Faking, finishing and forgetting

This commentary on Thomas et al.’s article ‘Faking to finish’ which described the results of a small-scale qualitative study in which women reported ‘faking’ orgasm in order to bring ‘bad’ sex to an end, and on the accompanying media coverage, draws attention to the ways in which the ‘problem’ of heterosexuality which the practice of faking illuminates is culturally forgotten. Moreover, it discusses how some of the more nuanced arguments made by the authors – specifically about ambivalence around consent and the ‘wantedness’ of sex – are often obscured in media accounts in favour of more simplistic messages.