It's no secret that women's
on-screen portrayals have evolved throughout history.
We've gone from playing secretaries
being saved by James Bond,
all the way to nuclear scientists
being saved by James Bond.
But I want to focus on one specific aspect
of female depictions-- the orgasm.
It's when a woman is stimulated to the point of climax,
causing a physical and neurological response
that scientist refer to as "bangtastic."
And over the years, depicting female pleasure on screen
is something that's changed
more than the batteries in your vibrator.
The first known female orgasm on the silver screen
was in the 1933 German film Ecstasy,
when Hedy Lamarr took the Bratwurst Express
all the way to Pleasureburg.
Turns out, the world wasn't ready for this.
Everyone denounced it, from Hitler to the pope.
And if you ask me, the pope has no place
weighing in on sex scenes. He's celibate.
I mean, when we need your opinion
on the best stain removers for white fabrics,
then we'll call you.
Unfortunately, being the first actress to climax on screen
followed Hedy Lamarr for the rest of her career.
She was typecast as the seductress, even though
she was literally the smartest person in Hollywood.
Yeah, as her side hustle, she was a brilliant scientist
who invented the basis for all modern wireless technology.
Without her, no one would be orgasming,
because we wouldn't be able to watch porn
on our cell phones in the bathroom.
And that was the last big,
onscreen female orgasm for a while,
because around the same time,
the Hays Code was enforced in Hollywood.
This was a set of censorship guidelines
that banned movies from explicitly showing
or discussing sex.
Even married couples had to be shown in separate beds,
or as it's now called "The Reverse Chocolate Factory."
With the four of you bedridden for the past 20 years,
it takes a lot of work to keep this family going.
LYDIC: No one was getting off.
The Hays Code finally ended in the late '60s,
which, as timing goes, is like having your Dry January end
at an open bar in Cabo.
America was embarking on a sexual revolution,
so female pleasure came back on screen.
Unfortunately, it was often treated as a novelty
that existed for men's amusement,
so you got scenes like the one in 1968's Barbarella
where evil Dr. Eyebrows over here traps
Jane Fonda in a machine that's supposed
to give her orgasms until she dies,
except that she climaxes so hard, she breaks the machine.
My goodness.
At the time, it was considered a campy, sexy thing,
but looking at it now, it's a violation.
Remember, everyone, if you're gonna put a woman
in a machine that orgasms her to death, you need consent first.
Another major moment came a few years later
with the movie Deep Throat.
It tells the story of a woman who keeps giving men
oral sex because her pleasure zone is in her throat.
That is not how it works.
But Deep Throat became the first porno film to go mainstream
and inspired both my uncles to become dentists.
The female orgasms in Barbarella and Deep Throat
were basically male fantasies
about how women experience pleasure.
So it was appropriate that the next onscreen orgasm
to make a splash totally debunked those fantasies.
1989's When Harry Met Sally famously includes
an extended scene of Meg Ryan faking an orgasm in a deli
to prove to Billy Crystal
that maybe he wasn't the cunnilingus king
that he thought he was.
Oh!
-(bangs on table) -Oh, yes! Yes! Yes!
Oh, God.
This scene was groundbreaking for a few reasons.
It told all the women watching
who had faked orgasms that they weren't alone.
It taught men to try
to be attentive to their partners' needs,
and it catapulted pastrami
to become the top aphrodisiac of 1989.
It also started a conversation
about the performative nature of the female orgasm.
Women face far too much pressure
to satisfy their partner's ego instead of themselves.
I mean, no one ever has to fake it for their vibrator.
If they don't get the job done,
they just go back into the drawer,
and they think about what they did.
In the years that followed,
female pleasure became more and more common on screen.
But they were still often treated as punch lines,
like Jennifer Aniston getting unexpected, magic climaxes
in Bruce Almighty, or Katherine Heigl
accidentally orgasming at dinner
when a little boy grabbed her remote-controlled,
vibrating underwear.
Okay, there is so much wrong with this.
It's nonconsensual, it's a kid doing it,
and it perpetuates the dangerous myth
that vibrating underwear gives you anything
but a five-alarm electrical burn.
And even when orgasms weren't meant to be funny,
it could be hard to take them seriously.
Like in 40 Days and 40 Nights, when Josh Hartnett
makes his partner orgasm by caressing her with flowers,
which, believe me, is not that easy.
Not to be a size queen,
but you're gonna have to use at least a sunflower.
The aughts weren't a step forward for orgasms,
but they weren't a step back, either.
They still needed to step a little to the side.
Now the other side.
Then back and forth.
Yeah. Right there.
Thankfully, in the present day, we're starting to see
much more realistic and positive depictions
of women popping their turkey timers.
These days you can hardly turn your TV on
without seeing a woman getting off.
And finally, movies and shows are doing this
through the female gays.
And if you don't know what that would look like,
then you haven't seen Bridgerton.
It's a show about 19th century British society
taking care of their little women.
She's a Beth in the streets but a Jo in the sheets.
Thanks to Bridgerton,
there hasn't been this many female orgasms since...
well, since everyone started watching Bridgerton.
So, that's the history on the female orgasm on screen.
And who knows what the future holds.
But it is important,
because the way women are portrayed on screen
holds a mirror up to how they're treated in real life.
And as all women know, sometimes holding up a mirror to something
is the only way to get a good look
and figure out how it works.