I'd like to introduce you to someone...
The clitoris. Your clitoris.
An elusive anatomical mystery that has been lost, rediscovered, censored, and erased from history, textbooks, and medical journals alike.
We are lucky because know we have the research and information about the clitoris that can unlock a world of pleasure and enjoyment that was robbed from us.
You can find your clitoris at the point where the inner labia meet and form a “hood”. You can see your clitoris right at the top of the vulva, under the clitoral hood. It varies in size for everyone and is the key to unlocking your sexual pleasure.
So…what is the clitoris? What’s it for? Why do we have one?
The clitoris is an amazing and fascinating organ. And I am going to formally introduce you to yours.
That brings me to my first point…
Pleasure, pleasure, and more pleasure
The clitoris’ main goal is to bring you pleasure.
We don’t need it for reproduction, we don’t need it for menstruation. The only reason it exists is to bring us pleasure, enjoyment, and orgasms. It is the only body part whose sole function is pleasure. The head of the penis, the vaginal canal – they bring people pleasure but they also have an important role in reproduction.
Not the clitoris though. She’s just there to make you feel good.
It’s way bigger than you think
The clitoris is not just the tip (or glans) we can see at feel at the top of the vulva. The clitoris extends another 4-5 inches into the body with two “legs”, two bulbs, glands, nerves, blood vessels and it becomes even larger when you are aroused.
Think of all the extra pleasure you can access.
So why is the clit so big? Well, each part of the clit does something different.
Let’s start with the tip.
The hooded “glans” of the clit is covered with 8,000 (YES— 8,000!) nerve endings and is the most sensitive part of the human body. Although it receives the most attention, it’s only the beginning of the clitoris. The parts tucked underneath the surface do some interesting things, too. The “legs” and “bulbs” of your clitoris both contain erectile tissue similar to a penis— YEP, A PENIS. See, erectile tissue is sort of like a sponge, so when you’re turned on and extra blood flows towards your bits, the pockets of erectile tissue fill up and cause the crura and bulbs to swell. As they swell, they press against the vaginal walls and create a lil’ extra lubrication.
The various parts of the clitoris may perform different tasks, but they all work toward a common goal and “biological purpose”— your sexual pleasure.
Even cooler? Some research goes so far as to claim that your clit keeps growing as you age, but never ages itself (mystical, right?). This means your clit at age 20 will look and work the same way your clit at age 80 does.
And for those of you who are wondering if size matters, we couldn’t find any sufficient evidence that the size of your clit determines the likelihood of your orgasm, so no worries there. In the same way, there’s no concrete evidence to support the idea that certain ethnicities or people with similar genetic makeup will, in turn, have similar clit sizes. There’s no scientific reason your clit looks the way it does or is the size that it is. The game of body parts is like a box of chocolates— you never quite know what you’re going to get.
Different shapes and sizes are normal
Yes, your clitoris is normal!
The head of the clitoris can extend from the clitoral hood or it may not be visible until you pull the hood back altogether. Either way, and every way in between, is completely normal and functional.
It’s not just an inverted penis
Yes, the clitoris and the head of the penis are made of the same stuff when we are all babies in the womb…but the penis and the clitoris develop in very different ways with very different purposes and functions.
The clitoris is 2x as sensitive as a penis
The clitoris has twice as many nerve endings as the penis. These nerve endings reach further into the body and are responsible for multiple different types and increased intensity of orgasms.
…sorry guys.
Clitoral and vaginal orgasms, one in the same?
We have all heard about or have a friend who can achieve orgasm solely through vaginal stimulation alone.
Well, it turns out that these vaginal orgasms (and anal orgasms too) are directly related to the clitoris and the spongey tubes of the clitoris that extend inside the body. Vaginal orgasms are related to the stimulation of the clitoris internally.
Some like it hard, some like it soft, some like it not at all
There is no one solution for stimulating the clitoris that everyone enjoys. Some people like constant direct pressure, others prefer that it not be stimulated directly at all.
It is important to know how your body responds to different touches and sensations so you can direct your partner to stimulate the clitoris in a way that is pleasurable for you.
FINAL WORD.
If you’re wondering why all of this isn’t common knowledge, that’s partially because exploring vulva-bearing bodies has been such a taboo topic that resources can be a bit hazy and misleading. It’s taken a while for research to catch up on bodies with vulvas. In fact, it wasn’t until 2016 that French researcher, Odile Fillod, created a 3D model of a clitoris to serve as a “visual aid” to deter misrepresentations.
And although we still have a lot of research to do on the clit and vagina-having bodies in general, hey— at least we scratched the surface!
If you’re wondering why all of this isn’t common knowledge, that’s partially because exploring vulva-bearing bodies has been such a taboo topic that resources can be a bit hazy and misleading. It’s taken a while for research to catch up on bodies with vulvas. In fact, it wasn’t until 2016 that French researcher, Odile Fillod, created a 3D model of a clitoris to serve as a “visual aid” to deter misrepresentations.
And although we still have a lot of research to do on the clit and vagina-having bodies in general, hey— at least we scratched the surface!
There is still more to discover about the clitoris, and I for one am excited about the breakthroughs we will continue to make when it comes to women’s pleasure.