The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm

The influential feminist pamphlet was written by Anne Koedt. It was first published in 1970 and quickly became a foundational text of the radical feminist movement. Koedt wrote the piece to dismantle long-standing psychoanalytic theories regarding female sexuality.

Koedt argues that the biological center of female sexual pleasure is the clitoris, not the vagina. The pamphlet posits that the societal emphasis on the "vaginal orgasm" is a patriarchal myth constructed to enforce heterosexual intercourse and women's subordination. She asserts that this myth relies on outdated, Freudian concepts of female sexuality.

Koedt heavily critiques Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories, specifically his concept that mature female sexuality must transition from clitoral stimulation to vaginal orgasm. She argues that this Freudian model pathologized normal female biology and created unnecessary feelings of sexual inadequacy in women. Her work relied on modern anatomical research to debunk these psychoanalytic claims.

Initially published in 1970, the essay was widely distributed as a cheap, easily reproducible pamphlet by various feminist collectives and independent presses. It became incredibly popular in the burgeoning Women's Liberation Movement of the early 1970s. It was later anthologized in Koedt's 1973 book, "Radical Feminism."