Did you know that people can orgasm 95% of the time when masturbating, regardless of gender? So, why is it that orgasm rates plumment for cis-women when they start having sex with cis-men (but cis-men’s stays around the same)? It’s this orgasm gap that Dr Karen Gurney, clinical psychologist and psychosexologist, tackles in this powerful talk on sex and gender inequality.

Karen takes us through the history of why, as as society, we’ve incorrectly framed women’s orgasms as trickier than men’s, and the impact that this has on who’s pleasure is prioritised in sex between cis men and women. She explains how the orgasm gap is maintained, and what we can all do to close it, harnessing the power of collective action behind closed doors to impact gender equality in wider society. Dr Karen Gurney is a clinical psychologist and psychosexologist on a mission to improve the sex lives of the nation. An expert in sex and relationships, she wrote her first book Mind The Gap: the truth about desire and how to futureproof your sex life in 2020 and uses her Instagram account @thesexdoctor to make sex therapy accessible to everyone. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx