Ladies, listen up.
Chances are, if you and your partner have decided to spice things up in the bedroom, you've ordered a new sex toy, read up on a few positions you haven't tried before, or even Googled the 'how to' guide for bondage for beginners or pegging.
But, public service announcement: a new study by the Indiana University School of Medicine and OMGYES has concluded that there are actually four specific techniques guaranteed to make women, in particular, enjoy sex more.
The findings, which surveyed 4,270 women between the ages of 18 and 93 globally, reveal that there are four ways women up their pleasure during vaginal penetration.
Close to nine in 10 (87%) of women who responded enjoy 'angling' during sex - that's 'rotating, raising or lowering the hips during penetration to adjust where inside the vagina the toy or penis rubs', but more on that in a bit.
The authors of the study share that they believe the ability to communicate these techniques is a 'critical scaffold' for women's overall wellbeing, and 'reframes [female] enjoyment of sex as a fundamental human right.'
"For the first time, we have detailed scientific data to understand the different ways that women experience more pleasure with vaginal penetration,’ shares Dr Devon Hensel, one of the researchers on the study. "This information can help us build a vocabulary to describe female pleasure that currently doesn’t exist."
So why are these findings so important? Simply put, because we've never explored this subject matter before, or even taken the time to work out exactly what makes a woman tick when it comes to sex. "When something doesn’t even have a name, it’s made literally unspeakable. Until now, there haven’t been words for the specific ways women improve their pleasure," doctor von Hippel, another researcher on the study, further explains.
"By giving these prevalent techniques names and showing how they can be effective, we hope women will be empowered to explore what they like and advocate for what they want, in and outside of the bedroom."
Keen to find out more about these four techniques? You're in the right place. The findings reveal that rocking, angling, pairing and shallowing all make sex more enjoyable for women.
76.4% of women make penetration that bit more enjoyable by rocking during sexual intercourse. Why? Well, largely to increase clit stimulation, bypassing the standard thrusting and instead favouring a deeper penetration where the clit is stimulated by the penis, too.
A further 87.5% of women shared that sex is more pleasurable for them when they angle their vagina differently during the intercourse. That is, moving your hips, pelvis, legs or knees during sex to increase your sexual satisfaction. Think about it - and note that the more you experiment, the more you'll know exactly what angle works best for you.
69.7% of women reported that 'pairing' turns them on during sex - that is, getting involved themselves and making sure all the hard work isn't left to their significant other. They note that this can include 'solo pairing', where a woman touches herself during sex, or 'partner pairing', where your partner touches your clitoris during sex. Essentially, it's clitoral stimulation paired with penetration again - are you noticing a pattern here?
Last but by no means least, 83.8% of women shared that sex is better for them when it includes 'shallowing' - which essentially means favouring shallow penetration, rather than deep vaginal penetration. The findings found that women actually reach orgasm more regularly when the penis - or sex toy, tongue, or other instrument - in question touches just inside their vagina.
What do you reckon? Do those four techniques make sex more pleasurable for you, too?
