Reaching climax is difficult for 10-15% of people with vaginas and around half of people who identify as women admit that they’re not satisfied with how often they reach orgasm.
Climaxing can be difficult for a number of reasons including stress, mental health problems, insecurities, and certain chronic health problems.
However, a simple technique that’s been popularised in recent months could be exactly what you need to get your rocks off and the bonus is, you don’t need a partner for it. It’s called “shallowing” and it can be done with the tip of a penis, fingers, a tongue or even a sex toy.
While the technique isn’t necessarily new, the name for it is.
The term “shallowing″ was coined in a 2021 study that aimed to normalise sex and women asking for what they need in the bedroom. Dr Devon Hensel, one of the researchers, told BBC Woman’s Hour, “These are very vagina-centred positions.”
What is “shallowing”?
So, this technique involves entering the vagina with just the tip of the penis of a partner or just entering the vagina slightly using fingers, toys or tongue. You then slowly massage the area to build up tension and pleasure. This in itself can be enough to climax but some people enjoy being fully penetrated following shallowing.
According to the sex educators at OMGYES.com, this area is “packed with pleasure nerves”, making it incredibly sensitive and makes deeper penetration later on feel even more explosive.
In fact, the sex educators say that 25% of people say that shallowing helps them to have a stronger, more intense orgasm.
Why does shallowing work so well?
According to sex and relationships expert Tracey Cox, shallowing is so effective because it stimulates the clitoris: “People think of the clitoris as the little tip that you can see, but in fact, underneath the clitoris is the body, which is about 1-2 inches, then it wishbones into two legs that are about 3-4 inches.
“So, the clitoris is a big area. If you try and just stimulate the tip, you’re not going to get very far. But if you try and stimulate the inner clitoris, which is what this is all doing, it can then lead to an orgasm for women, or at least make penetration a hell of a lot more interesting and pleasurable.”
Brb I’m, uh, off to try something.