While studying for my board recertification, I ran across the little epidemiological fact that between 10-15% of women at the age of 25 have primary anorgasmia; that is to say they’ve never experienced an orgasm. In any form.
(Rosen RC. Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction in men and women. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2000;2:189-195)
Now, that percentage does tend to go down after the age of 25, as a fair number of these women do become orgasmic.
But this data got me to wondering: Are these percentages accurate? And how many women who are anorgasmic at 25 manage to achieve orgasm after that age?
Now I realize that any survey I take here will have an inherent number of uncontrolled-for biases and self-selection problems with it.
But even so, I’d like to ask all the lady dopers who are willing to answer the following:
Did you have Primary anorgasmia at age 25? (that is, never had an orgasm by that age?)
And if so, have you achieved orgasm after the age of 25?
Question 1) is open to all women age 25 or older, to help ascertain the frequency of this phenomenon.
Anecdotes or explanations are not necessary, but certainly will be read with interest if offered.
I am a 25 year old woman. I have had many, many, many, many orgasms. I don’t know any women my age who have never had an orgasm, but to be fair I wasn’t there with most of them when said orgasms took place so a few of them might be lying.
I confess to being anorgasmic prior to --I think it was around 25 or so (+/- a year or two). I didn’t take notes, so my memory might be faulty. Afterall, it’s not like the day I turned 25, multiple orgasms became the norm or something.
That is to say, I did not have an orgasm that I recognized as such. I knew when I was aroused, but I certainly didn’t have anything that approximated any female orgasm/release/movement of earth/feeling of overpowering love/closeness to the deity/cream in my jeans/whatever that I had ever seen in film/ written description/ heard of in anecdotes of close girlfriends/spoken expectations of current boyfriends.
I have no idea if this matters or what, but I can (and often do) orgasm in my sleep, so there is that… And yes, I “have achieved orgasm after the age of 25.”
ETA: why would anyone lie about NOT having an orgasm? I can see lying about having one (been there, done that) due to pressure from a partner or wanting to seem “normal” or whatever, but lying about not having one, as in: I have them often but say I don’t?
I do, however, remember my best friend trying to figure out if she’d had one or not. The things she described, were, well… not very accurate. I remember her being very upset when my experiences were not the same, and she wondered where the hell her fireworks were. The things I described when she asked were not happening for her.
Much later in life, she finally discovered how to make herself happy - and then she understood everything I had been saying. She was amazed at how often she thought she had had one, but when the real thing finally happened, she understood clearly that she had never experienced one before.
The experience did make me wonder if many women believe they have truly had an orgasm, but perhaps never did. But how do you really tell? If someone is sure they did, and they didn’t, and you can’t explain it, but it’s still pleasurabe to them in some way, just not as explosive as the real thing… well, who the hell knows?
Never had a problem coming to orgasm (so to speak) but I have had maybe one that was vaginal. All of mine are from direct clitoral stimulation with something.
I’m 48 so my memory of my sex life in my 20’s is limited. I do know, however, that I was not orgasmic at the beginning. Turned on, yessss. Orgasm… no. In my mid-20’s though I, too, discovered my clitoris and finally realized what an orgasm was. I don’t remember there every being an “aha” moment about multiple orgasms so I may have always been multi-orgasmic.
I had primary anorgasmia until age 24. Basically I didn’t figure out how to do it until I got a vibrator. Now I can have them whenever I want, but only with the assistance of a vibrator.
It’s kind of funny because before age 24, I didn’t really believe in female orgasms. I thought they were just a myth until I experienced it myself.
I think I was sixteen or so when I finally achieved an orgasm (I wasn’t sexually active, but having been masturbating from the time I was thirteen onward, I was really, really, really ready for one when I finally got it.)
Not a female myself, but chiming in to report an ex-ladyfriend who claimed never to have had one until she was 29. By the time I met her, it’s safe to say she had the knack.
