What is up with nipple orgasms?

I keep hearing there are like five or six or forty-six ways for women to orgasm, each associated with a specific body part. It seems like every day, some new erogenous zone pops up: clit, butt, throat, nostril … armpit.

So, given the non-reproductive body parts people are getting off on, it would seem as though the concept of the nipple orgasm wouldn’t be all that odd.

But it is. I mean, have you ever come from nipple stimulation? Or made someone come that way? I sure as shit haven’t, but according to a study by Dr. Herbert Otto, 29 percent of women have.

At first, I thought that number was high, like touching the Milky Way high, but then I did some research.

There is, it seems, a big steaming pile of science backing up the connection between nipples and orgasmic pleasure.

First of all, orgasm is believed to occur in part because of the hormone oxytocin, which is produced in the body during arousal. It has also been shown that oxytocin is produced when a man or woman’s nipples are stimulated and become erect. Coincidence? I think not.

Then, there’s this landmark 2011 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in which researchers found that nipple stimulation activates the same region of the brain that clitoral, vaginal and cervical orgasms do. Yet, most participants in the study didn’t consciously experience an orgasm. Instead, they were having subconscious, neurological orgasms that just weren’t registering physically. The researchers concluded that since your brain responds to nipple stimulation like it’s an orgasm, the only thing keeping most people from boob-coming is a mental block about having them. That means if you can remove the stigma or doubt you may have you nipple-gasms, you can … have them.

Provided you’re a female, of course. The same findings did not apply to men, whose nipples are still an evolutionary mystery, much like how we went from floating single-celled organisms in warm rain soup to people trying to understand the right way to pinch people’s pepperoni nips.

Now, let’s get to actually having one.

On Nerdist’s Sex with Sandra podcast, I heard Tantric sex educator, Pslam Isadora, describe how to give orgasmic nipple massage, and I really liked her method.

Here’s what she said:

1. First, ask if she wants this. Not every chick does.
2. If she’s down, both the masseuse and the nipple-haver should start by breathing deeply for a while. Big, deep breaths you can feel in the back of your throat. This’ll help remove the mental blocks described above.
3. Then alternate between feather-light grazes and gentle sweeping gestures around the entire boob, massaging the entire thing while continuing to breathe deeply. Kind of avoid the nipple in this stage; draw circles around it, lightly graze over it, but don’t make it the center of attention quite yet. The goal is to build up tension. Also, doesn’t hurt to use massage oil.
4. Continuing to breathe, start to roll and pull the nipple. Gently at first, but then a little harder. You don’t want it to be painful, but you kind of want it to be almost too much. A little more pressure than not helps the nipples stay erect, and strengthens the brain’s processing of the nipple stimulation as orgasm. Check in with her often to see if the pressure you’re using is okay.
5. Alternate between this kind of semi-rougher nipple play and the broader, full-breast strokes you did earlier, making a point to tease, then focus on the nipple, then alternate and so on. Keep deep breathing.
It might take a bit, but if you do it right, she’s likely to feel contractions in her clitorous, vagina or cervix that could lead to orgasm. And if it doesn’t, so what? At least you tried … at least it was more than the usual boob honk.
If you want more instructional wisdom, check out Pslam’s website at PslamIsadora.com, or just Google “nipple massage orgasm.” I promise you, there are 87 billion results. Not that I looked or anything.