Those rhythmic, involuntary contractions are perhaps the most nearly universal physiological marker of orgasm—but even that can’t be relied on all the time. In one study, two out of eleven women exhibited no vaginal muscle contractions at orgasm.3 And in another study, some women exhibited the muscle contractions without orgasm.4 In other words, genital physiological markers of orgasm are not always predictive of a woman’s subjective experience of orgasm. Which makes perfect sense if you recognize that orgasm—like pleasure—isn’t about what happens in your genitals, it’s about what happens in
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