Much ado about the big O

Wealthy men give women more orgasms

Jonathan Leake, Science and Environment Editor

Scientists have found that the pleasure women get from making love is directly linked to the size of their partner’s bank balance.

They found that the wealthier a man is, the more frequently his partner has orgasms.

“Women’s orgasm frequency increases with the income of their partner,” said Dr Thomas Pollet, the Newcastle University psychologist behind the research.

He believes the phenomenon is an “evolutionary adaptation” that is hard-wired into women, driving them to select men on the basis of their perceived quality.

The study is certain to prove controversial, suggesting that women are inherently programmed to be gold-diggers.

However, it fits into a wider body of research known as evolutionary psychology which suggests that both men and women are genetically predisposed to ruthlessly exploit each other to achieve the best chances of survival for their genes.

The female orgasm is the focus of much research because it appears to have no reproductive purpose. Women can become pregnant whatever their pleasure levels.

Pollet, and Professor Daniel Nettle, his co-author, believed, however, that the female orgasm is an evolutionary adaptation that drives women to choose and retain high-quality partners.

He and Nettle tested that idea using data gathered in one of the world’s biggest lifestyle studies. The Chinese Health and Family Life Survey targeted 5,000 people across China for in-depth interviews about their personal lives, including questions about their sex lives, income and other factors. Among these were 1,534 women with male partners whose data was the basis for the study.

They found that 121 of these women always had orgasms during sex, while 408 more had them “often”. Another 762 “sometimes” orgasmed while 243 had them rarely or never. Such figures are similar to those for western countries.

There were of course, several factors involved in such differences but, said Pollet, money was one of the main ones.

He said: “Increasing partner income had a highly positive effect on women’s self-reported frequency of orgasm. More desirable mates cause women to experience more orgasms.”

This is not an effect limited to Chinese women. Previous research in Germany and America has looked at attributes such as body symmetry and attractiveness, finding that these are also linked with orgasm frequency. Money, however, seems even more important.

David Buss, professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, who raised this question in his book The Evolution of Desire believes female orgasms have several possible purposes.

“They could promote emotional bonding with a high-quality male or they could serve as a signal that women are highly sexually satisfied, and hence unlikely to seek sex with other men,” he said. “What those orgasms are saying is ‘I’m extremely loyal, so you should invest in me and my children’.”

******

I need a higher pension!

Dave, Southampton, UK

Perhaps what the girls report as being orgasm is a feeling of ecstacy brought on while copulating with a wealthy benefactor by the expectation of the perquisites e.g. fine jewelry etc. that will accrue as a result of the successful copulation.

Anthony Gumbrell, Seattle, USA

This is just silly,
How can you expect lower class people who come home tired every day to have the same quality sex life as the couple that can drink wine whenever they like, eat quality food, have loads of reqreational time and perhaps dont even have to clean their own apartment.

Magnus, Reykjavík, Iceland

Variables to be taken in to account.
1. No woman has an orgasm every time
2. Few people tell the truth about sex (too personal)
3. Men need to listen to women to find out how to give them an orgasm. Women need to tell men what they need. Every woman is different.
Nothing to do with wealth….

Victoria, London,

Perhaps women who are more orgasmic seek out wealthier men rather than wealthy men generating more orgasms. There doesn’t seem to be a control group, or any data about the frequency of orgasm before these women partnered with wealthy men.

JWK, Los Angeles, USA

Gary Crawford from Renfrewshire.. my word.. you are the man, aren’t you..

I bet you have silk sheets and a mirror above your heavily under-used bed as well..

Thanks for the top tip as well.. I like all other men was busy focusing myself.. some times I even just forget that the woman is there!

Aaron, Coventry, UK

Rather concerned about the throw-away comment at the end implying that women who orgasm with their partners are more loyal. I would think orgasmic women enjoy sex to a greater degree and therefore would be more likely to look for it more often – probably with different partners.

Sue, London, UK

One reason is that a rich man can pay women to do nothing but make themselves interesting as sex objects. So in turn that turns men on and makes them better sex partners. But I’ll bet the real reason is that women will spin a man any yarn he wants to hear about his sex prowess if he’s rich enough!

john bentley, Loule, Portugal

In the US there’s a direct relationship between poverty and obesity, and since it is known that if you are a fat slob you will not please your woman, that makes sense.

Also, if you’re a male, there’s nothing like being broke that screws up your confidence, another turn on for women.

Jim, Atlanta GA, USA

So tell me… does the same apply if the tables are turned, i.e. if it’s the woman with all the money and power? What if she has it all …but looks like the back end of a bus? What totally pointless, misguided, “stuck in the 1950’s” pile of rubbish!

Sue, nottingham,

What a load of rubbish!! I earn more than my partner although our finances are joint and we share everything. I’d never orgasmed until I met him when I was 38. It’s about love, trust and communication

T Howard, Stratfrod, London

What rubbish! Women orgasm more because of ‘confidence’, which is naturally found more in wealthier men. Though, one doesn’t necessarily have to be wealthy to be confident to make women orgasm. Security is a big factor, but you don’t need millions for that!

Tony, New York, USA

No wonder the shadow cabinet always look so smug. It seems it also works for the press in their case. .

A Clark, Hampstead, england

Like Chris Rock says “the womans desire for “winky” is directly related to a mans wallet”. HA.

Chris, England,

If you take away a RICH MANS BANK BALANCE (the only thing they really have) lets see how fast they dont or cannot orgasim.

Chris, England,

It never seems to amaze me what nonsense people come up with. It’s all geared to making us more materiliastic. The real reason for fulfilment in sex is contentedness in life. And one can have that with a modest bank balance. And I didn’t need to spend thousands of taxpayers money to tell you that!

Charan Muzaya, London, UK

Well If I could afford for someone to do all the housework, gardening etc and took my wife on expensive holidays and out for a lovely meal every night while the kids were safely away at boarding school I reckon she’d have more orgasms. I am quite happy to prove this with a grant of say 200k please.

Gary, Mitcham, Uk

One of Frank Sinatra’s ex wives explained the attraction as the two bulges in his pants….the big wallet being one! Says it all with an honesty of which few women are capable.

peter martin, London,

i am not a wealthy man, but every woman i have had sex with has had at least one orgasm. this is done by knowing the right buttons to press. top tip concentrate on the lady first and the climaxes will come!
this research is pointless, as an attentitive man will always satisfy a woman.

Gary Crawford, Renfrewshire,

“Yes, he is amazing in bed.” Says woman who would quite like a Ferrari.

John, Bristol,

It is obvious that a man has drawn such conclusions from the results. He has forgotten that ladies fake their orgasms “every now and then” just to make their partners feel able and if you are the gold digging type, you are more than willing to do anything to keep him happy and you in the money.

Cat, Cambridge,

This research did not report what percentage of the sample were working women or not. A woman married to a wealthy husband most likely doed not need to work, and can enjoy sex more.

Moman, Riyadh,

Erm…perhaps the ability to earn money is testosterone linked, making these men better lovers whether they are rich or not. Just a thought, from a qualified evolutionary psychologist….

Eliza, hastings, United Kingdom

Quality of men? Just because someone is rich it does `nt mean they are of good quality.
Women will go for men whom they believe will produce healthy children , thats evolution and bank balance is irrelevant.
If they fancy you they will breed with you,simple!

mark, Cambridge,

That means in America and Britain, there will be a lot of disappointed ladies this year. Perhaps they should form a hit squad against Brown and Bush: for ruining there love life.

A Walton, Leicester, England

Surely, the obvious reason is that when a woman marries a wealthy man the stress in her life is reduced considerably, because she doesn’t have to worry about money. This then would cause her to relax and thus have much more fun in

Dawn., Jeddah,

The stress test of the orgasmic relationship is what happens while bank balances disappear.

If the woman is quick, it’ll be into her and her lawyer’s banks or she’ll just pack all the diamonds etc into her suitcase.

If slow…….
Perhaps another PhD Thesis?

Damian, Brighton,

these statistics also reveal something more fascinating. That only 1 in 15 of these women orgasm with their partners. 3 of 15 never orgasm. Is this not a concern?

Donna, Los Angeles, USA

Hey, K. Hall. Lady Chatterly was fiction.

Eugene, heidelberg, germany

How did the researchers define “wealthy” or “rich”? Did they actually measure wealth or assume it rather as accountants, auditors and the regulatory authorities all seem to do leading to highly invalid results?

John Mitchell, Devon, UK

Is it alternatively possible that women who are more orgasmic are also better at attracting the wealthiest, and therefore most desirable, men? If I had my choice of women, I’d choose the one that was more orgasmic, and therefore more rewarding, in bed.

mike, san diego, u.s.

I think the article hit the truth with this: “More desirable mates cause women to experience more orgasms.”
Money happens to be seen as desirable by our society as a whole (thanks, media!), but this doesn’t mean it’s true for every individual. If you appreciate intelligence, that’s a better bet.

Alicia, New York, USA

Yes i also belive these results point towards the truth of the matter. However is only refers to a general trend – for example i am a bit of a pennyless loser and my wife and her family are pretty wealthy. So it does not always work as above. My wife loves me because i am kind and considerate.

Daniopolis, Melbourne , Australia

Actually,the comments seem more factual,than the “scientific study”. It seems most women and men don’t stray too much ,out of their cultural and financial brackets,to find a partner.Money does not always promise “satisfaction guarrantied”.

Kathy, New Jersey, USA

I don’t know about everyone else but when i was in college I had a pretty good time with some pretty broke fellows. I am a bit older now and married and have a pretty great time with my man and no he’s not wealthy. There is a saying… the first time you marry for love, the second time for money.

Yulia, New York, USA

There is a lot of stereotyping going on here. Yet, the people making these comments are primarily from the UK, US, and Australia. My grandparents are from China. My chinese grandfather told my american father that it is more important to be happy than to be wealthy.

Jen , Brooklyn, United States

Social & cultural factors might be better guides to human behavior, but that does not mean that evolution also plays no role. Every behavior (organism, eating, altruism, etc.) has multiple causes. Saying that evolution is one does not negate that social or cultural factors are also at work.

JPetraitis, Eagle River, USA

There may be a genetic disposition for women to be ‘taken care of’ financially. This is not negative- a hard working man should be honest and proud enough to earn enough money to raise the family – and allow his wife to be a full time mother so she does a good job raising the kids = mutal benefit

Daniopolis, Melbourne , Australia

OR, the partners of rich men just fake it more….

Jude, Russiaville, U.S.A

I asked my first wife if she would still love me if i lost all my money. She said…I’ll always love you…i’ll miss you but I’ll always love you!

Billy, Bangkok, Thailand

This proves I need more money.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

Statisticians significantly increase navel gazing.

Greg Lorriman, Leathehead, UK

A typical piece of biological reductionism. It doesn’t explain why women choose men when they are past child bearing age or why women often choose men whose bank balances are not good and are unlikely to be very good. Social and cultural factors are a much better guide to human behaviour.

A L Sen, Mijas, Spain

Amusing article at the most. This kind of research doesn’t show a direct correlation. The wealthier the man, the better socioeconomic status and life of the couple. How about that?

Elo, Bratislava, Slovakia

Chinese culture values money very very highly – not individuality and other attributes that appeal to women in other cultures, so this study is somewhat culturally specific. If the majority of the population is poor, then rich men are even more appealing – as in China where this study took place.

Mei Yen, Singapore,

The data review process might be ok, but the conclusions of this research seem to be extremely poor and shortsighted.
1. Correlation does not imply causality.
2. Even if there is a causal link, there is way more than just this interpretation.
Btw: Why is it “wealthy men” and not “wealthy couple”?

Patrick Maechler, Basel, Switzerland

Isn’t it possible that these women have more orgasms is because, given that their partners are more wealthy, they are healthier, in better shape, more comfortable and with fewer worries and that leads to a better sex life? Just a thought.

Jeff, Houston, Texas, USA

Re: “Oh I love perceived shauvinism; and the mis-spelling of ‘ridiculous’.”

And I love the misspelling of “chauvinism”!

M, New Jersey, USA

How do they explain huge population increase in poor third-world countries ?
Mohammed, London, UK
So you think that it’s necessary for a woman to orgasm in order to become pregnant? Oh dear…..

Alex, London,

Maybe wealthy Chinese men have more time to invest to study Taoist lovemaking techniques: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoist_sexual_practices
The fact that male orgasm can be triggered without ejaculation raises more questions than the evolutionary explanation in the article can answer.

Pena, Helsinki, Finland

You don’t need to have an orgasm to get pregnant, Mohammed.

Heather V, East Perth, Australia

Women may be as sexually active as men and some more so. They have similar sensations to men when their genitals are stimulated as nerves in the genitals of both sexes should send similar signals to the brain. An orgasm, as many post TURP patients can confirm, may occur without ejaculation.

battleaxe, Sydney, Australia

How do they explain huge population increase in poor third-world countries ?

Mohammed, London, UK

Look at all of the women jumping on their band-wagons! Oh I love perceived shauvinism; and the mis-spelling of ‘ridiculous’.

samuel gosney, reading, UK

women can have orgasms??

i always say that if your doing it for longer than two minutes, your doing it for her…

Two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven.

ben, london,

Making love in the mercenary poition…. who’d have thought!

Tom, London , UK

What happens when a once wealthy man loses his money? Does his wife/girlfriend have fewer orgasms?

Liz, London,

This definitely backs up my own personal experience. As my business went down the pan so did my sexiness in her eyes. I feel a bit like a bus. She got off when I started going slowly. Now I’m starting to speed up again she seems to be thinking of getting back on.

Name withheld, London, UK

Does it work with fake money ?

Bruno, Paris, France

I think that there may be some truth to the study, women can’t help what they are more attracted to. Im sure a man could orgasm more easily with a bikini supermodel, much like a woman could with a rich man. Whatever floats your boat….

Angie, Warren, USA

So what`s new ?
I have always thought that a woman`s `g` spot could be found
somewhere in a man`s wallet.

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

I am willing to be used in the following round of tests. Rob the billionaire

Robert Garfield, London, UK

All that has been demostrated is a correlation, not a causal connection. If there is a connection, it may even go the other way, so that men whose partners are satisfied (perhaps a correlation with a stable family life) go on to make more money.

Mark, Christchurch, NZ

Totally disagree. I have been with both rich and poor men. And though men don’t want to hear this, for me personally it was the size of their ‘tackle’ that mattered more than the bank book. Maybe some women don’t care, but truth be told, that’s what makes the difference here.

Zoey, London, UK

The fact that women might be more attracted to men who can offer security and a better life style for them and their offspring is hardly ground breaking is it ! Oh, and women are more attracted to men who are good looking, or who are physically fit, and not diseased ? Evolution, common sense anyone

Pete Dzvis, wolds, uk

This article effectively makes the argument that women’s programming to choose a mate is little more than a light version of prostitution. Many will have had that view already….

Paul, Antrim, Northern Ireland

This study has really brought some clarity on a couple of issues. Most specifically I had always thought the female orgasm was a myth – clearly not.

Kevin Pavalick, Arizona,

This may be a classic case of the uncertainty that attends the interpretation of data. It might also be the case that the men who are big earners, along with other Alpha male factors, just may be better lovers. Data never interprets itself.

Joseph Adams, New York, USA

I’d like to see how the study controlled for the woman’s income – is she providing for herself, not supported by the moneyed partner, etc? I suspect women with adequate resources, whatever the source, are healthier, more at ease, and thus more likely to orgasm.

Shannon, US,

Rediculous! Did Dr Pollett c onsider that someone in a financially secure relationship, with little stress and more leisurely time, would automatically have more sex and thus experience orgasms frequently? Also, women find various elements attractive- powerful, successful men only one of these..

Hilda Smits, london,

The ineptness of “data research” is astounding, as it proclaims “cause and effect”. Maybe these women orgasm more simply because they are happier, and life is easier. Another study linked eating salmon with depression. Maybe those people were just happy they could afford salmon three times a week.

Bruce Tingey, Monterey, United States

Modern Chinese culture revolves around money – buddhists who burn fake money in temples to induce the gods to bring them wealth. If money gives Chinese women orgasms, it does not follow that the same is true for other cultures. It’s not what you have, it’s what you do with it!

Sally Laurens, Tschappina, Switzerland

This article made me laugh out loud.

How can research based on a sample from a different culture be trotted in this way? The frequency of orgasm is down to attitude to sex, nature of relationship, sexual liberation etc…and nothing to do with bank balances…from my experience..

Jo, St Albans, UK

Also- looks like Dr Pollett conducted his study (which is by no means objective) in a vacuum- he did not take other crucial elements into account such as physical attractiveness, or emotional variables. I do not take studies seriously that are only out to substantiate such silly theories!

Hilda Smits, London,

Absolute tosh, it would be true if it said woman fake more orgasms to get more gifts.Other than that watch out fo the credit crunch moans not much foreplay after the recession I guess.

david , northumberland,

I’m a student, so in theory my girlfriend should not be very happy this year … though she never seems to complain – hmm, obviously not the case for everyone!

Ed, Bristol,

Perhaps the less wealthy of us should take up game keeping.

Alan, Upington,

You’re trying to tell me women can orgasm? That’s news to me.

Bev, Sydney, Australia

Another nail in the conffin of Feminism. Decades of bringing women closer to men on the earnings scale has done nothing to contradict the genetic fact that women prefer to be “taken care of”. Dating pages of weekend broadsheets are dominated by middle class women seeking financially solvent men.

william, london, uk

This makes sense to me. If you have more money, you are more likely to make your woman comfortable in her life and be able to buy her expensive gifts and holidays, which all adds to the sense of being cherished.

kim, london,

if this is the case, then i predict a lot of women to become frigid overnight as their partners bank balances shrivel up and disappear. the illusion of wealth in men is as powerful as the illusion of attractiveness in women; over time, both diminish. Even Hugh Hefner cannot keep his women forever

patrick, singapore, singapore

Lady Chatterly would have disagreed! Gamekeeper Mellors pushed all the right buttons in her case.

K.Hall, Helsinki,

It isn’t April 1st on some weird Chinese calendar is it?

Adrian Gilbert, Tonbridge,

So, guys, the secret of a good sex life is to throw your money around like holy water at an ex-communication, and lie like a dog about the size of your … bank balance.

But beware, research has shown that the most powerful female orgasms occur as a result of a good, hard … divorce settlement.

Justin, London, UK

I think it’s just linked to how intelligent the woman perceives the man to be..as it would follow perhaps that they are more skilled and receptive when it comes to sex if they’re on a higher wage.

Han, Chelmsford,

What about a woman past the menopause? Do her orgasms still depend on ‘genetic survival’?

This research is not science, it’s science fiction!

Rich, London,

It would make sense, subconsciously women would want some one who is wealthy enough to provide for her and her children.

Men are more ’shallow’ (physical attractiveness), how attractive a woman is can be linked to how healthy she is. This would make her better for baring children.
All subconscious

Matthew, Cardiff,

Women, so predicatable.

Kazuki, Tokyo, Japan

How interesting that most of the comments on this article are by men.

I would disagree with this article, environmental factors would play a huge part, and living with a rich man would mean a happy comfortable lifestyle so less worries, perhaps this is why the link has been found.

holly, London,

EUREKA- Got it ,winning the lottery = more female orgasms.
Or is it the lies, dammed lies and statistics?

M Harrison, Peterborough, Cambs

That is all very well but could most of these highly orgasmic women have been ‘had’ in the sense that a lot of this money is fictitious in terms of what we know now from the credit crunch eg most “banks are techically insolvent” etc etc?
An ancient Greek in London

Nicholas Xenakis, Borough, London

Here was me thinking that my very pretty sister in law married her very overweight and rather unattractive husband because he was rich, and now it seems its the sex ,wow !!

Name withheld, Edinburgh,

no, I think it’s rather the dangling gold medallions which do the trick

bill torbitt, windhoek, namibia

It is itelligence, not money.

More itelligent men naturally make more money by day, by night they are more capable of tuning in to what a woman wants or needs.

Brains means orgasms.

Alex, London, England

Research also seems to show that wealthier men tend to be taller, more testosterone fuelled, (I can’t remember the sources so correct me if Im mistaken). Aggression, physicality, and presumably confidence may be equally in play here. No surprises though if this is true though.

joseph, london, united kingdom

Not quite so true! Attractiveness and good oral techniques count the most!

Adam, Birmingham, UK

This is poor Science. Women naturally orgasm more with men that they are attracted to. Women are attracted to competence. Competence in most fields is rewarded financially.Women probably orgasm a lot with highly competent men on lower incomes too.

Mike, London, UK

Financial stable couples have less stress in their life. When they are making love they are not wondering how they are going to pay their light bill thus increasing the sexual attention that they give each other.

But I think that it is entirely dependant on the woman. Not all are the same.

Rob, St Louis, US

Perhaps us blokes, in order to “satisfy” a woman should leave the sex technique books alone then and concentrate soley on making stacks of money!

Neil Graham, Mula, Murcia, Spain

I suspect gold diggers are more likely to fake their orgasms to make themselves appear more desirable to the ( wealthier) man. Cue “Yes!! Oh Yes!! More!!! ” etc, as per Meg Ryan.

Steve, Oxford, UK

Seems easy enough to test the hypothesis. And if the Science Research Council, or any similar body will give me a million pounds a week for the next year, I’d be delighted to undertake the onerous experiements.

Marty Grimes, London, England

Heather form Corsicana, as a psychiatrist I disagree with your assertion that wealthy men are more likely to have self-assured women. Many insecure women seek identity and self-esteem through wealthy mates precisely because they are lacking in themselves. They would also say they orgasm more…

ruskee, London,

Related item you ran recently: Matthew Syed on Olympic village sex: the men go for beauty, and the women swoon for medalists.

Really, beauty is an indirect marker of what matters genetically: fathers with the prowess to win the game & bag the hot babes. Beauty is the glow of ancestral fitness.

Bruce, Vancouver, Canada

‘Successful’ men might like to think this is due to their prowess in bed. However, these alpha males are probably more likely to stay with (and marry) an ‘orgasmic’ woman – which helps the ego, of course. Also, their wives might be more prone to, er, exaggerating their levels of satisfaction…

Derek, Belfast,

I agree with Elizabeth, and in addition, the ability to achieve orgasm for women also depends on self esteem and the comfort level you have to fully express yourself; since wealthy men are more likely to have wealthy, comfortable and self assured women, this would obviously lead to more orgasms.

Heather , Corsicana, United States

I think it is more likely that the factor that gives women more frequent orgasms will be different for different women. Some will need fame, some power, etc. It is just that money is most commonly appreciated.

Ro, Cheltenham,

Maybe it’s just that successful men want to succeed in bed, too.

Minna , Helsinki, Finland

The more comfortable and secure men and women feel, the better their experience of sex. Having money improves the quantity and quality of our orgasms but not only for women.

David, Greece,

A simpler explanation is that rich men get to sample the widest array of women and prefer those with whom sex is most fun and frequent, ie easily orgasmic ones.

So rich men aren’t better lovers, they just get easily-satisfied women who need less effort for more reward. Probably why they’re rich…

Elizabeth, London,

This is not a revelation, we have always known that Money = Power and power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Canadian , Toronto, Canada

If anything, I’ve found that the opposite is true!!!

Anne-Marie, Hednesford, UK

To think I’ve spent all this time trying to figure out what to do. Instead, I should have been working more so that I could make more money. My luck.

Ed, Toledo, US

I read a long time ago – money is sexy.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

I can validate this research. A certain person I know seems to be dating rich men only! That huge balance does give some women a bigger orgasm. So they can keep access to that balance!

Andreas Andreou, Cyprus,