Myth Of The Vaginal Orgasm Analysis

Sex is a basic human function that unifies physical and mental functioning, making the orgasm, or climax, the optimal bodily experience. Because there is so much pleasure associated with this sensation, society restricts it and attaches stigmas and shame to a natural occurrence. The patriarchy deprives women of this sexual pleasure in order to maintain their main control, believing that women will not be able to survive without penises. The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, by Anne Koedt, describes the mythical origins and anatomy behind the human sexual experience. Koedt centers her essay on the dismissal of female pleasure during sex, emphasizing that the clitoris is key to female sexual function and is often disregarded in a heterosexual …show more content…
It is made up of erectile tissue and is the erotic center of the female reproductive system. While men possess knowledge that the clitoris is related to sexual arousal, they continue to stimulate the vagina in order to make sex more pleasurable for them. A woman who cannot reach an orgasm through vaginal penetration is labeled as “frigid”, and this frigidity was rendered a problem with the woman. Sigmund Freud conducted research on women’s incapability to climax from vaginal penetration, agreeing that the female partner was at fault for the lame sex. During this era, women “who complained about [their sexual experience] were recommended psychiatrists, so that they might discover their ‘problem’- diagnosed generally as a failure to adjust to their role as women” (Koedt 196). This blame is still placed on women today despite the advances in knowledge regarding human anatomy, as men will never be at fault in a patriarchal world. Koedt lists a number of reasons as to why women believe that they have achieved a vaginal orgasm and why men maintain the myth that a vaginal orgasm exists, and they all center on the notion that the sexual experience is strictly for the pleasure of the male partner. Koedt raises the idea that this sexual dynamic is potentially a product of female confusion, male deception and a threat to male power, and suggests that “what we must do is redefine our sexuality. We must discard the ‘normal’ concepts of …show more content…
Dauod recognizes the power of sex in the Arab world, saying that it is “a great paradox in many countries of the Arab world: One acts as though it doesn’t exist, and yet it determines everything that’s unspoken” (Daoud 1). A woman can neither speak about nor explore her own sexuality, yet society is so obsessed with a woman’s “decency”. Sex dictates her status; she is punished for disobeying and praised for her purity. A young Muslim girl does not have the option to experiment and come to terms with her sexuality, but she also does not have the ability to willingly abstain; she is not an autonomous being. In the Islamic tradition, the Quran distinctly states that “lewd” women will be punished, and that intercourse is reserved solely for married couples. While these guidelines could be respected and followed by women who choose to, the fact that men are so controlling over women’s sexuality shows that their obsession is a product of a desire to dominate rather than that to raise religious daughters. In many Muslim nations, “Religious authorities have issued grotesque fatwas: Making love naked is prohibited; women may not touch bananas”, showing that even in a situation where sex is solely for reproduction, women are still denied sexual pleasure (Daoud