when they develope the ability to rotate their bodies correctly through correct opposite arm and leg movement. This rotation stimulates and strngthens the pelvic floor. This is why stress incontinence is such a massive problem as we get older because people through sedentary lifestlye lose the rotaional component of movement. Also why kegal isometric exercises are shown to be limited in effectiveness in long term studies.
Mens attraction is triggered on a subconcious level by the hip movement of a woman. They see it as healthy and therefore fertile for their children. I do believe men can tell if a woman will be comfortable with sex by the way she moves, I have surveyed 100s of men on this also. Strippers and prostitutes understand how hips turn men on and use this as part of the business.
However as Anna Howard suggested this does not mean they will be vaginally orgasmic. Usually they have many negative issues from trauma in their lives.
In my opinion most women can be vaginally orgasmic but it depends to a great extend on the mans ability to gain trust, show he is a man, and sexual experience.
Rob@trainsexy.com
http://www.trainsexy.com

Seems to be quite a lot of anger towards this article for some reason. Is it impossible to think that maybe there is truth to it?
There is quite an abundance of evidence that points to body language signifying any number of moods, tendencies, and behaviors based upon simple observation.
Is there any reason to think we cannot determine something about a woman’s sexual tendencies from her walk?
I am willing to bet that there is a tendency for men who overcompensate for their ‘masculinity’ in their gait have certain sexual tendencies that might point to deficiencies. Who knows? No research has been done there as far as I know.

The point is, in my largely unsolicited opinion, that strong positive sexuality is something that permeates the entire being and is therefore observable, paticularly in women.

If you have a problem with this article, then you, or your partner, may just not be very good at sex. Find a new partner.

I think it makes perfect sense. When women friends get together, it is usually also pretty apparent who had a very good time in the prior 24 hours. She glows.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 29 Jul 2008

 


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