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Journal of Health Psychology
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Social Representations of Female Orgasm

Maya Lavie-Ajayi

Tel-Hai College, Israel

Hélène Joffe

University College London, UK, h.joffe{at}ucl.ac.uk

This study examines women's social representations of female orgasm. Fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted with British women. The data were thematically analysed and compared with the content of female orgasm-related writing in two women's magazines over a 30-year period. The results indicate that orgasm is deemed the goal of sex with emphasis on its physiological dimension. However, the women and the magazines graft onto this scientifically driven representation the importance of relational and emotive aspects of orgasm. For the women, particularly those who experience themselves as having problems with orgasm, the scientifically driven representations induce feelings of failure, but are also resisted. The findings highlight the role played by the social context in women's subjective experience of their sexual health.

Key Words: female orgasm • magazine portrayal • social representations

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 1, 98-107 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1359105308097950
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