Pet ownership was most prevalent amongst Whites (70.4%), lowest amongst African Americans (29.0%)

Examining U.S. pet ownership using the General Social Survey. Jennifer W. Applebaum, Chuck W. Peek & Barbara A. Zsembik. The Social Science Journal, Volume 60, 2023 - Issue 1, Mar 6 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1728507

Abstract: Pets are an important aspect of many families and households, but how many Americans have them? The purpose of this study is to compare point estimates of pet ownership in the U.S. from the General Social Survey (GSS) to estimates from other surveys, and to report demographic and social correlates to pet ownership. Wide discrepancies in estimates of U.S. pet ownership have been previously reported, relying on private industry surveys that do not disclose sampling design. Further, some surveys that reported pet ownership were not available for public use and/or did not lend themselves to social science due to a limited number of other measures of important social and demographic characteristics. U.S. estimates of pet ownership from the GSS tended to be slightly higher than those based on the American Veterinary Medical Association Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook and consistently lower than estimates based on the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey. Pet ownership varied by race/ethnicity, age, size of place, household composition, and dwelling type. Number and type of pets also varied considerably by social and demographic characteristics. We conclude that the 2018 GSS has several advantages for studying human–animal interaction including a nationally representative sample, availability of a wide range of covariates, and public accessibility.

Women’s orgasms appear to have a cultural competency component, wherein women need some kind of knowledge that enables women to “know” what an orgasm is and to “recognize” it

Women’s Experiences of Different Types of Orgasms—A Call for Pleasure Literacy? Katharina Weitkamp & Fabienne Seline Verena Wehrli. International Journal of Sexual Health, Mar 1 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2023.2182861

Abstract

Background: There is an ongoing controversy about women’s sexuality and the existence of different orgasms. The debate is tilted toward anatomical and physiological evidence, which often leaves subjective experiences out of the picture. The aim of the current mixed-methods study was to capture women’s accounts of their experiences of orgasmic states.

Methods: As part of a larger online survey, 513 women (M = 25.89 years, SD = 5.60) from a community sample filled in open-ended questions on their experience of different kinds of orgasms. Additionally, women rated semantic differentials with bipolar adjectives characterizing vaginal and clitoral orgasms. A sub-sample of n = 257 women (50%) had experienced both, vaginal and clitoral orgasms and rated both separately on the semantic differential.

Results: Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant differences in that clitoral orgasms were, amongst others, rated as sharper, easier, and more controllable, while vaginal orgasms were rated as wilder, deeper, more pulsating, and extending. In open-ended questions, women talked about various other orgasmic experiences, such as mixed clitoral/vaginal orgasms, whole body, cervical, anal, or mental orgasms. Some women were uncertain about their orgasmic experiences.

Conclusion: It is time to integrate anatomical, psychophysiological, and experiential data and conclude that either “all clitoral” or “clitoral and vaginal” falls short to do justice to the complexity of women’s orgasms. Understanding and defining these various types of orgasms and allowing for the apparent diversity to have its place in research and in social discourse is a task for future research and pleasure-positive sex education to increase pleasure literacy.