Sexual orientation and its association with anal-related sexual pleasure: findings from a nationally representative sample of cisgender women in the USA

Prior research has documented variation in sexual pleasure across women of different sexual orientations. However, whether orientation-based differences in pleasure extend to anal-related activity remains largely unexplored. This study examines the association between sexual orientation and pleasure from internal and external anal stimulation techniques among cisgender women. Data from the Second OMGYES Pleasure Report (N = 2,995) were analysed using weighted logistic regression while controlling for sociodemographic factors. Sexual minority women generally reported higher rates of pleasure compared to heterosexual women. Bisexual women were more likely to report pleasure across all stimulation techniques (AORs 1.79 to 3.18), while lesbians were more likely to report pleasure from self-administered techniques (AORs 2.25 to 3.01). Across all groups, external partner finger stimulation emerged as the most pleasurable technique, reported by 51.7% of women as pleasurable. This evidence supports a more inclusive, pleasure-informed approach to sexual health education and clinical practice and lays the groundwork for future research into the practices, relational contexts, and scripts that may drive these differences.