Santé – Is good sex always orgasmic?

Published in Santé magazine
On June 1, 2023

Today, Claire has come to my practice alone. She and her boyfriend have been to my practice before, but they both wanted an individual session. “What’s it like being here by yourself this time?” I ask. “Well, kind of weird… But also kind of nice. Maybe I can speak a bit easier when Willem isn’t sitting next to me. He might feel the same way when he’s here alone with you next week,” she replies.

“So what do you find difficult to discuss in front of him and prefer to discuss with me alone?” I ask directly. “Uhm, well…” she begins, “I don’t want to hurt him, that’s why I find it hard to say. But, yeah… I often don’t find sex with him that exciting. Sometimes I don’t even like what he does. But he always wants to go on until I orgasm, it’s very important to him.”

A week later, Willem sits opposite of me and I ask him how he feels about the sex with Claire. “Well, it’s pretty good actually. I think it’s very important that she enjoys it too, because sex is something you do together after all.” he answers. “That’s really good,” I respond. “You’re absolutely right about that, it’s definitely important that you both enjoy it. After all, that’s what sex is for, isn’t it!” He smiles. “But how do you know if Claire is enjoying it?” I then ask. “That’s obvious… She gets excited, because she gets wet, and she likes it, because she cums.” There is a lot of confidence in his answer.

"Those things may indeed be good clues," I begin, "yet I would not rely on them alone."

William shifts forward a bit. “When a woman is sexually aroused she usually gets wet, that’s true. But the female body also responds to sexual stimuli that she doesn’t find arousing or even downright unpleasant, for instance when she watches a violent sex scene in a movie. Moreover, if stimulation is effective enough, you orgasm, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you enjoyed it. For example, women may orgasm during a sexual assault or rape.” William listens. “So it is a myth that getting wet means that a woman is in the mood and an orgasm means that she enjoyed it.”

Praktijk van relatietherapeut seksuoloog Jolien Spoelstra Haarlem
Hoe zeg ik sorry?

“Really, wow, I didn’t know that,” William says perplexed, “So, she usually gets an orgasm… But that doesn’t mean I can conclude that the sex we have is good?!” His self-confidence suddenly seems to have evaporated. “You know, William, if you really want to know if Claire is having a good time, it’s best to just ask her in an open and calm manner.”

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This post is also available in: NL ENG

This post is also available in: NL ENG