# Difference between vaginal and clitoral orgasms? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686 "2013-07-27T17:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/1 "2013-07-27T17:55:47Z")
What is the difference? Do they feel different from each other? Is one more enjoyable than the other? If they are actually separate, distinct events, then could the two theoretically be achieved simultaneously? (Sorry if this is better suited for IMHO, I wasn’t sure where it should go). ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/2 "2013-07-27T18:21:07Z")
The difference is that there’s no such thing as a vaginal orgasm. It’s true that some women can achieve orgasm through vaginal stimulation alone, but the nerves are still in the clitoris. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/3 "2013-07-27T18:23:30Z")
Some women can achieve orgasm in ways less directly connected than that. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/4 "2013-07-27T18:26:57Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > The difference is that there’s no such thing as a vaginal orgasm. It’s true that some women can achieve orgasm through vaginal stimulation alone, but the nerves are still in the clitoris. Ok! That makes more sense! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/5 "2013-07-27T18:30:35Z")
Well women can orgasm in their sleep without any actual stimulation of either the vagina or the clitoris, so it’s not always about the nerve endings. ---
**Author:** ![Buffalo\_Bilious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e99b99/32.png) [@Buffalo\_Bilious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buffalo_Bilious)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/6 "2013-07-27T18:33:06Z")
Speaking as a man, I must ask…who cares? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/7 "2013-07-27T18:45:14Z")
Wasn’t the distinction one of those things that a warped man’s mind (Freud?) made up with virtually no real understanding or serious study of female anatomy? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/8 "2013-07-27T18:47:46Z")
So, **miss elizabeth** , I take it you don’t accept the existence of the G-spot? ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/9 "2013-07-27T18:51:06Z")
[QUOTE=chronos] So, miss elizabeth, I take it you don’t accept the existence of the G-spot? [/QUOTE] I accept its existence. First hand. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/10 "2013-07-27T18:55:18Z")
Isn’t the G-spot about where the nerves from the clitoris pass close to the vaginal wall? ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/11 "2013-07-27T18:57:58Z")
Well . . . even if the clitoris is involved in both, I can say it does feel different for me. I liken it to a headache (I know, not that pleasant, but it’s the best analogy I can think of.) You know how you sometimes have those deep headaches? The pain is really “heavy” feeling, I’d say. That’s what all vaginal pleasure is kind of like, including orgasm. Whereas (external) clitoral stimulation and orgasm are more like the piercing headaches. It’s intense but somehow more “light”. I don’t know. This lady’s letter is very similar to my own experience: > **[The Clitoris, the Vagina and Orgasm: Feelings and Frameworks](https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2011/09/06/clitoris-vagina-orgasm-feelings-frameworks/)** > > Knowing the issues with clitoral versus vaginal orgasms in terms of history and the politics around women and sexuality, how do you rectify when orgasm feels different based on those different kinds of stimulation? I have to say, the answer to her inquiry is a bit long winded and meandering. I know what I feel. Whether it’s strictly clitoral or vaginal isn’t of much consequence to me. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/12 "2013-07-27T19:04:18Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Wasn’t the distinction one of those things that a warped man’s mind (Freud?) made up with virtually no real understanding or serious study of female anatomy? That’s too strong. That’s like saying that pre-Lavoisier chemists were warped for believing in phlogiston. Freud was doing his best with the knowledge available at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/13 "2013-07-27T19:13:35Z")
The reason I posted this question is because I am currently dating a girl who apparently believes in such a distinction. She tells me that they feel totally different to her. But I was a bit skeptical-or at least very, very ignorant-and I didn’t want to grill _her_ so I came here. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/14 "2013-07-27T19:16:18Z")
> [@Girlundone](#): > > Well women can orgasm in their sleep without any actual stimulation of either the vagina or the clitoris, so it’s not always about the nerve endings. So can men, but we don’t come up with goofy terms for it. The clitoris is much larger than most people know; the visible part is analogous to the head of a penis, but the “shaft” is throughout the vagina. But its still part of the clitoral structure. Female orgasms come from the clitoris, just like male orgasms come from the penis. Obviously there’s a mental component as well, but the myth of the vaginal orgasm is just that-- a myth. Freud made it up (along with penis envy). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/15 "2013-07-27T19:19:34Z")
> [@Mathematics](#): > > Well . . . even if the clitoris is involved in both, I can say it does feel different for me. > I liken it to a headache (I know, not that pleasant, but it’s the best analogy I can think of.) > > You know how you sometimes have those deep headaches? The pain is really “heavy” feeling, I’d say. > That’s what all vaginal pleasure is kind of like, including orgasm. > > Whereas (external) clitoral stimulation and orgasm are more like the piercing headaches. It’s intense but somehow more “light”. I don’t know. Yes, exactly. Many women (myself included) do have two very distinct kinds of orgasms. Since one of them (the “light, bright” kind, I usually say) makes me more aware of my clitoral hood and glans clitoris, and the other kind (deep, heavy) makes me feel aware of my vaginal walls spasming…I think it’s reasonable to call them “clitoral” and “vaginal”, respectively. (And yes, I’ve had them both at once. I \*married \*that dude. 😉 ) If you look at the anatomy of the ENTIRE clitoris, not just the cute little love button y’all are always searching for, I think it’s pretty easy to form a hypothesis as to what’s happening here. I hypothesize that “Clitoral” orgasms happen when the stimulation is primarily of the glans clitoris, and “vaginal” orgasms involve the crura and bulbs, as well. And, while Freud was…interesting…I will say that conversations in many granola crunching hippiechick circles have lead me to conclude that he was right about one thing: girls rarely, if every, have “vaginal” orgasms; they have “clitoral” ones. “Vaginal” orgasms seem to start around 28-30 years old. And not everyone has them, even into their menopausal years. To male it up for you, I hear that male orgasms which include stimulation of the prostate feel different to many men when compared to orgasms which to not include prostate stimulation. Considering the area of real estate the prostate occupies, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if those orgasms are analogous to “vaginal” orgasms. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/16 "2013-07-27T19:20:29Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > The reason I posted this question is because I am currently dating a girl who apparently believes in such a distinction. She tells me that they feel totally different to her. But I was a bit skeptical-or at least very, very ignorant-and I didn’t want to grill _her_ so I came here. Well, its certainly true for many women that orgasms are more intense with penetration. It’s true for men as well, actually. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/17 "2013-07-27T19:21:00Z")
> [@Buffalo\_Bilious](#): > > Speaking as a man, I must ask…who cares? 😃 Speaking as a man, I must say…I do! I want my lover to have the best enjoyment possible, and the more I know about what she feels, the better I can provide that experience. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/18 "2013-07-27T19:24:52Z")
So… is it time to bring up buttsex now? Some women like it, request it, experience orgasms that way- even without a reacharound. Comments? ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/19 "2013-07-27T19:30:23Z")
> [@](#): > > So… is it time to bring up buttsex now? > Some women like it, request it, experience orgasms that way- even without a reacharound. > Comments? Yes, my point exactly. It’s not limited to the direct stimulation of either the clitoris, vagina, or a combination of the two. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686/20 "2013-07-27T19:32:56Z")
I know someone that can orgasm from just nipple stimulation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-vaginal-and-clitoral-orgasms/664686.md?page=2)