Orgasm-ambivalent, or orgasm-conflicted, is an orgasm stance that describes an individual who has mixed or complicated feelings regarding orgasmic activity. The term is commonly used by asexual spectrum individuals, but is not exclusive to this community or sexuality.
Orgasm-ambivalent individuals do not fit neatly into the basic orgasm stance categories of orgasm-favorable, orgasm-indifferent, or orgasm-repulsed. This can be for any number of reasons. Common orgasm-ambivalent experiences include the following:
- One’s feelings towards orgasmic activity change or fluctuate over time (orgasm-oscillating).
- One’s feelings towards orgasmic activity are different depending on the situation or involved individuals. For example, one may feel orgasm-repulsed normally, but feel orgasm-favorable only when in a relationship with a partner who is sexually attracted to them.
- One’s feelings towards orgasmic activity are different depending on the specific acts. For example one may feel repulsed by the idea of orgasms via sexual intercourse, but feel favorable towards other forms of orgasmic activity.
- One’s feelings towards orgasmic activity are confusing or unidentifiable. For example, one may struggle to tell if they are orgasm-favorable or if their desires for an orgasm are caused by the internalized thought that an individual “should” want to orgasm.
History
This term was coined by AnonymousHermitCrab with help from N1ght0wl6 on the subreddit r/asexuality on July 10th, 2022.[1]