Essay on 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm

Orgasm can vary in intensity, duration, and feeling from one person to another individual. In this Ted Talk essay on “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm” by Mary Roach, the author delves into the fascinating and often mysterious world of human sexuality. While sexual intercourse not being the only cause of orgasm is surprising, Roach educates the audience on untold truths about orgasm, how it enhances sexual life between partners, and how thoughts trigger it, addressing the lack of knowledge about some realities concerning orgasm that can cause stigmatization.

The Main Theme of the Video

The main point of Roach’s video is to educate the audience about the unknown facts of orgasm. For example, orgasms can result from stimulations of different body parts, not just the genitals (Roach 01:21-04:01). This aspect indicates that orgasm is not simply a genital but a holistic experience involving the whole body. Hence, orgasm as a holistic experience is an interesting fact that most people do not know.

Human Experience

In order to feel orgasm, people not only need to experience it but also think about it. For instance, some people can think themselves to orgasm (Roach 02:56-02:58). In this case, the culmination of sexual arousal does not rely on physical factors only. In short, some people may be able to achieve orgasm through thought alone, and other individuals should accept them in that way.

Importance of the Video

The information in the video is important since understanding unknown facts about orgasm helps people to overcome stigmatization. For instance, stigma can be reduced by the provision of information, consisting of teaching participants about a condition and its effect on health (Nyblade et al. 6). In this case, educating people on a particular situation, like having orgasms over slight thoughts is normal, might reduce discrimination of individuals experiencing it. Therefore, educating people on the unknown facts of orgasm is helpful since they will understand it, forgetting myths and misconceptions that result in stigmatization.

Applying the Information

Educating on facts about orgasm can be applied to improve sexual life between partners. For example, understanding what contributes to having a ‘bad’ orgasm is beneficial in maintaining a healthier and more rewarding sex life (Wahl par. 13). Since both partners are aware of the reasons behind unpleasable orgasms, they start to understand each other better, leading to a healthier relationship. Hence, educating on facts about orgasms can help many individuals to identify sexual health issues behind unpleasant orgasms, and addressing them improves their sexual well-being.

Surprising Fact

A surprising fact from the video is that women are not reaching orgasm on penetration alone. For instance, since human culture over-focuses on intercourse as the main reason for orgasm, the solution to this misconception is to understand that many women do not reach orgasm through penetration alone (Mintz 16). In this case, most women do not rely on sexual intercourse alone to orgasm. Therefore, there are various ways to reach orgasm apart from the sex act.

Summing Up

In conclusion, Roach’s video reveals the unknown facts regarding orgasm. The fact that several factors can cause orgasms is surprising, and a lack of knowledge about some realities can cause stigmatization. Educating people on unknown facts about orgasm improves sexual life between all partners. Thus, people need to understand that many individuals experience orgasms differently, and they should accept and love them the way they are.

Works Cited

Mintz, Laurie. Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters–And How to Get It. Reprint, HarperOne, 2018.

Nyblade, Laura, et al. “Stigma in Health Facilities: Why It Matters and How We Can Change It.” BMC Medicine, vol. 17, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-15, doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1256-2.

Roach, Mary. “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm.” TED, 2009, www.ted.com/talks/mary_roach_10_things_you_didn_t_know_about_orgasm.

Wahl, David. “The Psychology and Physiology of ‘Bad’ Orgasms.” Psychology Today, 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/sexual-self/202108/the-psychology-and-physiology-bad-orgasms.