The 'Clit Test' rates on-screen depictions of female sexual pleasure. Here are the shows and movies that got a pass, and the ones that failed.
Julia Naftulin  Â
- Frances Rayner and Irene Tortajada give a "pass" or a "fail" to pop culture moments in TV, movies, books, and songs depending on whether they center female sexual pleasure or not.
- Rayner created the concept, called The Clit Test, which uses a pass/fail system, after she became frustrated with the lack of non-penetrative sex scenes in media.
- Fans can now send Rayner and Tortajada their own ratings along with scene-specific evidence. One day, Rayner wants to use her project to inform Hollywood creators and help them make better sex scenes.
When Frances Rayner was in college 14 years ago, sex scenes in her favorite movies and television shows constantly perturbed her.
Rayner, of Glasgow, Scotland, wanted to see more than penetrative sex scenes that ended with the women reaching climax, since those displays incorrectly suggest most women can orgasm after a few solid thrusts.
She wanted acknowledgment of the clitoris, a part of the vulva that has 8,000 nerve endings and acts as a source of physical pleasure.
In 2017, she came up with the "The Clit Test."
To determine if a song, book, movie, or television show passes the test, Rayner asks one question: Does it highlight the clitoris as a source of sexual pleasure? If not, it's a fail.
"Often, that's very much implied. So it would be like head or hand dipping under the covers," or a woman saying she didn't orgasm following a penetration-only sex scene, Rayner told Insider. Scenes where women are shown or implied to be masturbating also pass the test.
A one-woman passion project turned into a crowdsourced campaignAfter three years of ranking all sorts of entertainment on her own, Rayner met Irene Tortajada at her job in Glasgow.
They became friends and worked together to launch the project a few weeks ago, with a website and Instagram account where fans can submit their own ratings with scene-specific evidence.
Tortajada offers a different perspective as a 25-year-old bisexual woman, said Rayner, who is 34 and straight.
Rayner also read academic papers and books about pleasure and anatomy, like "Mind the Gap" by Dr. Karen Gurney, to be better informed about various women's sexual experiences while rating Hollywood favorites.
Rayner and Tortajada, who now lives in London, have passed and failed dozens of entertainment forms and grown their fan base. Rayner even transitioned to a part-time job to make more time for rating pop-culture sex scenes.
The majority of content they review gets a "pass" rating, because Rayner likes to focus on the positive. She said 95% of movies out there, for example, are likely to fail the test, so "I just don't even consume that stuff as much as possible now." Plus, there are often failing scenes in movies and shows that pass overall, according to Rayner.
'I hope that the campaign won't even be needed in a few years'As for what's next, Rayner wants to use her and Tortajada's work to help Hollywood creators make better sex scenes.
"If I could just get it across the desk of anybody who ever writes a sex scene. or a directs a sex scene, or acts in a sex scene," showing creators that viewers care could make a difference, Rayner said.
"Most people probably know this themselves, but knowing that everyone else knows it and it's OK to kind of go, 'Oh yeah, did you see that thing? The clit test.' And then that gives them the cover to be like, 'Obviously she'll be receiving oral sex,'" she said.
Here's how some of your favorite shows and movies, including "Booksmart," "Normal People," and "Insecure" fared against the ultimate test for on-screen female sexual pleasure.
PASS: Booksmart
"Booksmart," a 2019 coming-of-age film about two high school best friends got high praise from Rayner due to its extensive dialogues about female masturbation.
In the movie, Amy, one part of the best-friend duo, is implied to enjoy humping her toy panda bear.
According to Rayner, multiple Clit Test fans emailed her after she published the "pass" rating, saying the scene accurately depicted their own adolescent masturbation experiences.
PASS: Uncut Gems
The 2019 crime movie "Uncut Gems," which stars Adam Sandler as gambling addict Howard Ratner, passed the test thanks to a specific scene featuring female masturbation.
In the scene, Ratner's side chick Julia De Fiore, played by Julia Fox, gets bored waiting for Ratner to come home and have sex, so she masturbates on the couch.
The scene came with a caveat though, since Ratner actually arrived home earlier and is seen hiding in a nearby closet and watching De Fiore.
"He's watching her from the cupboard so the male gaze is ever present but she doesn't know this," the Clit Test website reads.
PASS: Insecure
"Insecure," a comedy series about a Black woman navigating work, love, and friendship in Los Angeles, includes a masturbation scene involving its main character Issa Dee, who is played by the show's creator, Issa Rae.
The series also touches on women receiving oral sex. In the first season, Molly, Issa's best friend, gets oral sex from her love interest Jared.
And in season 3, Issa's friend Kelli says she broke up with a man who refused to give cunnilingus.
FAIL: Someone Great
Despite the great reviews Netflix's original romcom "Someone Great" received, it failed the Clit Test.
That's because every sex scene in the movie was penetrative.
PASS: Chewing Gum
"Chewing Gum," Michaela Coel's show about a young woman named Tracey exploring her sexuality for the first time, is one of Rayner's favorites.
She appreciates the show's honest and humorous take on sexual exploration.
In one scene, Tracey's more experienced friend suggests she sit on her boyfriend's face. Not realizing it's a sex act, Tracey takes the advice quite literally and leaves her boyfriend confused.
"I love that because it's a horny teenage girl and she's completely clueless, so I feel like that's accurate. You really get that she's not getting any good sex education from anything around her," Rayner said.
In another scene, Tracey tells her boyfriend she prefers oral sex over penetrative sex, acknowledging her need for clitoral stimulation.
PASS: Succession
Though the family-meets-business satire series doesn't contain many sex scenes, it still passed the test.
The show's first sex scene featured Kendall Roy, one of the family siblings, going down on his wife.
Another scene shows Shiv Roy, another sibling, putting her love interest Nate's hand down her pants.
FAIL: Normal People
Despite enlisting an intimacy coordinator and being chock-full of sex scenes, the television show adaption of the best-selling book didn't pass the clit test because it only showed penetrative sex.
For Rayner, failing "Normal People" was disappointing.
"I love [the book author] Sally Rooney. I love the books," Rayner said. "There's so much to love about it and there's so much sex. So why is it all penis-in-vagina? Seriously, what a missed opportunity."
PASS: To All the Boy I've Loved Before
Netflix's coming-of-age rom-com is geared towards a young-adult audience, so it doesn't get overtly spicy.
But the second film in the two-part series still passed the Clit Test because it briefly touches on the importance of masturbation.
Lara Jean, the main character, is nervous about getting intimate with her boyfriend Peter because she's never had sex and he has.
After Lara Jean explains this concern to her friend Chris, Chris uses metaphors to suggest Lara Jean masturbate.
"I am trying to make sure you know how to rev your own engine before you let anyone under the hood," Chris says. "I'm just saying: Make sure you know how to look after you."
FAIL: Sex Education, season 2
If you judged "Sex Education" by its name alone, you'd assume it'd pass the test.
The show is about Otis, a teenager with a sex therapist mother, and his secret side business helping his peers solve their sex problems.
But its second season fell flat, according to Rayner.
"There's loads of girls coming from penetration," she said.
At the same time, Rayner said season 1 had many passable moments, like when the character Amy discovers masturbation and goes on a day-long self-love bender.
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