Orgasm Day today

ESPERANTINA, a town in Brazil’s conservative northeastern section celebrates today (May 9) as Orgasm Day—not exactly a toss-up between gray and groin matters.

Esperantina’s mayor endorsed the holiday which is aimed at improving relationships between married couples: “We’re celebrating orgasm in all its senses. There’s even a panel discussion on premature ejaculation. But from what I’ve seen, women have more trouble achieving orgasm than men, especially in marriage.

There won’t be much local people involved in the feast of the senses—the remote town 1,300 miles north of Rio de Janeiro has 38,000 people, most are poor. They’re known not exactly for achieving multiple orgasms—from the shallow clitoral climax to the more satisfying vaginal whoop-it-up-- or fits of priapism among menfolk. Esperantina throbs with religious zeal but the townsfolk have been unofficially celebrating Orgasm Day for years.

Across Brazil, Orgasm Day celebrations include panel discussions by sexologists plus a mounting of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.

Claims Esperantina Mayor Felipe Santolia: “I’ve seen scientific studies that show when a women is loved, when her husband can bring to orgasm, it affects all aspects of her life, her relationships with her children, at home, with the city and at work.”

Yes, copious amounts of endorphin—the so-called “happy hormone”-- released in the body systems during orgasm bring a sense of peace and well-being.

It’s unlikely that we can bring this enlightened holiday to this neck of the woods. We have hordes of religious zealots that delight in infecting people with a mistrust of their bodies’ natural urges. As we have written time and again: “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa lunggang pinanggalingan, tiyak na may sexual dysfunction.”

On the other hand, the advertising and entertainment industries are ramming down our throats absurd notions about the glamor of being in a constant state of titillation sans satisfaction.

Yes, orgasm is more than a physical sensation of release and freedom. It’s much more than physical union—the intercourse takes on a panoply of dimensions from the carnal to the spiritual.

Tongue-tied as we are with the import of this day, today we’re wishing couples a blissful and meaningful celebration of Orgasm Day.