Cracking an age-old puzzle: Why women settle for mediocre sex

Women are mysterious and so are their ways, but researchers have unveiled one more secret of the fair sex. Though women have high expectations for nearly every area of their lives, when it comes to sex, they settle for less.

And most women keep their dissatisfaction with sex a secret, leaving their partners in the dark, said Anita Clayton, a psychiatrist who focusses on women's sexuality at the University of Virginia Health System, reports LiveScience. "Whereas men, if they have trouble with sex, it's a crisis. They run to the doctor and say, 'I need something for this.' Women don't do that. They just sort of stuff it down and push it further down on the list," Clayton said.

With surveys and years of clinical experience, Clayton has compiled a vast collection of data on women's sex lives. Often, she said, a female patient would visit her with issues like marital problems or depression, and only when directly asked about sex, the patient would divulge dissatisfaction.

Clayton attributes several factors to a woman's lack of sexual satisfaction, including: Sex gets shoved to the bottom of the "to do" list for women. And when they do have sex it becomes just another task. Women are not getting their emotional needs met during sex. An orgasm might not be the point.

Many women strive for unrealistic physical perfection seen in media and are unhappy with some aspect of their bodies. Women don't ask for what they want in bed, fearing their partner will be hurt or leave them. Medications such as antidepressants can reduce a woman's libido and ability to reach orgasm.

Some women did complain about difficulty reaching orgasm or lack of sexual desire, but frequently they just felt an overall letdown regarding sex, Clayton said. Not knowing why they feel so deflated after sex, women assume it's their fault or they just don't bring up the topic to their partner. Plus, Clayton said women don't have a clear awareness of their sexual desires because of social, cultural or religious beliefs that label such female wants as shameful.