4 reasons why women fake orgasms, one reason why fish do

Here are some of the reasons why even some empowered and sex-positive women struggle NOT to keep a straight face during intimacy.

Casual relationships

Research shows that single women are less likely to climax than those in relationships at 40% versus 75%, respectively. This is attributed to the claim that during casual sex, women don't feel safe enough to utter their needs and men are less likely to bother calling them out on it.

High expectations

It is alleged that women are conditioned to believe that they should experience an orgasm so they feel awkward when it doesn't happen. With the partner lost in the throes of passion, it feels weird to maintain a blank face which pushes some to put on a performance.

Romantic feelings

Some women have confessed to being nerve-wracked during intimate moments with a man they have romantic feelings for. Worrying about how they will come off or a particular body blemish or prior climax from masturbation.

"We really, really like you and worry that asking for what we want will turn you off. Even though we know it's not gonna happen this time, because we have a stomachache or we already bust a nut before we met you for dinner or we keep thinking about our eczema," says Breslaw

Romance and sex 'rituals'

Some women are compelled to follow a man's sex checklist by finishing it off with a series of faces and noises.

Once a man does what he thinks or knows as the to-do list, the woman feels compelled to do 'just this one thing'.

Fish, especially the female brown trout, appears to experience the same predicament before going off to find a better partner. However, she does this only in two scenarios, when the male is in the wrong position or it is the wrong timing.

"If she feels he is not in the right position or timing, she just stops the process. But the male, he is so excited that he misinterprets the female's cues and goes the whole way. He's a little bit tricked there," said Erik Peterrson, a scientist of Sweden's National Board of Fisheries.

Peterrson added that the male is confused when the female fakes the orgasm since she doesn't cover the eggs immediately like she does in successful mating. But the female is already digging a new pit for her eggs for the next mating which happens in about 30 minutes.