‘Orgasm in color’: Rare condition paints man’s pleasure pink after sex

This rare condition is a unique form of synesthesia—a neurological phenomenon where senses merge in unusual ways. In this man’s case, his synesthesia is triggered by orgasm, momentarily causing him to perceive the world in shades of pink.

A study involving 572 participants, detailed in the book Synesthesia: Perspectives From Cognitive Neuroscience, found that 1.2 percent of people with synesthesia experience visual color changes during orgasm. However, not all individuals with orgasm-induced synesthesia have other types of synesthetic experiences.

What is synesthesia?

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon where senses that are typically separate become intertwined. For instance, a person with synesthesia might hear colors or smell sounds, with the activation of one sense automatically triggering a response in another.

This condition, which is generally harmless, affects between 1 to 4 percent of people. Although over 100 different types of synesthesia are believed to exist, the most prevalent form involves associating colors with letters, numbers, or periods of time, such as days of the week or months.

Pink orgasms, white pain

While synesthesia itself isn’t particularly rare, the man’s specific manifestation of the condition appears to be quite unique. According to the doctors, experiencing an “orgasm in color” is one of the rarest forms of synesthesia.

When doctors suggested synesthesia as a possible explanation for his vivid sexual experiences, the man recalled another instance from his past where he had encountered a similar phenomenon.

As a child, during episodes of severe chest pain caused by his valvular heart disease, he described feeling “white.” This sensation was unique to that specific type of pain and did not occur with any other form of discomfort. Since the chest pains ceased in adulthood, the “white” sensation also disappeared.

This suggests that the man has an exceptionally rare form of synesthesia, characterized by the experience of both pain and orgasm through the perception of color. What makes it even more unique is that the trigger for pain seems to be extremely specific, and is not set off by other kinds of pain stimuli.

Sexual synesthesia studied

While there have been anecdotal reports in sex research suggesting experiences akin to synesthesia—such as a 1970s study where a woman described experiencing “fuzzy blackness with red and white muted bursts” during orgasm—psychology has largely overlooked the idea that sexual sensations could trigger synesthetic experiences.

Furthermore, the potential impact on individuals’ sex lives has not been extensively explored.

A 2013 study aimed to address this gap by surveying 19 synesthetes who reported sexual forms of the condition. Their responses were compared with those of 36 age-matched controls. Additionally, seven of these sexual synesthetes were interviewed in detail.

The findings revealed that different stages of sexual activity—from arousal to climax—were associated with various perceptual experiences. For example, one woman reported that initial fantasies and desires triggered the color orange, while another participant experienced colors of increasing intensity as excitement built.

This project, however, was posited as “a pilot project” by the researchers, “providing clues for further investigation,” and whose results should be treated critically and with caution.