{"id":1066,"date":"2023-10-26T13:10:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T17:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/smithwrites\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2023-10-26T16:20:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T20:20:59","slug":"female-orgasm-in-the-u-s-vs-rwanda-how-cultural-values-contribute-to-the-orgasm-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/smithwrites\/issue-4\/female-orgasm-in-the-u-s-vs-rwanda-how-cultural-values-contribute-to-the-orgasm-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Orgasm in the U.S. vs. Rwanda: How Cultural Values Contribute to the Orgasm Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eden Ball expertly navigates the nuance of sociocultural influence on the female orgasm. Ball examines the multipronged way by which social media, scientific bias, and social standards of sexual interaction impact a culture\u2019s view of female pleasure. Ball links her own experience as a young woman participating in Western culture with larger trends and evidence regarding female sexual pleasure in order to paint a picture that is both global and personal. Rwandan sexual practices are contrasted with Western sexual traditions so as to break down stigmas preached by the latter and empower readers.” –Tatum McKenna ’24, editorial assistant<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Female Orgasm in the U.S. vs. Rwanda: How Cultural Values Contribute to the Orgasm Gap<\/b> <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Eden Ball ’26<\/strong><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Taro Taylor, “Fruits Of Darkness.” Licensed under CC BY 2.0. via Wikimedia Commons. Creatively edited by Eden Ball, 28 September 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Introduction\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

The quotes above, all sourced from <\/span>Cosmopolitan <\/span><\/i>magazine covers, may feel hauntingly familiar. It\u2019s hard to navigate any grocery store without passing magazines like <\/span>Cosmopolitan<\/span><\/i> on your way to the checkout counter. The green section of quotes comes from magazines printed in the early 2000s and 2010s, while the orange group comes from the 2020s. The stark contrast in messages between the two groups is in many ways emblematic of the shift in societal messages regarding female sexual pleasure throughout the last two decades. For example, the green group of quotes emphasizes the woman pleasing the man, with no recognition of valuing her own pleasure. I grew up seeing <\/span>Cosmopolitan <\/span><\/i>magazines in familiar places, such as the ubiquitous checkout counter. Later, when I was in middle school and had questions about sex, <\/span>Cosmopolitan <\/span><\/i>articles were often one of the first search results to pop up on Google. These messages are widely accessible to youth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After much reflection, I view these messages\u2019 effects on me as a symbol of my unconscious inability to prioritize my pleasure throughout my heterosexual relationships. For this personal reason, I analyze the danger of promoting such messages in mainstream media, with the goal of precisely understanding how it leads both men and women to value women’s sexual pleasure less than men\u2019s. More specifically, I examine the harmful effects of ingesting sexual media, the West\u2019s perspective on the female orgasm, the social factors which impact women\u2019s abilities to achieve sexual pleasure, and the physical ways in which sex is performed that cater to men\u2019s pleasure over women\u2019s. Finally, I focus on two Rwandan practices prioritizing female sexual pleasure, <\/span>Gukuna <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Kunyaza<\/span><\/i>, to demonstrate the stark contrast between a culture that prioritizes female sexual pleasure and the American sexual culture, which conversely creates a taboo around it. I hope the results of this analysis give my readers a greater sense of agency regarding their and their partner\u2019s sexual pleasure.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a caveat, in this paper, the terms \u201cwoman\u201d and \u201cfemale\u201d refer to a person assigned female at birth who identifies as a woman. I must emphasize this distinction; some people have the sexual and reproductive anatomy of the female sex but do not identify as women, and vice versa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Ivar Leidus, “Papaya – longitudinal section.” Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sexual Media Consumption<\/b><\/h3>\n

How are our perceptions of sex and sexual pleasure formed? Sexual media, like pornography, is accessible and popular. Furthermore, it can have a dangerous effect on how we view gender and sexual pleasure. One alarming message that mainstream porn carries is that aggression during sexual activity is the norm. For example, in a 2005 study titled \u201cAggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos,\u201d one of the main takeaways was that the perpetrators of sexual violence in sexual media are overwhelmingly men, and the victims of such treatment are overwhelmingly women (Bridges). From the same study, researchers report that their \u201cfindings indicate high levels of aggression in pornography in both verbal and physical forms. Of the 304 scenes analyzed, 88.2% contained physical aggression, principally spanking, gagging, and slapping, while 48.7% of scenes contained verbal aggression, primarily name-calling\u201d (Bridges). The sheer prevalence of aggressive behavior in pornography sends a signal to viewers that this is normal in the bedroom, perhaps even preferred. Furthermore, this perception is bolstered by the reaction of the recipient of the aggressive behavior. According to the study, women\u2019s reactions were portrayed as either neutral or, more commonly, as enjoying such treatment (Bridges). This portrayal of enjoyment perpetuates the normalization of mistreating women to please men, as well as the idea that women should experience satisfaction from such aggressive treatment. This messaging is found in other forms of media besides porn, as exemplified in the quotes from the magazines above.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To further investigate the themes being perpetuated in sexual media, I decided to see what kinds of messages I would be subjected to via Pornhub, the world\u2019s most-used website for pornography (Hillinger). Clicking on Pornhub\u2019s website, I was immediately spammed with video clips of genitalia. Within just two or three scrolls of the mouse, I was met with titles of videos such as:<\/span><\/p>\n