Orgasm Coercion: Overlaps Between Pressuring Someone to Orgasm and Sexual Coercion

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Authors

Chadwick, Sara B.
van Anders, Sari

Date

2022-01-20

Type

journal article

Language

en

Keyword

Orgasm , Coercion , Sexual aggression , Mixed methods , Feminist science

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Alternative Title

Abstract

Trying to ensure that a partner orgasms during sex is generally seen as positive, but research has yet to assess how this might involve pressuring partners to orgasm in coercive ways. In the present study, we tested whether pressuring a partner to orgasm is a coercive behavior by assessing how this behavior overlaps with sexual coercion (i.e., pressuring someone into having sex). Participants of diverse gender/sex and sexual identities (N = 912, M age = 31.31 years, SD = 9.41) completed an online survey that asked them whether they had ever felt pressured by a partner to orgasm, to describe what partners have said or done to pressure them, and to answer a series of questions about the most recent incident in which this occurred. Mixed quantitative and qualitative results showed that orgasm pressure tactics were analogous to sexual coercion tactics and that being pressured to orgasm was associated with experiencing sexual coercion, faking orgasms, and negative psychological and relationship outcomes. Together, findings challenge the assumption that trying to ensure a partner’s orgasm occurrence is necessarily positive and demonstrate that orgasm coercion exists.

Description

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02156-9

Citation

Chadwick, S.B., van Anders, S.M. Orgasm Coercion: Overlaps Between Pressuring Someone to Orgasm and Sexual Coercion. Arch Sex Behav 51, 633–651 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02156-9

Publisher

Springer

License

Journal

Volume

Issue

PubMed ID

ISSN

EISSN