Have you ever wondered about how sex feels for other people?
We spoke with 20 women (including some nonbinary folks) about how sex feels for them.
the answer is probably no!
“Like electricity running through my body.”
I can feel my heartbeat down there.
Goosebumps and tingles down my spine.
It feels warm and relaxing.
“Sex feels like this vulnerable, random experience that I feel for the most part is underwhelming.
Lately, I’ve been finding it hard to stay interested and fully let go.
Definitely finding sex more fun in theory than practice at the moment.”
Ellen, 29
“The stimulation connects my entire body.”
Mie, 33
“Sex feels like a way to feel what someone else is feeling.”
“On a good day, sex feels like a way to feel what someone else is feeling.
Liliana, 38
“Like you’re being tickled.”
“Sex feels like you’re being tickled, but better and youdon’twant them to stop.”
Lovisa, 27
“I feel both exposed and at home in my body.”
While orgasms are fleeting, sex to me isn’t.
I think it can be pretty magical.”
Nat, 22
“It’s as if the forces of nature have gathered within me.”
“My body experiences many sorts of orgasms, from small physical relief to earth-shattering climaxes.
I can sometimes have similar-feeling orgasms through oral sex mixed with vaginal penetration.
It’s pure bliss!”
Lola, 31
“Like the best kind of confusion.”
“Honestly, orgasms feel like the best kind of confusion.
Will it flinch, shake, come a little orsquirt, or all of the above?”
Everyone’s surprised and happy in the end."
Brandi, 30
“Floating on air.”
“Undoubtedly, the best orgasms I’ve experienced have been with penetrationandclitoral stimulation from a vibrator.
My partner gifted me theLelo Sona Cruise, and that really changed the game.
When I orgasm, I feel it from the top of my head to my ankles.
My stomach tightens and releases (I think that’s where the root of my moaning is?
), and sometimes my legs shake.
Starleisha, 40
“Sex feels like connection.”
“Sex feels like coming back to myself.
Especially now, when I’m doing it with someone I love.
When I look at her and she looks at me, it feels like I can breathe again.
How cringey; sorry, but it’s true!
And all this is coming from [someone] who barely ever enjoyed sex before.
Who would have thought?”
Ginte, 28
“A dopamine promise just beyond the ridge.”
“Changing angles as age renders wrists and forearms into wounded remnants of life’s adventures and mishaps.
I’m shivering, I’m saying ‘God, yes.’
Spirit is present in orgasms.
That’s how I decided God was real.”
Kristi, 48
“My mind almost goes blank.”
“During an intimate moment, it feels like my body is tingling all over.
When it’s really intense, my mind almost goes blank because I’m hyper-focusing on the sensations.
Anything from kissing to a finger going down the middle of my back will bring chills during sex.
Then the body is just shuddering, coming back to this reality.”
Odochi, 31
“Light exploding throughout my body.”
How sex feels to me greatly depends on the context and the person.
Anna, 36
“Like our souls are colliding.”
“Sex is a spiritual event for me.
It is as close to worship as I can obtain with my partner.
I have only been able to achieve orgasms throughoral sexand fingering in particular.
Quia, 35
“Like having my entire body bathed with warm washcloths.”
“Physically it feels like having my entire body bathed with warm washcloths, simultaneously.
Adiba, 43
“It feels like the millisecond before you sneeze.”
It’s almost like my body goes into shock.
I get really sad, then happy, then back to normal.
It literally lasts for only 10 seconds, but it’s intense…
I’ve tried describing it before but couldn’t.
Chi, 28
“All orgasms are on an intensity spectrum.”
So, sometimes, after enough vaginal sex, additional stimulation is needed to get to climax.
I’m not sure!
That’s the formula for an earth-shattering orgasm in my book!
Linda, 52
“If done slightly wrong, it can be quite painful.”
Like tongues can easily feel like horrid scratchy cat tongues, and I just want them away!
Natalie, 27
“Sex toys become an extension of your partner.”
It creates a whole new level of intensity with your orgasm.
They always felt too fake for me.
It becomes an extension of your partner.
It makes the toys feel more intense, more alive, more intuitive to your body.
Somehow the orgasm becomes more powerful because of the control your partner has over it.”
Liv, 38
“It feels like an out-of-body experience.”
“A good orgasm feels like an electrical current working its way through my body.
The deeper it goes, the more my senses feel heightened.
Sometimes, on the really good interactions, it evenfeels like an out-of-body experience.
I can almost see myself from above giving in to the vulnerability of the orgasm.
It’s like I’ve been separated into two entitiesone enjoying physical pleasure and another enjoying mental clarity.
And once the act of sex or playing with vibrators is over, the orgasm itself isn’t gone.
It lingers, slowly leaving my body with every breath.
Sometimes sex feels like the ability to move awareness around my body.
Like some electric force is roaming up and down my spine and connecting all the different parts of me.
Ella, 26
Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity, and some names have been changed.
