Fake orgasms? It's something to moan about

A research team on "copulatory vocalizaion" asked 71 sexually active heterosexual women aged 18 to 48 about their vocalizaion during sex, and 66 percent of them answered that they moaned to “speed up their partner’s climax,” while 87 percent said they did it to “boost the partner’s self-esteem.” / Captured from social media

By Hong Dam-young

Why do many women scream out while having sex?

Is it a sign of reaching climax? Are there any reasons for it?

Two U.K. scientists have explored the “truth” behind the vocalization, which has drawn attention on social media and coverage on U.S. news channel CNN.

Gayle Brewer of the University of Central Lancashire and Colin Hendrie of the University of Leeds published their research on the topic ― technically known as “copulatory vocalization” ― in the Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2011, according to CNN. They asked 71 sexually active heterosexual women aged 18 to 48 about their vocalization during sex.

The result showed that 66 percent of them moaned to “speed up their partner’s climax,” while 87 percent said they did it to “boost the partner’s self-esteem.” Other answers included “to relieve boredom, fatigue, and discomfort during sex.” Surprisingly, the team found that many of the women did not make any noise during orgasm.

"There isn't a lot of research in this area," said Kristen Mark, a sexuality researcher at Indiana University.

"But we're bombarded with images through mainstream media that tell us moaning is associated with orgasm and sexual pleasure. So it would be a fairly wise faking strategy to moan since men already tend to associate moaning with orgasm."

There are counter-arguments that making noise turns some women on and they do it for their own good, not for their partners. Experts say many women use vocalization to help achieve orgasm.

Meanwhile, researchers show women are not the only primates who vocalize during sex. Female baboons make a variety of copulation calls, which vary when they mate with a higher-ranked male baboon. Female macaque monkeys also use noise to speed up a mate’s orgasm.