We know that the vast majority of cis women don’t orgasm from penetrative sex but you wouldn’t know this from the sex we see on screen. 

The clit test celebrates sex scenes that reflect that the clitoris is a central part of sexual pleasure for most people with vulvas - and we hope this will inspire others. 

Not all women have clits and not all those who have clits are women. If a person has a clit, chances are it’ll be wanting some love but trans and non-binary people will have different relationships with their anatomy depending on a range of factors including their own relationship with their gender identity or their type of transition.

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What’s the problem?

Women who have sex with men are having alarming rates of unsatisfying, bad and even painful sex. For too long our sexual script has centred on penetration and male orgasm. 

The vast majority of cis women only orgasm through clitoral stimulation. But sex acts that reflect this are rarely depicted or even hinted at on screen, and this reflects women’s experience in the bedroom.

Too many girls - and the women they grow into - are left disempowered, confused and even ashamed of their own sexuality. Lack of sexual enjoyment is linked to a range of problems including low self-esteem, and a sexual landscape that centres around only men’s pleasure can only feed into to a culture of sexual violence.

This is bad for EVERYBODY. We all want to know that the person we’re having sex with is having a good time, which is one of the reasons women fake orgasms at ridiculous rates.

We can fix this  - all it takes is for us to show and talk about sex that recognises women’s pleasure.

For more details, some eye watering stats and links to research go to our blog post ‘Why we need the clit test?’

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What is the clit test?

Too often when we see cis women having sex on screen all we see is penetrative sex. The clit test celebrates sex scenes that reflect that the clitoris is a central part of sexual pleasure for most people with vulvas - and we hope this will inspire others. These scenes can be in films, tv, songs, books or anywhere there’s sex.

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What does it take to pass?

Any time you acknowledge that the clit exists you pass the test. 

This could be showing, mentioning or even heavily implying clit touching, cunnilingus (oral sex for women) and women masturbating. Think a disappearing head or hand under the covers.

If there’s not a hint of below the waist activity involving a cis woman or anyone who owns a clitoris then it’s just not applicable. 

Content will fail if there are some below the waist sexy times involving a woman (or anyone who has a clit) and the clit is given no love. A classic fail is what we see too often - sex that only involves penetration without any hint of clit stimulation - usually accompanied by a When Harry Met Sally style orgasm.

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How do you submit a pass or fail?

You can share your clit wins and fails via Instagram or Twitter by using the hashtag #ClitTestPass or #ClitTestFail, just share a screenshot or picture of the content in question. The more detail you can provide (e.g. page number, how many minutes in) the faster we’ll be able to verify and add to the bank of passes. Alternatively, you can email your wins and fails to theclittest@gmail.com.

More on the problem and how we fix it.

Further reading +
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Find out more about the clit, trans and non-
binary sex, masturbation, arousal, disability,
pain and sex after trauma.