The term “orgasm gap” refers to the reported differences in orgasms during recent sexual encounters when sorted by sexual orientation.

One large study, for example, revealed the following percentages of folks reporting an orgasm during their most recent partnered sexual experience:

Straight men (95 percent), gay men (89 percent), bisexual men (88 percent), lesbian women (86 percent), bisexual women (66 percent), and, least orgasmically served, straight women (65 percent)

Our hunch is these numbers are inflated, and many more people are experiencing less-than-satisfying sex. But what these studies do reveal it is that it is the script, not our bodies, holding us back from more pleasure. All of our bodies are capable of pleasure, joy and connection. Orgasm isn’t even always a desired outcome of a sexual encounter. So what’s possible? How do we get past the “orgasm gap” and head towards Pleasure Equity For All!

Here at Pleasure Mechanics, we explore the knowledge, know-how and how-to of pleasure. Explore our resources at your own pace and enroll in our FREE online course when you are ready to dive deeper.

The main research driving this term is here: Frederick, D.A., John, H.K.S., Garcia, J.R. et al. Differences in Orgasm Frequency Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men and Women in a U.S. National Sample. Arch Sex Behav 47, 273–288 (2018).

We are honored to be inducted into the SheVibe Superhero Squad and honored to be amongst so many friends and honored peers, united in our efforts to create a more equitable, pleasurable and orgasmic world for us all.

Here is our official trading card, front and back!

Join #TeamPleasure with our brand new official Pleasure Mechanics Gear, and join us and our friends at SheVibe in raising funds for the superheroes at the frontlines of social change.

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ALL PROCEEDS from the SheVibe Superhero design will support the true superheroes on the frontlines of social change at a range of organizations. Learn more about our guiding values and the organizations we support here, and join us in practicing generosity.

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• $50 off our Mindful Sex Online Course
• Roundup of Speaking of Sex episodes about masturbation and practicing self love!

Mindful Masturbation : A Practice Of Pleasure & Self-Compassion

The primary erotic relationship of your life is with yourself! Accepting this simple truth can be both confronting and liberating, allowing us to develop a more compassionate, curious and kind relationship with our selves, our bodies, our histories and our desires.

Mindful Masturbation is a practice that invites you into exploring your own experience of desire, pleasure, arousal and climax. By paying more attention to our experiences within the realm of masturbation, so much becomes possible: more pleasure, more turn-on, more joy, more satisfaction.

Yet paying attention to our sexual experience demands we confront the rest of it: the judgment, the shame, the fear, the anger. Learning how to hold the charge of these emotions while staying curious and self-compassionate is the practice of a lifetime!

The good news? You are not alone. We are here with you, as is our community of over 10,000 pleasure seekers from around the world who have been sharing their experiences with us over the years. All of our tools and resources are designed to help you explore more pleasure, joy and connection – while slaying the shame, shoulds and scripts!

Ready to explore with us? Use the code MAY for $50 off our Mindful Sex Online Course

As we celebrate 15 years as the Pleasure Mechanics, we are sharing some of the most popular episodes from our archives. Here’s an encore of episode #334, all about Mindful Masturbation and Masturbation May!

Click here for a full roundup of Speaking of Sex Podcast Episodes on masturbation and solo pleasure

This episode features a clip from our friends at HomeBrewed Feminism Podcast, who featured the original broadcast in their episode “It’s Actually Self Love”

Recently in an interview we talked about our parenting style as “Pleasure Positive Parenting” and it quickly became a household joke – because after 15 years living and loving together as “The Pleasure Mechanics” there isn’t a part of our life that is untouched by our engagement with Pleasure, Joy and Connection as a primary lens for all we do. Pleasure Positive Eating. Pleasure Positive Lifestyle. Pleasure Positive Politics. All of it, all the time.

When we started The Pleasure Mechanics in 2006, we had only been dating a few months, but we knew for sure that our shared commitment to Pleasure, and our devotion to Love was steering the ship.

Ready to explore pleasure with us? Tune into our podcast, Speaking Of Sex and be sure to join our free online course, The Erotic Essentials

Pleasure Positive, At Your Service, Since 2006.

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