Being tickled could be enough to bring on an orgasm, a study suggests.
First-of-its-kind research from Germany involving about 700 adults looked at the relationship between being tickled and experiencing sexual pleasure.
The researchers found that nearly 90 percent said they felt some degree of sexual stimulation from being tickled alone without other stimuli.
And one in four women and men reached orgasm exclusively through tickling.
Nearly 90 percent of participants said they felt sexual stimulation from tickling alone. For 25 percent, tickling was enough for them to reach orgasm
The team found most participants who found tickling sexually gratifying enjoyed being tickled as children, suggesting that childhood experiences could ‘shape their fetishism development.’
Sarah Dagher, study author and a PhD candidate at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, told PsyPost that the study shows that ‘the spectrum of what can lead to sexual pleasure is broader than what we previously thought and extends beyond conventional concepts.’
The researchers recruited participants through a 43-question survey posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Five ‘tickle fetish influencers’ also agreed to participate by reposting the survey link and pinning it to their profiles.
Over the course of 108 days, 719 people filled out the survey, which was available in both English and Japanese. Of those responses, 193 were in English and 526 were in Japanese.
The vast majority of participants – 74.3 percent – were male, while 20.7 percent were female and the remainder identified as non-binary.
Most of the group – 73.3 percent were from East Asian countries, while 13.8 percent were from North America and 8.3 percent were Europeans.
In terms of sexuality, 79.7 percent of participants were heterosexual. Bisexuals made up 10.8 percent of the population, while 2.8 percent were asexual.
About 26 percent reported never engaging in any sexual activity.
Over half of the group – 56.3 percent – were ages 20 to 29, and 14.2 percent were ages 18 to 19. Additionally, those ages 30 to 29 made up 22.5 percent of the sample.
Overall, 77.4 percent reported being ticklish, and 44.1 percent said they enjoyed being either lightly or heavily tickled.
Nearly all of the participants – 99.7 percent – said they used their hands as the primary tool for tickling, while the remainder preferred feathers, globes, brushes, etc.
Strikingly, 88 percent of respondents said that they felt sexual pleasure from being tickled without any other stimuli, and 25 percent reached orgasm through tickling alone.
Dagher told PsyPost that she was surprised that ‘some participants reported that tickling alone can lead to orgasm without genital stimulation.’
Additionally, 70.1 percent of participants said they enjoyed being tickled as children, which could have made them more likely to feel pleasure from it as adults.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they felt the most pleasure from the physical sensation of being tickled, while 42.2 percent fetishized the feeling of helplessness or submissiveness that it brought on. Other factors in arousal included verbal teasing from the tickler and the anticipation of being tickled.
For those doing the tickling, 91.2 percent were most aroused by their partner’s physical reaction, followed by 85.8 percent who were most into the sound of their partner’s voice. And 85.8 percent felt a sense of power through tickling.
The findings come as more than 80 percent of women report not being able to orgasm from sex alone,
The team noted that the study has several limitations, including participants being self-selected and likely being already interested in sexually stimulating tickling.
‘This study is not intended to encourage or promote tickling as any form of solution for any sexual issue,’ Dagher said. ‘However, we aim to highlight the existence of a wide, previously unknown community with special sexual preferences.’
