The first time Dominique D'Vita had a throat orgasm, it caught her by surprise. She was performing fellatio on her partner when she noticed her saliva getting thicker in her mouth. Arousal began to build in her throat, and then her whole body started trembling. "I felt pleasure from my mouth all the way down to my genitals, like waves traveling down a channel," said D'Vita, 54, a certified tantra instructor in Austin, Texas. She's since had several more, though she can't make them happen on command. D'Vita is among a group of women who say that they've been able to orgasm solely from the stimulation of their mouths, tongues, and throats.
Performing oral sex, or simply sucking on fingers or a toy, is enough to bring them to climax. Some say they feel orgasmic sensations primarily in their mouth or throat; others feel them extend to their genitals or throughout their entire bodies. Some even report being able to experience throat orgasms from just thinking about fellatio or visually moving erotic energy into their throats. D'Vita said that she's been able to have throat orgasms through breath-work practices like pranayama.
The throat is full of sensory cells and the mouth and tongue are rich in nerve endings, which sexologists and doctors say can promote orgasm under the right conditions. "Stimulation of any part of the body can result in orgasmic experiences," said the sexologist Carol Queen. "Orgasm is centered in the brain, and some people can experience orgasm in ways that most other people don't even know to be possible."
The vagus nerve, which connects the throat and genitals, may be the source of some throat orgasms
There is no technical term for the orgasmic sensations that some women claim they experience in their throats, but they may be more common than you'd expect. In one study, Dr. Herbert Arthur Otto, the author of the 1999 book "Liberated Orgasm: The Orgasmic Revolution," interviewed 205 women, 20% of whom reported experiencing orgasms in their mouths and throats.
The researchers Barry Komisaruk and Beverly Whipple, who've conducted studies about nongenital orgasms, have also concluded that people can feel "explosive muscular expression" in parts of the body not typically thought to be erotic. Throat orgasms may be due to stimulation of the vagus nerve, a long neural pathway that travels from the brain stem to the reproductive organs in both men and women. Dr. Amir Marashi, an ob-gyn and the founder of the sex-toy company Cerē, said that four branches of this nerve reach into the muscles and tissue in the rear of the mouth, the root of the tongue, the throat, and the vocal cords. The vagus nerve connects indirectly to the genitalia through the pudendal nerve, which stimulates the genitals, Marashi said. This may be one reason that when the throat is stimulated, it can trigger genital orgasms.
But because blood flow also increases in the throat when the vagus nerve is aroused there, this can also lead to a climax that may be felt just in the throat. Women interviewed by Insider said the orgasmic sensations often began in their mouths and throats and expanded into the rest of their bodies. Debra Laino, a sex educator and board-certified clinical sexologist, said that women who have throat orgasms often describe them as full-body orgasms. Lucia Pavone, 50, a somatic sex educator in San Francisco, said that the first time she experienced a throat orgasm, "I felt this rolling sensation in my body and sudden euphoria." Edwina Caito, 57, an Indiana-based sex-toy reviewer and writer at Bedbible, said her throat orgasms spark tingles throughout her entire body, resulting in vaginal orgasms with no genital stimulation.
Since both men and women have a vagus nerve, this technically means men are also capable of throat orgasms, said Laino. Otto interviewed 130 men for his book. Though 20% reported experiencing throat orgasms, they were much more reluctant to describe these orgasms in detail.
Some women say they have a pleasure point that can be stimulated by deep-throating
In the iconic 1970s porn film "Deep Throat," Linda Lovelace's character learns that she has a "clitoris" in her throat, which can be stimulated by suppressing her gag reflex to perform oral sex. While the storyline was intended as a work of fantasy, some women, including Pavone, say it's real: They have a specific pleasure point, like a G-spot, in the throat, that can be stimulated by deep-throating a phallus. Laino said this spot is often located "beyond the uvula, in the cricopharyngeus portion of the esophagus."
"For me to have a full, vibratory throat orgasm," said Pavone, "I need to feel the penis in the back of my throat." She called this region of her throat a "pleasure portal." When this area is stimulated during deep-throating, Pavone said, she feels the tissues become "erect and cushiony," like the inside of an aroused vagina. By creating friction on any tissue, "you bring more blood supply to that area," Marashi said. This may lead to an erection-like feeling in the tissues in the throat. Pavone said she needs to be in the right frame of mind to accept a penis that far into her throat. But with enough practice, a person can learn to suppress their gag reflex — just as sword-swallowers do when they teach their throats to allow a sword down their esophagus.
Marashi recommended trying "deep, slow breaths, which can help relax your whole body, especially your throat muscles." He also suggested massaging the neck to further relax the throat and maintaining a moist mouth, as a dry mouth is more likely to trigger the gag reflex. Queen also noted that partners should be sober when carrying out the practice. Any toys should be sanitized before use, and a condom should be worn over the phallus to protect against the spread of STIs. She also advises against ever trying to force a throat orgasm by engaging in a sexual act you don't care for. "I'd never recommend someone engage in an act they feel 'meh' about in order to seek orgasm," Queen said. But with the right approach, the feeling of one's throat spasming around a phallus "can feel deeply satisfying and erotic," said Sylvie Bee, a somatic sex and relationship coach at Sex and Sensibility Coaching. "The throat is a very tender, vulnerable place, so it makes perfect sense that someone could feel their peak eroticism there."
