Gait may be associated with orgasmic ability

September 4, 2008

A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. The study is published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.

Led by Stuart Brody of the University of the West of Scotland in collaboration with colleagues in Belgium, the study involved 16 female Belgian university students. Subjects completed a questionnaire on their sexual behavior and were then videotaped from a distance while walking in a public place. The videotapes were rated by two professors of sexology and two research assistants trained in the functional-sexological approach to sexology, who were not aware of the women's orgasmic history.

The results showed that the appropriately trained sexologists were able to correctly infer vaginal orgasm through watching the way the women walked over 80 percent of the time. Further analysis revealed that the sum of stride length and vertebral rotation was greater for the vaginally orgasmic women. "This could reflect the free, unblocked energetic flow from the legs through the pelvis to the spine," the authors note.

There are several plausible explanations for the results shown by this study. One possibility is that a woman's anatomical features may predispose her to greater or lesser tendency to experience vaginal orgasm. According to Brody, "Blocked pelvic muscles, which might be associated with psychosexual impairments, could both impair vaginal orgasmic response and gait." In addition, vaginally orgasmic women may feel more confident about their sexuality, which might be reflected in their gait. "Such confidence might also be related to the relationship(s) that a woman has had, given the finding that specifically penile-vaginal orgasm is associated with indices of better relationship quality," the authors state. Research has linked vaginal orgasm to better mental health.

The study provides some support for assumptions of a link between muscle blocks and sexual function, according to the authors. They conclude that it may lend credibility to the idea of incorporating training in movement, breathing and muscle patterns into the treatment of sexual dysfunction.

"Women with orgasmic dysfunction should be treated in a multi-disciplinary manner" says Irwin Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine."Although small, this study highlights the potential for multiple therapies such as expressive arts therapy incorporating movement and physical therapy focusing on the pelvic floor."


Join PhysOrg.com on Facebook!
Follow PhysOrg.com on Twitter!

Source: Wiley


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 3.8 /5 (166 votes)

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • drel - Sep 04, 2008
    • Rank: 3.5 / 5 (2)
    Perhaps these women walk with a gait that attracts men who "know how to please a woman"?

    I don't know, I'm just saying.
    lol
  • Keter - Sep 06, 2008
    • Rank: 4 / 5 (2)
    Self-fulfilling prophecy: the strut advertises sexiness, which increases the odds of satisfaction, which makes a gal strut more. Hey, it works the other way, too: going without for long enough pretty much guarantees one will go without, and now we know how to turn that around. Cool!

    BTW, I'm female and I've known this all along; it's no secret. Except to academics, and we all know how most of them walk. ;o)
  • Bernium - Sep 07, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
    This is such a lame study, it only involved 16 women? And the meaning of "infer historical ability of orgasm" is never specified - you mean they can tell if you orgasmed last week/last year/your whole life? I'm female and it's obvious to me too - you get laid->you feel confident-you stride longer. didn't need a study to tell us that lol.
  • impulse882 - Sep 09, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
    Bernium - I'm so glad someone mentioned it first! I nearly closed the story after reading the sample size. With a sample size of 16 and error occurring 20% of the time, I wouldn't let my undergrad present that conclusion in a classroom seminar, nevermind publish those results.

    It might be an interesting study, but they need to work on their controls and sample size.
  • roguetrekker - Sep 09, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
    Never mind a woman having any kind of disability or limitation of movement. I am sure that according to this study that would mean they don't orgasm at all. A study group of 16?!? Bernium and impulse882 are right. This is embarrassing...
  • Duude - Sep 13, 2008
    • Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
    So what does this say for bow-legged women. Should we encourage horse riding or might she use that as an alternative?
  • Labananalyst - Oct 03, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Although this study may draw conclusions working with a very small sample, in my point of view it talks about a degree of energy level that everyone has the potential to develop, having or not physical and/or mental disabilities. The body-mind is a complex system, which is all connected, and when one works fluency between all its parts, the potential for enjoying life and sex is naturally expanded.
  • inaru514 - Apr 20, 2009
    • Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
    actually there's no such thing as a vaginal orgasm, all orgasms originate from clitoral stimulation and most women aren't even aware that what they perceive to be a "vaginal orgasm" is still heavily dependent on their clitoral stimulation during sexual activity. So perhaps its actually a woman's proximity of her clitoris to her vagina that aids in her "vaginal orgasm" and is relavent to the way she walks. It's interesting to see that most people know the importance of clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm but doctor's as still trying to discover the secret to the nonexistent "vaginal orgasm". Personally i think it simply has to do with the fact that men orgasm through friction with the vagina and for a woman to need more than that is unsettling for men.
  • alfox - Apr 20, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    "actually there's no such thing as a vaginal orgasm"
    Really? lol. I have achieved both clitoral and vaginal and most of the time not together. True that many women never have vaginal orgasm though.
  • Jai310 - Apr 20, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    "actually there's no such thing as a vaginal orgasm, all orgasms originate from clitoral stimulation and most women aren't even aware that what they perceive to be a "vaginal orgasm" is still heavily dependent on their clitoral stimulation during sexual activity."

    LOL - really? Vaginal orgasms aka g-spot orgasms rock .... and have nothing to do with the clitoris.
  • Ralph - Apr 21, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Can you believe this researcher received funds to spend time ogling 16 college girls to see which ones had the sexiest walks, then interviewed them about their orgasms? The study probably involved some long, highly objective, late-night experimental sessions at the author's apartment. I would conclude that he is probably a pedophile, except that the sample size (n = 1 stupid paper) is not large enough to reach statistical significance.

September 4, 2008 all stories

Comments: 11

3.8 /5 (166 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Advance growing animal penile erectile tissue in lab may benefit patients
    created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Sperm may play leading role in spreading HIV
    created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Vaginal Orgasm is Best According to New Study
    created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Clinical trial of antiretroviral-based HIV prevention strategies for women now under way
    created Sep 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • High HIV infection rate among Soweto Township gays
    created Aug 31, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0



  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
    created Nov 20, 2009
  • West's zone 2 starling resistor respiratory physiology
    created Nov 18, 2009
  • 50-0-50 rule
    created Nov 18, 2009
  • What is the evidence in support of the anti-vaccine movement?
    created Nov 17, 2009
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

Other News

Swine flu vaccine effective despite mutations: experts

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created 9 hours ago | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Swine flu vaccines are still effective despite reported cases of mutations in the A(H1N1) virus, health experts in Europe and North America said Saturday.


Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (4) | comments 21

Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking ...


smoking, cigarette

Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.


GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care (AP)

GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care

Medicine & Health / Health

created 19 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care - and to try to chip away support by women for President ...


Pilot study relates phthalate exposure to less-masculine play by boys

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 9

A study of 145 preschool children reports, for the first time, that when the concentrations of two common phthalates in mothers' prenatal urine are elevated their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, ...