In Brief

Second-Rate Sex: Women Missing Orgasm in Hookups

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(Image credit: Dreamstime)

For women, sex during hookups may be missing something: a climax.

In a new study, which involved about 600 college students, women were twice as likely to have an orgasm during sex in a committed relationship compared to a hookup, according an article in the New York Times.

And previous research has found that, when asked about their last hookup, just 40 percent of women say they reached orgasm compared to 80 percent of men, the NYT says.

"We've been sold this bill of goods that we're in an era where people can be sexually free and participate equally in the hookup culture," study researcher Justin Garcia, an evolutionary biologist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, was quoted as saying. "The fact is that not everyone's having a good time."

Women may have more orgasms in relationships because the couple is more experienced with each other, and because men care more about women's needs, the NYT article says.

Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.