The uncomplicated truth about women’s sexuality | Sarah Barmak

Is women's sexuality more complicated than men's? Well, not really, no, says author Sarah Barmak. In this frank, eye-opening talk, she shows how a flawed understanding of the female body has shaped this discussion for centuries. She debunks some age-old myths (you're welcome) and offers a richer definition of pleasure that gets closer to the simple truth about women's sexuality.

Check out more TED Talks:

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more.

Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:

Subscribe to our channel:

49 Comments on The uncomplicated truth about women’s sexuality | Sarah Barmak

    • all i heard was a woman yakking and droning on endlessly about nothing, and THAT is the simple, uncomplicated truth

      That’s 10 minutes of my life wasted that I’m not getting back again

    • +For An Angel His original comment was funny.. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I felt the exact same way by the end of the video.. Like I was more confused than before. Also, not only is the title a lie(maybe only to a portion of men) but she lies herself in the video. You really think we didn’t know about the clitoral structure when we knew every other part of the human body well before then? Not to mention we know and understand microscopic parts of the human body. So don’t be so snappy to judge people lest you become the one who needs judgement. It’s a fair point he made and he did it in a humorous way to keep it light and non-derogatory. It’s the classic “men will never understand women” meme. And it’s going to be true for a lot of men, especially those who are less in tune with their intimate/emotional side. You should encourage men to try to learn more especially on subjects that they may feel awkward about because they are scared of people like you making them look stupid by saying “Let me guess, you are a male?”. This in turn only harms women because men will be less likely to learn how to please you. Saying “Let me guess, you are a male?” barely even makes sense to me other than trying to say that all men are dumb. The video doesn’t say “uncomplicated for women to understand” soooo what are you saying?

  1. Now that I know the complete structure of the clitoris, I’m going down on all of it. Thanks for simplifying. #DontIgnoreTheBulbs

  2. Genital mutilation is not a thing of the past & it is still being practiced in many places around the world today, as you are reading this a woman’s (or more likely young girl’s) genitals are being mutilated.

    • True enough. As the speaker pointed out, labiaplasty is skyrocketing in popularity. Female genital mutilation is indeed being practiced in some dark, primitive corners of the world, like the U.S. As you are reading this, a highly-paid plastic surgeon is mutilating a woman’s genitals.

  3. Hate it when Ted bring journalists. I want to see people who have been dedicating their lives (for many many years) to better understand something and hear their findings !

    • She’s a rigorous researcher who _has_ been dedicating her life to better understanding women’s sexuality and publishing her findings.

      You obviously have deeper personal issues that were triggered, but are not sharing them with us. Consider those before posting again.

  4. Sadly this uninformative mishmash of vagueness: history, philosophy and political gender ism on the most trivial level, is what you get when an unqualified journalist enters a subject they don’t understand either on a physiological level or a psychological one…WHO selected this person for such a TED talk? Being female just isn’t qualification enough in this case….There is an entire body of literature going back to before KInsey and Masters and Johnson et. al that this woman is totally unaware of. Signed a PhD female psychologist

    • I suggest that you get in touch with TED and submit a proposal for a talk.

      NB the mainstream of psychology is definitely dubious on an objectivity level. We are *certainly* much better informed than we were five years ago, let alone 25 or 50, but I would not doubt that we will be throwing out the book regularly for at least another 25 years just in terms of basic premise thinking, and many new brain-body connections, signalling systems and discoveries are inevitable.

      Polysaccharides / glycans acting as a sophisticated electrochemical transmission medium is one example of an unexpected new complex system being discovered.

  5. Why is she blaming men?!!
    Shouldnt she blame the women who are full of tabu and I must say: Its the lack of female researchers thats the real problem…
    To all women: Stop blaming men, and get your freak on!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


Shares
Share This